Causes of Commercial Roof Damage and Leaks

​All roofs are the same


No matter the materials they are made from, residential and commercial roofs are the same. They can get damaged for a variety of reasons. When they do get damaged the cost to repair them can be quite high.


Unfortunately for many businesses, the roofing repair costs are far higher than a residential one. To spare the business and building owner of these repairs, it pays to know the causes of the damage so they can be avoided when possible.


To find these causes, just continue to read our article. It has the information you want to know about so you can protect your commercial roof.


The causes of commercial roof damage and leaks


No matter the damage that is done to your roof, you will always find leaks. The two go hand in hand. Here are some causes to be on the lookout for and get ready to upgrade before it gets worse.


#1. Low-quality workmanship and installation


Sadly, not every roofing professional has a solid work ethic and the results of their attitude often end up with a badly installed roof. When this happens, you will often find more than one roof leak.


If you can, filter out the different roofing companies and settle on the best even if it costs a bit more. The same can be said when you find those leaks and need them repaired.


#2. Old age


Not much can be done to avoid this problem. Commercial roofs will age out eventually and their longevity depends on the types of materials used to build the original roof.


The only thing you can do in this case, is to replace the whole roof. There will be no spots that are younger than the others and to leave any of the old roofs intact and in place is just asking for more leaks and damage.


#3. Wear & tear


While in many cases, this cause goes hand in hand with age, it is not limited to appearing with age. If your roof gets a lot of traffic or a lot of bad weather, it will wear out faster than you want it to.


When it starts to wear out, it is difficult to know exactly where the leaks originate. Sometimes it is a treasure hunt to find those leaks and patch them up. But if you see your roof starting to wear out, get your maintenance crew up there to reinforce the weaker spots to prevent future leaks.


#4. Punctures or holes in the roof membrane


These holes, etc., can be caused by any number of sources. If your rooftop is designed to let employees take a break up there, then high heels or just foot traffic can create punctures and holes.


Or the wind blew sharp debris across your roof and that debris snagged the membrane causing the damage. Whatever the source, these holes and punctures are hard to find unless they become bigger.


Once you spot a leak, get your crew up there to find and seal it before it causes greater damage.


#5. Clogged gutters & drains


Always a big factor in roof damage and roof leaks. It will happen to the best of roofs at some time. The wind can blow a lot of debris onto your roof and after a while, the rain will bring that debris to the gutters and drains.


When it does, the water backs up and causes a lot of damage to your roof. To avoid this problem make sure you regularly have someone up there cleaning those gutters and drains.


Keeping your roof nice and clean is one of the best ways to avoid any damage to your expensive roof and protect your building’s interior and contents.


#6. tree branches & other debris


Not all commercial roofs are built in the downtown core where there are no trees. Nor are they built high enough to escape the treetops and broken branches.


If your building does not escape the tree-lined areas, then tree branches and other debris, for example, leaves, will cause damage to your roof. Broken branches can fall on the roof, the wind can bring smaller branches, twigs, sticks, and leaves to your roof, and so on.


After they get blown around up there, your roof may suffer a lot of damage and cannot keep the water out of your building. Trimming those trees is one option to avoid this problem.


#7. Poor ventilation and insulation


Damage to either of these building components can let condensation and moisture inside your building. When they do get inside, they are free to cause as much harm as possible.


The best thing to do is ensure that the insulation and ventilation are not damaged and if they are, repair or replace as soon as it is feasible to do so.


Preventing damage to your commercial roof


You will not be able to prevent all the possible damage that can be done. But you certainly can cut down on the magnitude of the damage if you take the biggest step to avoid proof problems.


This big step is to have roofing experts do regular inspections. The reason you have expert roofing inspectors is that they know what to look for and where to look for possible damage.


Then when they report their findings to you and there is some type of damage on your roof, send your maintenance crew up to do the repair work. Or, if the roof is too far gone, hire a top professional roofing company to replace the roof.


Some additional words


The commercial roof is as important as the residential roof. It needs as much tender loving care as the latter because what you have inside your building may be more valuable and harder to replace than what is in a typical home.


When you need roofing inspections and repair work call our company today and see what we can do for you. Go with the best to get the best results.