To some degree, commercial roofing maintenance or roof replacement projects can cause some disruptions to the building’s tenants. However, putting off or delaying these maintenance or replacement jobs for convenience will cause costly, and harmful issues that will be even more disruptive and problematic.

Thankfully, there are a few actions that the building management can take to limit the distractions and downtime caused by a commercial roofing maintenance, repair or replacement job. In this post, Pro Quality Construction Inc., shares these actions, and more below.

Explain the Reroofing or Maintenance Process

Not everyone will be familiar with what’s going on with your roofing system. So it would be fair to inform your tenants and give them a brief rundown of the roof replacement process, as well as giving them brief updates on the progress of the project so that they can adjust accordingly. You can brief them on the project by using email blasts, or posting a notice on the community board, or the lobby, and should include details such as:

The start and ending dates of the roof replacement or maintenance job.
The general timeline of the roof replacement project.
The kind of noise and smell they can expect from the project.
Informing them if their parking slots are affected.
Parts of the building that will not be accessible during the renovation period.
Copy of scheduled HVAC shutdown if your roofing contractor will have to adjust your HVAC system as well.

It’s worth noting that the building owners and the management are the ones mainly responsible for informing the tenants of these disruptions to their daily activities. Your roofing contractors cannot communicate with the building tenants without written permission given by the building owners or management.

Set Realistic Timelines and Have a Contingency In Mind

It goes without saying that the tenants will have to adjust their work schedule for the time being, based on the timeline that you’ve given them. With that said, it’s important to set tangible deadlines. Don’t move forward trying to rush a roofing project, as that is a fast track to disaster. Granted, there are many uncontrollable factors, such as the weather, and hidden roofing issues that can affect the timeline. This is why it’s important to clearly communicate with your roofers regarding their emergency plans in case the weather stays gloomy for consecutive days.

Communicate With Your Roofing Contractor Regarding the Use of Parking Space

One of the biggest inconveniences most tenants will experience is their parking spaces being blocked out during the duration of the project. It’s ideal if all tenants still have access to their respective parking slots while the roofing project is ongoing. To ensure that the parking spaces aren’t affected, we suggest communicating with your roofing contractor as early as you can to move in all the roofing materials and equipment all at once. Make sure that they don’t use too much parking space and consume as least time as possible so that they won’t be an inconvenience to others.

Request Your Roofers to Minimize Using Stairwells and Elevators

Your roofing contractor should avoid using the main stairway and elevators as much as possible. If they have to, they should do so during off-peak hours. If the building doesn’t have a dedicated stairwell or elevator, your contractor could use a hydraulic lift to transport materials to the rooftop level.

Clean Up Construction Debris

While this should be second nature during every roofing project, your roofing contractor should be able to clean-up the construction debris after the roof maintenance or replacement project. For better clarification as to who’s responsible for doing this, make sure that you relay this concern to your roofers.

Prevent Serious Disruptions By Using Commercial Roofing Maintenance Strategies

Commercial roofing maintenance projects can be inconvenient, especially during busy times of the year. But this is a necessary endeavor to prevent serious mishaps and even larger disruptions. For instance, your commercial roofing system should be inspected at least twice a year, after experiencing serious weather events. Keep in mind that commercial roofs are more prone to water damage due to their flat surface. In turn, they have higher maintenance needs compared to your typical residential roofing system.

To prevent roofing problems from affecting other components of your commercial building, it’s important to curate a commercial roofing strategy. Here are a few helpful tips to get you started:

Digital Roofing Files. A roofing file is a document that contains records of your roof repair and maintenance jobs. It should contain the roof’s installation date, the manufacturer, the brand of the roofing materials, the roofing warranty, maintenance records, photos, as well as the contractor’s personal notes. It’s still a great idea to keep a physical record of the file, but having a digital, cloud storage backup of the file can help you easily go back to it for reference and update it in the future.

Roof Access Control. Your roofing contractor would ideally want to control all the access towards your roofing system. After all, high foot traffic can shorten the lifespan of your roofing system. It’s a good idea to create a policy on how tenants and personnel can access the rooftop. This can be done by having an activity log by recording the purpose of their visit to the rooftop, and only allowing them in for valid reasons.

Regular Inspections. Aside from your regular bi-annual inspections, commercial roofing systems should be inspected after a serious weather event. Keep in mind that no matter how strong your roof is, it will eventually show signs of damage as it ages. Even if there are no signs of damage on the surface, there could be some underlying signs that could only be spotted by the eyes of a trained inspector. And by the time that these signs start to become visible, it could have already worsened.

Remember that maintenance can only do so much. You should pick the proper roofing materials that are ideal for your area’s climate, personal budget and aesthetic choices. Some good options for your consideration include built-up roofs, metal roofing systems, or single-layer roof membranes. All of these roofing systems have stood the test of time and handle the elements with ease, while being very easy to maintain as well.

When you need reliable roofers to check and repair your gutters, Pro Quality Construction Inc. will always get the job done professionally. Call us at (844) 499-7878. You can also fill out our online contact form.