Evaluating The Roofing System After A Storm

You can’t do much to repair or maintain a roof while the storm is underway; a roof isn’t a safe place to be in bad weather. First and foremost, if you sense problems during a storm like ceiling tiles falling or sprinklers popping, indications that the roof may be caving in, you’ll want to evacuate the building immediately. Once you’ve taken all the steps you can to ensure the roof will weather the storm (best achieved with an inspection from RAMCON), what happens when it’s over? It’s wise to perform a post storm roof inspection.

Evaluate the Damage

As soon as it’s safe to examine the roof, it’s important that we do so. RAMCON has teams that specialize in post-storm inspections and can quickly and effectively inspect the roof for any substantial damage. As we review the system, taking action may be warranted. Anything that’s causing leaks is top priority and needs attention as soon as possible. Damage to the membrane, such as cuts, punctures and voids, needs to be addressed. It’s also vital to check the roof drains and gutters to see if they became clogged, which is common in a strong storm with debris flying around. Similarly, we’ll need to see whether any metal flashings have come loose, creating a risk of water getting behind the flashing and into the facility. If the roof has multiple levels, we will pay particular attention to the intersections of the walls and roof levels to make sure nothing has been dislodged. Also on the checklist: listening for a crunching sound as we walk the roof. That may indicate that the roof actually was lifted by the storm and is settling back into place as you walk over it, if that happens, we need to check it further. We may see that the fasteners have backed up and penetrated the roof membrane, so that they may cause leaks when the next storm hits. Several areas warrant checking that might not be apparent at first glance. For instance, we confirm that all penetrations and penetration flashings remain firmly attached to the roof. The same goes for any equipment screens, which should be “storm-worthy for the next event”. While roof maintenance often takes a back seat to other priorities on your “To-Do” list, it is an important part of managing and looking after the asset. An ongoing maintenance program can prevent more serious and
costly problems down the road.

Staying Sharp This Storm Season

“It’s been several years since the last bad hurricane, so you can get complacent,” says Rodger Osborne, director of facilities for the Martin County School district, one of the areas hit hardest by Frances, and then Jeanne three weeks later in 2004. “This taught us to inspect all roof installations more closely. It’s something we just can’t take for granted.”

A roof is rarely noticed unless there is a problem, but nothing brings it to the forefront of people’s minds like a storm that damages it or blows it off altogether. Sometimes, damage caused by hurricanes is unavoidable, as when flying debris punctures the roof. More often, though, roof damage can be prevented.

The first and most important part of preparedness, and an important lesson from the 2004 hurricane season, is that a preventive roof maintenance program is critical. While the new, more stringent roof codes are well-and-good for new facilities or new roof installations, facilities with older roofs are certainly at much greater risk for more extensive hurricane damage.

Considering the unpredictability of hurricane paths, facility executives may have only a few days to prepare. If facility executives keep up a rigorous preventive maintenance routine, the roof has a better chance of weathering the storm without facility staff having to scramble to make last minute preparations or repairs. Of course, even if the roof has been kept up, some disaster mitigation preparations are still in order.

Experts recommend having an experienced, knowledgeable, contractor do a complete inspection of the roof prior to the storm to pick up any loose items, such as screws, nuts or loose pieces of metal flashing, and taking down other objects that could be dislodged, such as satellite dishes or antennas. This could also be extremely beneficial after a storm, should there be damage and insurance claims, and documentation become necessary.

To have your roof thoroughly inspected, simply call one of our Customer Service Representatives today at 877-726-2661

3 Creative Ways To Find The Best Roofing Contractor

Finding a well-qualified roofing contractor for your roofing portfolio seems to be getting tougher these days. The tough economy over the past few years has left many firms barely afloat and hundreds have simply gone out of business. The common response is to “ask for 3 references”. While we certainly have hundreds we are proud of, doesn’t this concept seem flawed? Do you really expect a reference provided by the company to say something bad?!? Instead, try these three innovative ways to find the best.

Talk to the Warranty Holder

While they might not want their comments made public, they will certainly know who the good contractorsare in the area. Every manufacturer keeps quality ratings on their contractors. Think about it, manufacturers are inclined to have quality contractors install the roof perfectly. The better the installation, the lower the incurred warranty expenses. The reason the manufacturer wants a good contractor is the same as you…the roof doesn’t leak! Speak with the major manufacturers, such as Johns Manville, Firestone as well as specialty manufacturers such as Tremco.

Call the Roofing Distributors

Some of the best people to ask are the roofing supply companies. While these companies will not want to appear to favor certain contractors over others, because they sell to all of them, they will generally be willing to tell you who the really competent contractors are. They know who does good work and they certainly know who pays them promptly, which is a pretty good indication of the financial strength of the roofer in question. When you place a call you need to assure whomever you are talking to that you will not reveal their input/participation. The conversation will be “off the record”. Most of these people will then be very glad to help. In Florida, call Beacon Supply and ABC/Bradco Supply, as they have offices throughout the

state.

Creative Specification Writing

By writing your bid specifications “creatively” you can also narrow down the field to the better contractors. Most major roofing manufacturers give awards to contractors for doing high quality work. They give them names like “Master Contractor” or “Pinnacle Council”. By specifying that a bidder must be a “Master Contractor” can limit some of your exposure to poor quality work. Additionally, having a significant insurance requirement keeps financially susceptible firms at bay and focuses your exposure to solid contractors.

What Is Thermal Infared Imaging?

Infrared light or thermography is the use of an infrared imaging and measurement camera to “see” and “measure” thermal energy emitted from an object. Thermal, or infrared energy, is light that is not visible because its wavelength is too long to be detected by the human eye; it’s the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we perceive as heat. Unlike visible light, in the infrared world, everything with a temperature above absolute zero emits heat. Even very cold objects, like ice cubes, emit infrared.

Infrared Thermal Imaging
The higher the object’s temperature, the greater the IR radiation emitted. Infrared allows us to see what our eyes cannot. Our infrared cameras produce images of invisible infrared or “heat” radiation and provide precise non-contact temperature measurement capabilities. It is a valuable diagnostic tool to identify saturated insulation areas without the need for destructive testing.

How It Applies To Your Roof
During the daytime, wet roof insulation absorbs much more solar heat than dry insulation. During the night, this “solar gain” is released as radiant heat, which is detectable with the infrared camera.

The RAMCON Team use state-of-the-art cameras to capture the “thermal signature” of the roof’s nighttime heat loss. As you can see in the example photos below, the infrared image pinpoints the extent of moisture damage within the roof.

Our inspection teams precisely mark out the damaged areas on the roof surface, so you can save the expense and liability of destructive testing. This allows us to calculate the cost of unit cost replacements before the project even starts…something practically no one else can match!

Case Study: RAMCON Saves Owner $27,999

Our “Case Study” reports are designed to illustrate various ways we have helped clients so that you can begin to discover ways to utilize what we do. All names have been changed to protect confidentiality.

The Call From The Client
One September day we received a call from a client with many “retail” buildings, here is their story:

“We have a problem. We developed a leak on a roof still under warranty at our “ABC” location. The manufacturer came out to investigate and advised us that since the roof was covered in 3” of leaves, they would be unable to find the leak until the leaves were removed. The store manager decided to “help” the issue along and sent a crew of store employees on the roof with shovels and rakes to remove the vegetation. They removed the vegetation and punched “hundreds, if not thousands” of holes in the roof. When it rained the next week, there were literally hundreds of leaks. The manager had to close down portions of the store because of all the water that was pouring in. When the manufacturer came back he advised us, and we agreed, that the roof needs to be replaced in the areas where we damaged it. The problem now is that the manufacturer has brought out a contractor and they have given us a price of over $44,000 for this work. It sounds like a lot of money. Could you take a look at it and see what you think?”

Our Role
We inspected the roof and our estimating team priced the exact same repair specifications for $17,000 less than the previous contractor. As you can imagine, the owner was happy and no leaks have reoccurred, but read on.

There Was More
While on the roof we also found a number of other problems, all warranty related, which we then brought to the attention of the manufacturer. The manufacturer agreed with our findings and then arranged to replace approximately 65% of the rest of the roof with brand new material at no cost to the owner. (The value of this work would have been approximately $40,000). Imagine how happy the owner is now? If we had not found this problem (no one else had noticed these issues, including; the manufacturer’s rep, his inspector, and the contractor) the owner would have also had this expenditure to pay when the warranty expired.

Conclusion
We cannot always cut the price of your project by half, but one of our skills is to know how to address specific problems to ensure you get the best possible price. Building managers often align themselves with a roofer because that is who they have always used, but they are often unaware of quality concerns and the ability to save thousands. We can often save “real” money over what you might otherwise have had to pay.

Join RAMCON at the 2012 Florida Building and Facility Maintenance Show

April 25th - 26th: 2012
Booth #609

Stop by and see us at the 2012 Florida Building and Facility Maintenance show at the Florida State Fairgrounds this month. This is an excellent opportunity to meet members of the RAMCON team and put a face with a name. Doors open at 10:00 am and close at 3:00 pm.

There are also numerous free educational sessions focusing specifically around building maintenance and operation throughout the day. For more information, visit www.fb-fm.com. For a VIP ticket getting you free access, courtesy of RAMCON, simply call one of our Customer Service Representatives at 877-726-2661.

“Your” Problem Case Study

Our “Case Study” reports are designed to illustrate various ways we have helped clients so that you can discover ways to utilize what we do to your benefit. All names have been changed to protect confidentiality, but this case study is different because it is about you. You have this problem.

“YOUR” Problem

We, of course, have not verified (well, at least not yet!) that you have had this problem on one of your buildings, but we see this problem so much that the odds are overwhelming that you have it or you will.

Do you see the problem?

The arrows certainly are a big clue. The white arrow points to original sealant, the gray to another layer and the black points to a second repair. So, we have a leaking termination bar, don’t we? NO! We do not. This owner is wasting money, because they kept sending another roofer out to fix this problem. The problem here is the masonry. The wall leaks. The second photograph, below, is actually the other side of the same wall. As you can see, there is visible evidence of water damage on the wall. (This is often not the case.)

This problem is a reflection of poor management practice and improper training. While we understand sometimes it takes more than one attempt to solve a complicated leak on some roofs, the roofs on both sides of this wall are fully exposed single ply roofs. It doesn’t get any easier to find a leak than on these.

Anytime you have an ongoing leak that leaks more than twice you assume that the problem is not the roof and begin to ask what else might be leaking. It could be masonry, it could be copings, it could be windows, it could be many other things, which our technicians at RAMCON are trained to identify.

One of our greatest goals with our clients is to help them save money. This is generally very easy to do. This particular property was a shopping center. We train our technicians on how to identify if the leak is roof related or not,and then we directly contact you if we discover otherwise. Instead of spending $500-800 dollars fixing something that wasn’t leaking, you can dispatch a window contractor to fix the window leak, etc.

We can do the same for you. Give us a call next time you have a complicated leak at (813) 663-9667.