Posted by Roofco July 2, 2018
Whether you are a low-slope roofer or a building manager/owner, roofing system maintenance may be the key to the unlocking of substantial business value. Unfortunately, there are 3 myths which oftentimes prevent folks from seeing the value directly over their heads. Let us start by clearing up these myths.
Myth: Modern roofs don’t require maintenance
Fact: Wouldn’t that be nice? Recent materials and application technology advances certainly have made roofs more durable, efficient, and simpler to install. However, in spite of the efforts of innovative and knowledgeable roof technologists, no one has had the ability to create a maintenance-free, 20-year roof.
The truth is, over 80 percent of commercial roofing is replaced prematurely, partly due to not following a routine schedule of maintenance. Here’s the good news: proactively-maintained roofs have the possibility of outlasting their warranty. A roofing system that has proactive maintenance may have an average roof lifespan of 21 years as compared with thirteen years with a reactive maintenance plan, depending upon the building type and roofing system, according to Roofing Contractor Magazine. This may mean more value for building owners and opportunity for roof maintenance contractors.
Myth: Issues with your roof are covered by materials warranties
Fact: Material warranties will cover manufacturer material defects, representing less than one percent of roofing system failure. Severe weather, poor installation, and lack of maintenance include the top roof failure causes and aren’t covered underneath limited material warranties. In addition, enhanced or extended warranties don’t cover maintenance expenses and typically don’t cover issues which might arise from neglecting routine maintenance.
Semi-annual or annual inspections assist in locating deficiencies in order for them to be fixed before they become serious enough to permit moisture inside the building.
For contractors, those inspections may mean reliable business with the possibility of more profit margins from performing timely repairs and required reroofs. They also can contribute to a rise in customer referrals and satisfaction. Maintenance work may produce two times as much as competitively bidding upon new roofs, according to the NRCA.
For building owners, routine inspections may assist in identifying problems as they are less expensive to address, smaller, and in time to prevent further damage to the insulation, decking and all items that are stored in the building.
Myth: Maintenance is optional
Fact: It’s a big one. Why wouldn’t it be? Because after all, what budget-conscious manager has not at least thought about saving funds by skipping maintenance? You have to conduct consistent maintenance and inspections, as well as keep records of the work. This means treating maintenance as being “optional” might jeopardize the warranty and actually may shorten the life of the roofing system itself.
For building owners, maintenance isn’t optional. However, what about contractors? Considering the advantages of roof maintenance to owners and roofers, it seems very clear that providing a maintenance agreement ought to be a portion of all roofing estimates.
For more roof maintenance myths contact our residential and commercial roofing contractors at Roofco today!