Real Life Roofing HORROR Story

It’s a familiar scene from late night television: An unwary peasant, out on a moonlit night, hears an ominous sound and turns. . . There stands a vampire or werewolf. But not all horror stories are safely confined to the television set or movie screen. When it comes to the roof, blisters and leaks can be almost as terrifying as the demons of the night — and far more real.

In many cases, these real-world roofing horror stories teach important lessons; partly because they are recurrent nightmares for those of us in commercial real estate and construction.

Consider this example.
A leaky structural standing seam metal roof was only 10 years old — not old for a metal roof — but it had leaked on and off since it was installed. Because of the nature of the primary tenant, even a small amount of leakage was unacceptable.

The owner hired a roof consultant to provide plans and specifications for re-roofing the building. Because it was not feasible to remove the structural standing seam metal roof, leaving the building wide open to the weather, three separate schemes were designed to get the best price for the new roof; all were lightweight to avoid overloading the pre-engineered structure.

Because the owner also wanted to eliminate the interior gutter system, a source of much of the leakage, the drainage was redesigned to take advantage of the existing overflows, making them the primary drainage. The construction documents detailed three new overflows at each drain to be added to the precast concrete parapets to assure that water on the roof would be quickly removed. The new deck was to be supported by steel angles attached to the concrete walls.

The roof was bid without the involvement of the consultant and installed by a contractor out of Miami. Fifteen months later, it collapsed following a night of heavy rain. The original consultant was called back to determine what had happened. One look at the building from the outside told the whole story. Both the overflows and the steel angles intended to support the new deck had been eliminated by “value engineering” between the owner and this unnamed subpar contractor, who was not familiar with the design and did not understand why it was done the way it was.

Because the overflows were not installed, the estimated 9 inches of rain from the previous night could not exit through the main drainage fast enough. The weight of the water accumulated at the drain, where it overstressed the deck and the structure, and the building came down at a cost of about $2 million.

Moral: Be careful of who you trust for your roofing system.

It’s Time For Your Semi-Annual Roof Inspections!

The National Roofing Contractors Association recommends inspecting all roofs twice each year, once after the hottest weather and again after the coldest weather. These weather cycles induce the most thermal stresses on roofs and manifest the greatest damage. Roofs should also be inspected after any major weather event, such as high winds or hail. The inspection report should classify distresses as follows:

• Damage caused by storms
• Warranty repairs
• Housekeeping and cleaning

Routine maintenance should be performed regularly, thereby correcting deficiencies disclosed by the inspections. All maintenance and repair work orders and payments should be entered into the client’s database.

Never fear! Our professional technicians will visit your facility and perform our exclusive 20-point inspection to determine the condition of your system.

RAMCON can take care of all of your roofing inspections, repairs and maintenance. Simply call one of our Customer Service Representatives today at 1-877-726-2661 or email info@RAMCONRoofing.com.

Roofing Maintenance With Tight Budgets

In these times of economic uncertainty, delaying a costly roof replacement project may not only be desired, it may be a financial necessity. Tough times call for innovative and proactive thinking in regards to the roof system. As the economic downturn squeezes budgets, facility executives should reassess their long-term goals and short-term needs in regards to their facilities’ roofing systems.

Roofs fail for many reasons; the sad part is that many fail years before they should. The causes of premature roof failure include poor design, poor materials, poor installation, lack of maintenance, natural causes, man-made concerns (e.g., material defects, incorrect or lack of response to roof problems), tenant abuse, change in building use, building component failure due to incompatibility of components, and rooftop traffic by other trades. Proactive roof maintenance can often detect early signs of failing components and allow time to mitigate the concerns and increase the roof’s service life.

Now, more than ever, you really should think about a RAMCON roof maintenance program to try to extend the life of the roof and drastically reduce the leaks that develop. All roof systems require maintenance. In fact, most roof warranties require it, so failure to do so may void the warranty, bring about an early demise of the roof and result in unwanted moisture intrusion, production and work stoppages, and upset building owners and tenants. In addition to preventing the premature or untimely demise of the roof system, maintenance will extend the service life of the roof, thus promoting a key element of sustainability: long service life.
In many cases, roof systems protect 95 percent of a building owner’s assets, yet they are a relatively fragile component of a building. The roof system often is subjected to wind, hail, rain, and ultraviolet energy; as well as foot traffic and various forms of abuse from mechanical equipment. While many other building components are more visible and, tend to be maintained on a regular basis, a roof system often is overlooked.

As previously discussed, leading causes of premature roof system failure include poor roof design and installation, neglect of proper maintenance and lack of appropriate repairs. Properly maintaining the roof can extend the service life, thus deferring costly roof replacement. This can allow time for financial planning for future replacement. It also helps ensure that there are no roof-related interruptions to the building occupants, which is more important than ever given pressure on organizations to survive in these tough financial times.

Budgeting Strategies for Your Roof

Extend Roof Life...and Budget
How do you extend the life of your roof if the tough economy has caused your capital budget, and your plans for a new roof, to be slashed?

If you haven’t already, institute a comprehensive roof maintenance program; which should include a historical record of actions performed, regularly scheduled inspections, solutions and recommendations for deficiencies found upon inspection, and repairs made as needed with appropriate documentation. Make sure that repairs are actually done in a timely manner and that the repairs are done correctly.

If you’re already past the point of no return, and truly do need a new roof, but do not have the money; a full-scale roof restoration is a last resort. A roof restoration may include re-flashing all roof curbs, base flashings, roof edges and drains. There are also coating options for some types of systems that provide a temporary solution to reduce water intrusion at a substantially lower cost. While we could debate the application and designation of roof coatings, we’ll suffice to say that some work…and some do not. We have extensive experience with coatings and can show you which ones are a good application and which ones will leave you disappointed.

However, keep in mind that if the roof is really in tough shape, establish a plan for when the roof must be replaced, and present a list of options to the decision maker, along with possible consequences if the roof fails.

Inspection Strategy: The Worst Shall Be First
Don’t be one of those managers or owners whose roof requires replacement before reaching its design life, or for whom emergency repairs are needed at the worst time. In short, don’t neglect good roofs and doom them to early failure. Periodic inspection and maintenance of roofing assets are the most important elements of a successful roof-management program.

One recommended strategy might be described as “top down, bottom up.” You can succeed more quickly by focusing on roofs in the worst condition — those at the top of the priority list — while still attending to those at the bottom of the list — those in good condition and performing well. This strategy calls for directing most available funds toward putting out immediate emergencies, such as severe leaks. At the same time, some funds also must go toward prolonging the life of newer roofs.

Using this two-pronged approach, managers can ensure other roofs in their portfolios do not need to be replaced prematurely. RAMCON is here to be of assistance to you, performing evaluations to help you budget towards a dry and efficient roofing system that meets and extends its projected service life.

Roofing Trends: Roofs and Energy

As we head into the next decade, the biggest trends in the roofing industry—which are inherently connected to the direction of the entire construction industry—are related to energy efficiency and sustainability. This push towards energy efficiency begins with a well-insulated facility.

Over the past decade, higher and higher levels of insulation have been mandated with each subsequent edition of building and energy codes. The result is an increased thickness of overall roof insulation, which certainly is beneficial to a building’s energy efficiency.

Testing One, Two, Three
Roof systems are required by building codes to have minimum fire and wind resistance appropriate for the building type and location. Testing agencies, like Underwriters Laboratories and FM Approvals, perform fire and wind resistance tests and classify roof systems.

So how does this impact the energy efficiency trend? In order to achieve the maximum insulating benefit from roof systems, it is best to use at least two layers of insulation and stagger the board joints. This approach provides a more stable substrate for the roof membrane and minimizes the likelihood of unwanted air movement within a roof system.

A single layer of roof insulation means there is a high possibility of air movement from the deck to the underside of the membrane. And because air movement accounts for a significant portion of a building’s heat loss; staggered board joints are quite beneficial to the overall R-value of a roof system.

Proper design and installation of a roof system’s insulation layer are critical to the accuracy of the energy modeling of a building. If you assume a roof system has a design R-value of 30 but the insulation board joints align vertically and mechanical fasteners are used to secure the entire thickness of insulation, this could present a problem.

Studies have shown that this configuration can create a loss of R-value of over 15%. In fact, the in place R-value would be closer to R-25.

Reflected Energy
White and light colored, highly reflective roof surfaces also are trending up and have been for some time, mostly in the form of TPO and PVC single-ply systems. However, there are also reflective BUR cap sheets that provide similar reflectance. The benefit of roof surface reflectivity should be looked at from two perspectives: the specific building’s energy savings and the overall environment by reducing the ‘urban heat island’ effect.

Low rise buildings with large roof areas (relative to the entire building envelope) are likely to be more energy efficient during periods of air conditioning operation when a highly reflective roof surface is used to reduce solar gain into the building. On the other hand, a highly reflective roof will reflect the sun’s heat energy, subsequently reducing rooftop temperatures. This is overall beneficial for the environment regardless of building size, proportions, and location. Understanding the different perspectives about the benefits of using a reflective roof surface is important when determining if a building will or will not glean reduced energy consumption.

National Preparedness Expo

Do you have a plan if disaster strikes?

September is National Preparedness Month, and RAMCON was happy to participate in a National Preparedness Expo in Kissimmee on Saturday.

The Expo was sponsored by SERVPRO of Osceola County.

Many local companies, including RAMCON and SERVPRO of Osceola County were available to provide valuable information and to answer your questions.

Check out the RAMCON Hurricane website to make sure you and your buildings are prepared for any storms that may come: http://www.ramconroofing.com/hurricane.htm.

How to Report a Roof Leak

Your roofing problems don’t wait for normal business hours and neither do we. We have emergency crews on standby 24/7 for your convenience. Just follow these simple steps, and you’ll shortly have a uniformed, certified roofing technician on site to solve your problem.

1.  CONTACT RAMCON
There are several ways to report your leak, in order to make it easy for you.
Call Toll-Free: (877) 726-2661
Email: RoofLeaks@RamconRoofing.com
Utilize Our Web Based Report Features at: www.RamconRoofing.com

2. REPORT THE PROBLEM
Provide the RAMCON representative a detailed explanation of the situation, so that they can immediately begin working on getting the right crews and equipment to your location as soon as possible.

3. REST ASSURED
We respond immediately to roofing emergencies. Very shortly, a uniformed RAMCON crew will be at your facility to solve your problem. You’ll get a full report of what was found and how it was repaired with before and after photographs to assure you that you’re asset is being well cared for by the very best.