Flat Roofing Installation in Lancaster, PA
If you’ve looked around your neighborhood, you see sloped roofs. These residential roof’s consist mostly of shingle. Sometimes the slope is steep, sometimes not so much. But you might be wondering why large commercial buildings have flat roofs? Well, there are a couple reasons, and they all come back to cost. A flat roof costs less and is easier to construct. Additionally, they’re easier to work on and navigate on during construction due to being flat. These characteristics lend themselves to being cheaper and easier to heat and cool due to the ease of locating the units up on the roof; while keeping the ducting all in the ceiling.
It all simply comes down to money and convenience. An interesting side note, most ‘flat roofs’ aren’t actually flat. They all generally have some slight slope to them, and are sloped towards drains on the roof which are essential unless you enjoy rooftop pools after every heavy rain!
Installation and Repair in Lancaster Pa
Preparing for a flat roof replacement
Flat Roof Installation
So what should a flat roof installation look like? Well first and foremost, in today’s climate of material delays and the workload most commercial roofing companies are juggling, expect to wait a little while between signing on the dotted line and the initial construction kicking off. Under the best of circumstances, 6-8 weeks is typical. Recently however, we are seeing longer delays depending on material availability. But once construction does kick off, it should be pretty straight forward.
First, the existing roof needs to come off. This could be just the membrane or it could be everything down to the decking. Expect dumpsters to be around, large mechanical lifts, and a heightened amount of construction noise. Your roofing company will minimize all of this impacting your day to day business as much as possible. Thankfully for most new roof installations, It is rare for there to be any disruptions in your business operations. Once torn off, new insulation and membrane is installed. New edge metal and possibly gutters as well. Everything is buttoned up, sealed up, and cleaned up. And now you are hopefully on your way to a couple decades of leak free satisfaction!!
Some things you should expect during the process…constant communication. There should always be a foreman on site every day keeping things moving smoothly and keeping you informed of progress and anything else you may need to know. Cleanliness….the job site should stay clean at all times. After the first day, most of the work is happening up on the roof. So they should be keeping most everything up there, and not leaving any mess on the ground. Some noise….it’s a construction site. There will be some noise during construction. Just bare with them! An occasional drip or two….it is very important to keep in mind that a good commercial roofing company only removes as much roof as they can cover back up in a day, because weather can strike at any time. That being said, you are opening up the roof, so there can be a leak or two during the process. Leaks should be minimal and all precautions will always be taken to completely avoid this. But is is important to remember the roof was leaking before the roofing company arrived. Otherwise you wouldn’t be replacing it right?! So it won’t be completely sealed until the new roof is complete. So in summary, stay patient. You and your roofing company are a team on this journey. You both have the same goal; to get your roof leak-free and as quickly as possible. So talk a lot, try and avoid surprising each other, and grant each other as much patience as possible.
For additional information about replacing your commercial flat roof, be sure to check out our earlier article entitled ‘When to Repair or Replace a Commercial Flat Roof’ HERE.
Flat Roof Repair
Obviously, a repair is always more sought after than a full roof replacement. And in those times where a repair will do, you’ll be hoping it’s an easy one! Like noted above, the best way to keep your repairs small, cost effective, and infrequent; is to have yearly preventative maintenance done. By you or a licensed and qualified commercial roofer. If repairs come up during those times, they will most likely be small holes to patch or seal or other small repairs. But sometimes, it’s more than that. You either reach out to your current roofer or go looking for a roofer. All the same steps apply as when searching for a roofer to replace your roof. Get referrals if you can. When it comes to roof repairs, there really is two types of companies. Either they will charge you “time and materials” or they will have deficiency based pricing. Now time and materials is straight forward. They charge you an hourly rate for as long as it takes and then charge you for the cost of the materials. Usually the clock on the hourly rate will start on the trip to you so don’t be surprised by that. Gas is expensive!! Lol…This was the most used pricing model for a very long time. But recently, many service related companies, including roofers, have switched to a deficiency based pricing model. This means that there is a set price for every kind of repair. And you will know exactly what that price is so there won’t be any surprises or worry that the repairs might take too long and rack up the bill. But with either type of company, you should get a similar experience. The tech arrives, he inspects and finds the leaks, and then comes to you to discuss the repaired needed. Even if he doesn’t have an exact price to fix, he should be able to give you a close ballpark. If he can’t, probably should find someone else. Once the repair is complete, you should get a full picture report of the repairs, documentation of what was done, and if there is any type of warranty on the repairs. And of course, a leak free roof!
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