Winter is coming. If your commercial roof isn’t prepared for it, then it will suffer significant damage. So, it is always advisable to have an experienced commercial roofing professional clean and inspect your roof before the winter season arrives. The contractor will make a snow removal plan and will highlight any repair that your roof needs.

But how do you ensure proper cleaning of your roof? We will explain in detail the process of commercial roof winterization in this article. It will help you to ask the right questions to your roofer and prepare an estimate for the same.

Know Your Roof’s History

The first step is to know the vitals about your roof, like its age, maintenance history, and when it was last inspected. Such vitals will help your roofing contractor to assess it accordingly. Keeping the minor roof issues, like ceiling stains, aside, it is advisable to have your roof prepared by a skilled commercial roofing contractor for winter.

A roofing professional will inspect and analyze your roof in detail to assess various areas that you may overlook otherwise, for example – flashings, seams, structure, rooftop equipment, and the roof membrane.

Schedule an Inspection

Before the winter season arrives, it’s important to have a proper inspection of your roof by a certified roofer. A series of in-depth assessments will bring out potential problems that can become larger, more complex, and exponentially more expensive over time.

It will also help to maintain your roof’s warranty by most manufacturers. Moreover, you can reduce your repair costs if you detect the potential roofing problems early on.

Roofing professionals have an inspection checklist that they follow to scrutinize various roof factors like traffic patterns, drainage systems, base attachments, flashings, etc. They also check for possibilities of any potential roof problems like the presence of any contaminants, moisture infiltration, unauthorized/improperly installed new roof ducts, or faulty roof membrane seams.

Perform Recommended Repairs

Once your roofing contractor has earmarked certain areas that need to be repaired, it’s advisable to have them repaired as soon as possible. Clearing the roof drains, leak stoppage, and fixing similar problems are some of the important repairs you can’t ignore.

Maintain Clear and Clean Roof Surface and Gutters

One of the important aspects of roof cleaning is ensuring that your roof and gutters are clean and clear of debris. Things like trash, leaves, branches, etc. lead to standing water and need to be removed. Make sure your roofing contractor is periodically checking your roof and clearing the potential problem elements.

Evaluate Your Roof’s Surroundings

Look around your building and see if there are tree branches hanging over your roof. If so, have them removed. Snowfall leads to those branches falling over your roof. That adds unnecessary weight and increases the possibility of puncturing your roof’s membrane.

Create a Snow Removal Plan

If you are in a cold climate, your commercial roof may require snow removal a few times throughout the winter. But improper snow removal can further damage your roof’s membrane. So, it is advisable to come up with a proper snow removal schedule beforehand and share the same with your roofing contractor.

Conclusion

Your roof will take the maximum beating during the winter season. The tips mentioned in this article will help you to come up with an effective plan to get your roof ready for winter. However, if the idea of planning it all seems overwhelming to you, many commercial roofing companies can take up the project for you.

Such companies can offer timely repairs, maintenance, and cleaning of your commercial roof and minimize the possibility of having to deal with an emergency leak situation that could happen under snow or ice-covered roof membrane.

How to Prepare The Commercial Roof for Winter? by Jamie Richardson | Realty Biz News