Protecting Your Roof In The Face Of An Impending Storm

When you see that hurricane bearing down on you, what are some of the last minute things you can do to ensure that your roof will weather the storm? Let’s go over 7 proven steps.

1. The number one item for protecting a roof against a storm is to be certain that air conditioning unit covers are attached with all the required screws. Most damage to roofs comes from items already on the roof. The worst culprits are mechanical units and their screen enclosures. Air conditioning units, ventilator fans, satellite dishes, antennae, and the like are all potential debris during a storm. We often reflect here at RAMCON about Hurricane Andrew sending an unsecured 30-ton air conditioning units rolling across a roof. But the most common damage during all of the storms was from air conditioning unit cover panels that were not completely secured. Similarly, ventilator fans lost the covers and antennae lost arms. All of these sharp metal pieces caused long rows of gashes as they blew across the roof and dug into the membrane, allowing direct water intrusion.
2. Put satellite dishes, small air conditioning units and cell phone cable trays on stands and secure them to the structure rather than putting them on wood sleepers or holding them in place with concrete blocks. Concrete blocks and sleepers will blow around in a heavy storm. Strap the equipment to the stand with metal straps to keep them in place. 
3. Check the lightning protection system to be sure that the cables are well secured to walls and tight on the roof. Be sure the air terminals are well attached to the system. The cables will move during the storm and the air terminals with their sharp points will poke holes in the roof. 
4. Secure condensate lines. The wood blocks normally used to support condensate lines gouge the roof as the pipes are blown back and forth, slicing and damaging the system.
5. Check the roof for weak spots like torn flashings and loose perimeter metal accessories. Reinforce weak gravel stops and copings to be sure they will stay in place.
6. Clean debris off the roof and check to see that drains are free-flowing and not cluttered with debris. Check gutters and downspouts to be sure they are well-secured and not clogged. Remember, water weighs 62lbs a cubic foot and your structure is unlikely designed to handle such heavy loads. 
7. Know what is on the roof and its current condition. During the past few storms, insurance companies have sometimes denied claims based on prior damage. They argue that they have no way of knowing what damage existed prior to the storm so they are not responsible for any damage that has occurred. A smart move is to schedule a RAMCON inspection now to document the condition. As a RAMCON client, it’s free and a smart move.

Hurricanes don’t have to mean a total loss for a roof. If the roof is well-designed — with wind events included as a part of the total package of design parameters — properly installed and well-maintained by RAMCON, it has a solid chance of weathering the storm.

Weathering the Storm: BUR versus TPO/PVC/EPDM

What happens when high velocity winds meet your roofing system? Well, there’s no simple answer and no way to predict precisely which roofs will have trouble; Mother Nature is just unpredictable. Sometimes, on buildings with the same type of roof that are located side by side, one roof blows off or suffers other catastrophic damage while the other roof has very little damage. Let’s compare the two most common styles of roofing in Florida.

Built-Up Roofing Systems (BUR)
The tried and true performers of roofs that weather storms are conventional built-up or modified bitumen membranes fully adhered, especially when they are adhered to a structural concrete deck. Historically, after a major storm, many have puncture damage to flashings and cuts as a result of flying debris, but the roofs stay intact and in place. Gravel-surfaced, built-up roofs fared slightly better than the modified bitumen systems because the gravel that was well embedded in the flood coat provided protection from flying debris. The weight of the gravel also helped keep the roof down. Unfortunately, most of the built-up roofs lost a good portion of the gravel surfacing, causing other damage to surrounding buildings, but the roofs that the gravel came from suffered the least amount of punctures.

Less effective, but still very good, were the modified bitumen and built-up systems mechanically attached to steel decks. The asphalt-based roof systems that were attached to lightweight concrete or gypsum deck tended to have more wind-related damage than others. Generally, the membrane stayed intact, but sections pulled up from the deck, leaving the membrane loose on the roof but looking as if nothing had happened to it. With lightweight concrete and gypsum decks, whether the roof stayed in place mostly depended on the condition of the lightweight concrete or gypsum and its ability to resist fastener withdrawal.

Single-Ply Roofing Systems (TPO/PVC/EPDM)
Fully adhered single-ply membranes resisted blow off about as well as asphalt systems but were more susceptible to damage from flying debris. Almost all types of flexible membrane systems suffered cuts and punctures during the storms. There was one exception: Roofs that had no mechanical units or other penetrations were almost always free of puncture damage.

Overall, fully adhered single-ply membranes were more hurricane-resistant than mechanically attached systems. The mechanically attached systems weathered the storms well as long as they remained intact. Once the membrane was cut, the incidence of blown-off membranes increased. Wind is able to get into the cuts, so the roof was subject not only to negative pressure above the membrane — which pulled the membrane up — but also to positive pressure from underneath, which pushed the membrane up.

Because roofs are mostly designed for uplift pressures only, the wind was able to loosen poorly fastened screws. This causes a ripple effect: one screw pulls out, putting extra stress on those around it, which in turn causes them to pull out. This cycle repeats itself until the membrane comes all the way off.

Move Up The List

In the case of a disaster like a hurricane, it is not going to be just one building or business that is going to be affected. The damage is going to be widespread and you’ll need a fast response time and a plan.

So, how do you ensure that you and your facility will receive the quickest response possible? With RAMCON, it’s easy. Simply call us at (877) 726-1661 and we’ll make sure that the information for your facilities is automatically in our dispatch system. We’ll exchange emergency contact information and make sure that you also have the information you need from us, such as a W9, Certificates of Insurance, etc. At RAMCON, we know that you can’t put a price or value on being able to be back up and running and serving your customers with minimal down time or interrupted service.

When a storm strikes, RAMCON service teams are up and running within hours, running several shifts per day 24/7. We can respond to leaks and emergency damage immediately. With over 50,000 square feet of material and equipment in inventory (more than a lot of distributors), we have in stock what it takes to solve almost any problem.

Make sure you call RAMCON this week at (877) 726-2661, speak with one of our customer service representatives and ensure that all is ready if and when you need us.

Inheriting A Neglected Roof

If you are a building owner or manager who takes the reins of a facility where no Preventative Maintenance (PM) plan has been initiated, there are important steps to take. In trying to transition from a reactive to a proactive system of roof maintenance—where there has been no budget for PM and there are too many problems to resolve using corrective action—it is even more important to set priorities and follow a plan to move forward toward PM.

Active leaks should be the first priority, since those will likely cause additional damage to a roof system and related areas. Because these priority repairs impact roof conditions and performance, these actions will help protect the current roof from further deterioration and eliminate the majority of active leaks.

Next up is removal of problematic or failing roof areas. You should spend capital dollars where the funds will have the greatest impact, not solely based on the age of a component or other single factor. Removal of failing areas will prevent further spending on repairs that offer a low, or even negative, return on investment.

The third step is tackling the lower priority (non-leaking) roof deficiencies and performing regularly scheduled PM activities. These actions preserve the current condition of the roof, bringing it into a more predictable and maintainable condition. This step also begins the process of pro-actively limiting future leaks into the building.

The fourth step is to replace aged roof assets, thus reducing or eliminating the reactive and costly spending that often takes place late in the roof life cycle. Timely and systematic replacement of older and weathered assets helps to preserve future capital budgets.

The fifth and final step is to begin repairs, renovations, and upgrades to current roof membranes and components. These actions extend roof service life and reduce future capital spending in the short-term by pushing out the costs of currently projected replacements in the next three to five years. This also reduces future long-term spending, since the average cycle of roof replacement is extended.

Regardless of what stage of roof maintenance planning you are in, it will always be true that a PM is a smarter and more cost-effective measure to take than reactive spending. The sooner you can transition from reactive to proactive spending for the roofing system, the better off your facilities will be.

RAMCON Project Featured on Firestone Building Products Website

RAMCON is proud to have been a part of the building of the Glazer Children's Museum in downtown Tampa, installing the roof, which is now featured in the Firestone Building Products website in their Project Portfolio. Check out the links below.

http://www.firestonebpco.com/portfolio/metal/Glazer/
http://www.firestonebpco.com/portfolio/asphalt/Glazer/

Proactive Roof Management

 A leak doesn’t need to be the first sign of roof trouble
There is a great deal of information supporting the fact that planned/preventive maintenance (PM) is key to performance and longevity for any building component. Every building owner and manager knows that an effective PM program helps balance available resources against degrees of potential risk and improves financial results by reducing total cost of ownership (TCO). This basic tenet is especially true in the case of PM as a cost-effective tool to manage roof performance.

When it comes to roofs, “out of sight, out of mind” thinking often prevails, since this facility component is not always viewed as having the same risk level as others. PM programs for roofing are often sacrificed in favor of other maintenance budget initiatives; yet, in the long run, the payback for the facility is every bit as beneficial. When a roof failure occurs, it can affect critical space and operations, and the results can be costly.

Leak Repair Is Often Too Little, Too Late
Leaks are caused by a myriad of issues that are usually only discovered when RAMCON performs a thorough investigation. Maintenance delays can increase damage and repairs, reducing roof life.

Leaks that are discovered for the first time when water enters a facility are among the most common problems related to roof performance. By the time that happens, repair needs are often significant, with the added possibility of business interruption and internal damage.

The potential threats and/or costs from a roof leak are numerous. These include emergency repairs, damage to interior finishes, structural problems, harm to inventory or equipment, damage to roof system itself, mold remediation, loss of R-value and business interruption. Emergency leak repairs (which are reactive measures) are not a replacement for proactive roof PM programs. PM targets likely areas on a roof where defects will be corrected with a minor, less expensive repair. Roof systems require regular maintenance, and manufacturers mandate this in order to keep warranties in effect.

The Economics of a Roof Leak

Every building owner or manager at one time or another faces this dilemma: When is roof replacement a better option than continued roof maintenance? Of course, the ideal answer to this question is never. But it is rare that a roof’s service life equals the service life of the rest of the building.

The more obvious answer to the question is that when the roof is no longer watertight — its primary function — roof replacement may be the better option. In other words, when leaks become intolerable, it is time to replace the roof.

But when do leaks become intolerable? Is leak tolerance the best or most cost-effective reason to make a huge capital investment? A central element in the roof-replacement decision for managers is determining when leaks become bad enough to mandate replacement.

The Economics of Leaks
In some cases, a financial model can help managers determine when roof maintenance has reached the point of diminishing returns, in which case you are simply throwing away good money to repair leaks on a roof that will have to be replaced within a matter of time anyway. As much as we preach preventive maintenance (PM) for roof systems, at some point PM becomes useless.

It is difficult to justify the capital expense of replacing a roof, especially when that money could go toward buying new equipment and systems that would benefit the organization’s bottom line. But roof leaks also can hurt the bottom line. Consider these real-world examples:

Interior damage. Roof leaks that damage ceiling tiles, carpet, furniture, and computers are common, but the damage can be much more severe. For example, one school lost its gymnasium floor due to damage from roof leaks. The school had to cancel or move athletic events and replace the floor, at a cost of $500,000.
Operations downtime. A roof leak for one building owner shut down operations for a day, costing the company an estimated $700,000 in revenue.

Damaged products. A retail store recently lost more than $40,000 worth of products due to one roof leak.
Lost business. Roof leaks forced one hotel to close its top floor — its priciest rooms — for three weeks, causing significant lost revenue.

Upset Tenants. In today’s market, it’s tough enough to find tenants, yet alone keep them. Leaks encourage tenants to seek rent reductions and seek ways out of their leases.

We must incorporate all of these factors into any life-cycle cost analysis in trying to justify a roof replacement. Granted, for any of you who have not gone through the cost-justification process, projected costs are only predictions. But to neglect figuring in these costs is misleading and provides a false sense of security. A smart course of action is to have RAMCON perform a free roof analysis that will tell you if your roof can be economically maintained or if you are flushing money down the drain.