4 Proven Factors of Long Term Roof Performance

Maintaining institutional and commercial facilities is crucial for today’s building owners and managers. One of the most important steps in achieving this goal, is the roofing system. Why do so many organizations overlook the roofing system? In general, roofs present a host of major challenges, from specification and installation to maintenance and replacement. Plus, we all know it’s much more appealing to install a new color scheme or landscaping. However, by proactive roof management, you can free up room in your budget for the more appealing aspects of your facility. To do so, focus on these four factors. 

Choose The Right System
Choosing the right roofing system for your facility is likely the most important decision you will make. Unfortunately, there is not a ‘best roof’ out there. Each type of system has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. TPO or PVC systems might be an excellent choice for a distribution center or a roof with little foot traffic or maintenance. However, Modified Bitumen systems just might be a better solution for your facility if you have increased foot traffic or lots of rooftop equipment. We know every facility is different and has different needs. At RAMCON, we’ve installed practically every type of roofing system available and can help you to design the right system for your needs and budget.

It’s In The Installation Details
The installation crews installing your roof is a crucial factor, and in some cases, the greatest influence on roof performance. If Joe and his pickup truck roofing company does not install the roof properly, the roof will not perform up to expectations, no matter the quality of the roof design or materials. Your primary consideration when choosing a contractor is ensuring it can provide a highly experienced, skilled, and conscientious roofing crews and supervisors. At RAMCON, this is what we do best and are known for industry wide.

All Materials Are Not The Same
New and improved waterproofing products continually enter the market. Sometimes though, new and improved often means less expensive. The cost of the membrane, not its proven performance, too often is the overriding factor in choosing a roof system. Think all manufacturers are using the same material composition? Do you think some manufacturers are cutting corners? You bet! So let’s not forget the material failures of the past out of negligence…let’s choose the proven systems. Keep in mind the difference in cost between a high-quality, time-tested roofing membrane and a low-cost commodity brand is usually less than 10 percent of the system’s total cost. RAMCON has case studies to show you the proven track record of most major roofing systems.

Maintenance Matters
One of the most vital things that you can do is implement a proactive inspection and maintenance program immediately after the roof is installed. Too many times, owners and managers believe that because a warranty covers the new roof, they can ignore maintenance as it’s be covered by the warranty…WRONG. Historically, over 64.3% of all roof leaks fall outside the coverage of the manufacturer’s warranty (it’s true). The sad part is, most are completely avoidable! Practically every manufacturer mandates you perform and document routine maintenance as a condition of the warranty. With RAMCON in your arsenal, you’ll have Florida’s largest, best trained and most responsive Service Department at your disposal 24/7.

Success With Solar Roofing System Starts Long Before Installation

As commercial, industrial and institutional facilities seek ways to reduce expenses in times of rising utility costs, we are seeing a rapid influx of our clients installing photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on their rooftops. One often overlooked issue facing managers relates to the post-installation inspection and maintenance requirements for roofing systems and rooftop PV arrays to ensure both components deliver long-term performance and energy efficiency.

During the design and installation phase for the PV system, many discussions take place related to return on investment and payback. Of course, these long-term, monetary projections include some difficult assumptions. One big assumption is a long service life for the rooftop PV system.

The PV system’s longevity and success implies a long-term successful roof system underneath it. But with the installation of a rooftop PV system, the roofing system becomes more than just a roof. It becomes a permanent platform for the continuous operation, service and maintenance of the PV system that still requires its own ongoing maintenance and repair.

It’s important to consider a number of issues in order to ensure the long-term success of a rooftop PV system. Proper design, quality materials, skillful installation and regular maintenance are four key components to a successful rooftop PV system installation.

The key point we want to discuss in this article is the importance of design to ensure that the roof is compatible with the intended PV system or that it can be upgraded for use with a PV system. For a rooftop PV system, the process of integrated design — having all parties involved with a project, including solar and roofing firms — requires knowledge of both the roofing and PV industries.

At RAMCON, we assist our clients in ensuring that the following design criteria are met.
• Make sure the roofing system will provide at least 25+ years of useful service
• Specify a cover board as a substrate for the roofing membrane in order to prevent damage and to protect the energy-efficiency properties of the roof insulation
• Match the roof membrane’s thickness and proven performance to the required service life of the PV system
• Use construction details that are well established and meet the manufacturer’s requirements
• Elevate framing and conduits above the roof surface to promote drainage, which considerably reduces the potential for leaks
• Design penetrations with round framing so flashing installations are more effectively and efficiently installed, with less chances for voids and need for sealants.
• Install sacrificial membranes or walkway pads at critical traffic locations
• Make sure the rooftop PV system installation does not compromise the roofing system’s warranty, and that you’ll have in your hand an ‘intent to warranty’ from the roofing manufacturer/warranty holder.
• Ensure  that the roofing system’s manufacturer has accepted all PV system details — especially attachments and penetrations — at the design phase.

The goal is to make roofs and solar work together and not have a PV system void the warranty, increase roof maintenance expenses or shorten the roof service life. We work daily, hand in hand with our clients, to ensure they can have the best of both worlds…and at a price that fits into their budget.

Busy 2013 Hurricane Season Predicted by Meteorologists

The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is likely to be more active than usual, with 18 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes, according to the annual spring forecast of Colorado State University meteorologists. That compares with a 1981-2010 average of 12 named storms, 6.5 hurricanes and two major hurricanes each year.

We always remind our clients that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them, and they need to prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted.

The forecast was released on last Wednesday. On Thursday, the National Hurricane Center announced that “Sandy” has been retired from the six-year list of names used for tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin because of the damage and death caused by the 2012 storm in Jamaica, Cuba and the United States. Sandy is the 77th name to be retired since storms began to be named in 1950, and will be replaced with “Sara,” beginning in 2018.

How did they come up with these predictions? Well, forecasters compare meteorological and water temperature conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the conditions that occurred each year between 1981 and 2010 to come up with their predictions. This year, they say, the above-average forecast is being triggered by unusually warmer temperatures in the tropical Atlantic during the past few months and the low chance of an El Nino event occurring this summer and fall. El Nino is a warmer-than-average surface water pattern in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean that has been shown to increase wind shear in the Atlantic that obstructs the formation of hurricanes, and correlates to fewer hurricanes. La Nina, which is colder than average water temperatures, tends to reduce shear in the Atlantic, increasing the number of hurricanes. This year’s neutral Pacific water temperature conditions, when combined with other factors, points to a more active season.

The second key factor is warmer than normal sea surface temperatures from January through March in the tropical region of the Atlantic Ocean, where hurricanes form. The forecast said past years with similar warmer winter to spring sea surface temperatures have seen weaker trade winds and westerly high-level shearing winds, lower than normal sea level pressures and above-normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic during the following August to October period.

The weaker trade winds make it easier for patches of thunderstorms to gather as tropical waves move across the Atlantic, while the slower upper level winds allow the storm clouds to grow taller. Lower than normal sea level pressures, again, allow thunderstorms to be created more quickly, while the higher temperature surface water provides the heat source for those clouds. As the thunderstorms grow, there’s a greater chance they’ll form tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes. The forecasters predict a 96 percent chance of a hurricane hitting somewhere along the U.S. coast, compared to a long-term average of 84 percent, and an 80 percent chance of a hurricane hitting somewhere along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, compared to the long-term average of 60 percent.

For more information on how to protect your roofing system, please visit www.ramconroofing.com/stormproof.htm