A Small Business view of Commercial Roofing

1. A Small Business view of Commercial Roofing deluxeroofing.ca

2. Introduction Enterprises and large companies have qualified and experiences building managers that as part of their repertoire of skills will be knowledgeable regards commercial roofing and its maintenance requirements. They will also be well aware that the roof of their commercial building is an asset and therefore should be maintained regularly and all work recorded for future reference. However for the small medium business (SMB) it is highly unlikely that there will be a designated professional building manager it is far more probable that someone has undertaken the task as one of several responsibilities. This situation makes sense as there is not going to be everyday issues to manage so it is much more cost effective to give someone the responsibility as part of their general duties. Another option of course is to outsource the role of building manager to a third party. The problem though is not quite as simply resolved as that unfortunately. deluxeroofing.ca

3. The issue that will occur with delegating the task in-house is that some unfortunate soul will have to learn at least some of the common maintenance requirements and local regulations and remember the roof is only one of many. On the other hand outsourcing the building management to a third party is also fraught with problems as building management covers a wide area of knowledge and skills of which commercial roof management and maintenance is only a small part. A third option therefore is to go about seeking a specialist commercial roof maintenance company, but to get any sense out of them or at least anything you can understand you will need to learn a lot of the industry terms and jargon. So let’s first look at what type of roof you have? deluxeroofing.ca

4. Table of Contents • Types of Commercial Roofs. • Spray Polyurethane Foam Roofing. • Single-Ply Membrane Roofing. • Metal Roofing. • Shingle Roofing. • Built-Up Roofing. • Some things you should know about Commercial Roofing. • End. deluxeroofing.ca

5. Types of commercial roofs If you are looking for a maintenance contract or planning a new roof for a renovation program there are several things you will need to know when asking or more profoundly answering questions of prospective contractors. One of the most common questions you will be asked about is the type of roofing that you have or want. So let’s consider the roofing material most commonly used in commercial buildings. deluxeroofing.ca

6. Spray Polyurethane Foam Roofing Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) has been around since the early 1960’s and was used primarily in the roofing industry for use in commercial and manufacturing buildings. Applying SPF requires little or no preparation work as the existing roofing material doesn’t need to be stripped down. This makes the application of SPF very convenient as all it requires is spraying the chemical across the entire roof surface. As the SPD liquid changes into foam it expands and creates a hard impervious layer across the entire surface of the roof. Some things to know about SPF as a roofing system are that it can be used in any climate as it provides good thermal insulation, and is a barrier to air and moisture. Also because it is applied by spraying the entire roof in a single application this results in a seamless and elastic coat that can expand and contract with the building so it is highly resistant to cracking. This also makes it very durable and waterproof as there are no cracks or flaws for water to penetrate. An important aspect today when considering a new commercial roofing system is that SPF is environmentally friendly. deluxeroofing.ca

7. Single-Ply Membrane Roofing This commercial roofing system consists of layers of rubber membrane that are ballasted, fixed or glued to roof insulation in order to prove a strong weather resistant protective cover. A well installed roof can last for up to thirty years. This type of roofing material is very common and has been battle-tested over time in commercial roofing projects. Some things to know about single-ply membrane are that there are two types with different qualities for heat retention or reflection. TPO is white and highly reflective while EPDM is black and retains heat well. Both have excellent fire resistant qualities. One drawback to Single-Ply Membrane roofing is that because of the nature of the thin layers of rubber membrane and the lack of a hard protecting shell-like cover it can be easily punctured. This can simply be through dropped tools or by people installing Radio Antennae without having any knowledge of the consequence and the damage that they are doing. deluxeroofing.ca

8. Metal Roofing This is possibly one of the oldest types of roofing material used in commercial building and industry. The most common material used is galvanized and corrugated steel but tin and aluminum are also commonly used as well. Like SPD apply a new metal roof does not require the old roofing material to be stripped away as the metal roof can be simply laid on top. This keeps installation cost, effort and time down. Once the roofing has been laid a protective layer of coating is applied to protect it from the elements. Some things to be aware of with metal roofs are that they are very versatile and come in many colours and materials. They are also strong and durable and can stand up to high winds and heavy snow falls. They are very energy efficient is so much as they are made from recycled material but are poor insulators as metal is a very good conductor. This means they will get very hot in summer and cold in winter. However, there are a couple of other drawbacks one of which is the higher upfront investment and the fact that you will need to consider adding an insulation layer yourself which is additional expense. deluxeroofing.ca

9. Shingle Roofing This type of roofing material is typically only used in commercial building for cladding steep slopes. It is far more commonly used in residential buildings. Shingle roofing can be made out of a wide variety of materials but there are generally two types Asphalt Shingles and Architectural Shingles. Typically Asphalt Shingles are used as they are the cheapest general purpose roofing material available. Architectural Shingles are heavier and multilayer shingles that are used for durability and additional waterproofing. Something to know about Shingle roofing is that it is not commonly used except on building with sloping roofing. However when it is used it can be very durable – more due to the sloping roof - but if damaged small areas are easily repaired. deluxeroofing.ca

10. Built-Up Roofing This is a common term you will hear when discussing commercial roofing as it has been if commercial and industrial use for over a century. You may also hear them described as tar and gravel roofs but they are the same thing. The roofing system consists of alternate layers of asphalt and a supporting material. The amount of layers applied is up to you and the final top layer will consist of stones or gravel. However you should be aware that the greater the number of layers is not necessarily better. For example the more layers there are the harder it may be to detect the location of a leak. This is simply because with a single or double layer you can usually correctly estimate that the crack or puncture in the membrane is directly above where the water damage is. However the more layers that you pile on creates planes for the water to travel along making finding the source of a leak very difficult. Something else you should know about Built-Up roofing is that it is very durable and long-lasting – if well installed and maintained it could last up to 40 years. However, if you are considering replacing an existing roof then today with a noticeable shift in businesses seeking out the environment friendly solutions we should also consider two other types of commercial roofing: deluxeroofing.ca

11. : • Photo-voltaic Solar Panels PV Solar Panels are finding increasing use in commercial roofing application. Often they are used alongside single-layer membrane systems. The benefits of using PV Solar Panels are that they absorb direct sunlight convert it to electrical energy and store it in batteries. This eco-friendly form of electricity can then be used to partially power the building. However, when using PV solar panels that are harvesting this free form of energy is not always as it seems. For instance the initial cost cannot be related to the amount of energy harvested. Therefore anyone doing this must do due diligence on the cost/benefit analysis. It might take a disproportional amount of time to retrieve the amount spent against the money saved. . deluxeroofing.ca

12. Green Roofing One of the most popular and fastest growing ways to cover a flat roof on a commercial building is to plant a roof garden. This is done by planting vegetation and plants on top of a waterproofing membrane. However these green roofing systems are not just good to look at they actually are very energy efficient. This is because they sock up the excess heat produced by urban life reducing the so called heat island effect. Furthermore they are highly effective ways to insulate and protect a commercial building. This means they can dramatically reduce energy costs and at the same time extend the life expectancy of the roof. Something though that you should be aware of is that you will need planning permission as well as a structural engineer’s certificate. deluxeroofing.ca

13. Some things you should know about Commercial Roofing How that we have been introduced to some of the most common materials and systems we can turn our attention to learning how we should best maintain it. After all a commercial roof is an asset and if we don’t look after it we will eventually have to replace it and that can be very expensive. For example, to replace a commercial roof with SPF or Single-Ply Membrane will cost around $7 per square foot. Therefore it is important to avoid this unnecessary and disruptive exercise by looking after the roof as best we can. To this end it is important to monitor all roof activity i.e. who and when and for what purpose they accessed the roof. Also it is helpful to log any work carried out and any scheduled periodic maintenance. deluxeroofing.ca

14. Inclement weather can be a major cause of damage to a flat or gentle sloping commercial roof as snow and water can collect and damage the roof. Despite flat roofs being engineered and designed to support heavy weights such as drifting snow and accumulated rainfall older or poorly maintained roofs have been known to collapse under the strain. Another often overlooked issue caused by inclement weather that is common in northern Europe and Canada is a thing called an Ice Dam. These are common in colder climes and they can form blocking the natural drainage run offs on flat or pitches roofs. The result is water builds up behind the Ice Dam and starts to permeate the roofing material and seep into the underlying infrastructure. Overtime this can rot supporting beams and cause real structural damage if not a complete cave in. Further to knowing about the technical roofing issues you must become conversant with the local regulatory codes and practices. For example, in Canada and in many other countries a commercial roof must have a fire resistance UL Class A rating. There are three UL ratings, Class A, Class B, and Class C. Where Class A is the most resistant to flame spreading and hence the certificate you will require to be in regulatory compliance. deluxeroofing.ca

15. End Now that we can understand what commercial roofing is about we can move forward to hiring a competent professional company to do the job. You will need a local company which if expert in your type of commercial roof. For example in Delux Roofing Canada we have a company that can serve business across the country with a comprehensive range of commercial roofing services. They are vastly experienced in installing maintaining and repairing all the roofing types as they have decades of experience in the roofing industry. If you are requiring a trusted commercial roofing contractor to manage all your roofing requirements or just need expert advice and consultation in Canada then they may be what you are looking for. deluxeroofing.ca

16. The End Find out more, Please Visit- : https://deluxeroofing.ca/commercial-roofing/ deluxeroofing.ca