Roofs offer the ultimate protection for all buildings, which is why any leak or issue they experience can be utterly catastrophic to the property owner. A problem with your industrial roof can be extremely costly, resulting in you having to repair or replace the roofing. Monetarily, this translates into the loss of funds that could've been used in other parts of your business. Typical examples of industrial roofing issues include standing rain water, an aged roof, incorrect roofing components, punctures and leakages. It’s not uncommon for these roofs to suffer from wind damage, and inadequate drainage systems. The great news is that proper care and maintenance of your roof can enable you to prevent any industrial roofing problem of leakage. This post expands on preventing such incidences, with some of the industrial roofing failures you can experience and the best way to curb them.
Growth of mould or algae
The occurrence of growth or algae is usually a result of moisture. In many cases, our roofs hold huge amounts of standing water on their surface. This might result from a blocked drainage system or a dip in your industrial building's roof structure. Such instances can be dire when left unattended to and, as such, need to be seen by industrial roofing contractors or roofing experts. The presence of water on your roof can weigh down on your structure, causing the roof to weaken over time. This water then starts to generate algae and mould, which can seep into your building through cracks and openings generated by the moisture.
Punctures
Another major cause of roofing failures is punctures. A lot of things can contribute to the existence of punctures on your roof. Some of these include the usage of bird beaks on your roof, too much foot traffic on the roof surface, not cleaning the roof debris, and many more.
Some of these occurrences are indeed hard to prevent, making a roof puncture one of the unavoidable things. While you cannot prevent this from happening, you can still reduce the risk of punctures by engaging in quality roofing services. Employ the help of qualified personnel who construct roofs using only the best, high-quality materials. The roofing material must be high quality, strong, and extremely durable. Lastly, you must focus on the maintenance of your roof, ensuring roof clearing is done regularly, and foot traffic is reduced drastically.
Avoiding annual inspections
This translates to poor roofing maintenance. After constructing a new industrial building, or undertaking restoration of an older structure, most contractors ensure that every part of the building is new, clean, and in good shape. As the years roll by, overall maintenance reduces drastically until what was once known as an annual inspection is left to ‘as and when’ you feel like it.
Industrial buildings and all their parts require regular maintenance to provide the optimum shelter we desire. Regular inspections allow you to identify any problem, no matter how small and nip it in the bud before it escalates into something that cannot be solved.
In addition to avoiding inspections, another group goes through with inspections, identifies issues, and doesn't use proper maintenance activists. Improper maintenance can be detrimental to the health of your industrial roof. Thus, ensure you work with only certified individuals at all times.
Faulty roof installation
A roof built and mounted by experts is sure to serve you long before experiencing issues. The moment your roof gives you issues only a few years into its use, it is a huge sign that it was either made of substandard materials or installed by substandard individuals. When a roof is built faulty, it can give you many issues right from the beginning. Your issues might vary from misplaced nails to terrible tile placement and everything in between. Such issues lead to leakages into your roof insulation, which reduces your industrial building’s efficiency. If your gutter has a faulty installation, for example, it can lead water from rain and dew to sensitive areas like your vents and chimney, causing costly problems that can take forever to solve. You must monitor your roof construction to ensure it is benign and done right by the best people.
Flashing issues
When you look closely at your skylights and chimneys, you're likely to come across thin pieces of metal. These metal pieces are placed on the roof in areas with a high potential for gap development. The flashing process gives your extra roof protection from all the elements, including oxidation and weather changes. If your flushing is faulty, looks weathered, or rusty, it's in your best interest to have it replaced during your industrial building restoration process before it brings about serious roaring problems that cannot be solved. Remember, it is less expensive to replace or repair your flashing than to change your entire roofing system due to negligence.
Change in building use
The evolution of certain buildings can cause its roof to falter drastically. Any time you change the purpose or use of a building, it becomes more susceptible to proof deterioration. This is because, with every change, the building's exposure to chemicals and pollutants evolves and increases. There might also be an increase in humidity levels, which can cause condensation. Constant exposure to different pollutants and chemicals can wear down your industrial roof over time and cause the rundown of your building when you least expect it. Prevent your roof from reaching such a critical condition by evolving your maintenance tasks to suit the new use of the building.
Equipment additions
In addition to changing the purpose of a building, the existence or addition of new equipment, such as vents, skylights, and HVAC systems, can contribute to the deterioration of your industrial roofing. If these units are not installed properly or are not well maintained after installation, they can cause intense damage by releasing moisture, wheat, and chemicals. When employing new technologies or equipment, your best bet is to study your own and the best devices to pair with it. You can also dedicate a maintenance e team to always intersecting the roof, ensuring it is always in tip-top shape. Lastly, the installation of this equipment needs to be done by only the best in the business. Skilled professionals should be given such arduous tasks, as they are more skilled and can guarantee many years of great service.
Improper structural modifications to roof trusses
When enhancements or repairs are made to electrical, mechanical, or even plumbing systems within an industrial building, it is sometimes made at the expense of the roof and its structure. In many cases, to ensure the newer systems are fully operational and well set up, contractors can drill holes in the structural systems of roofs, create notches or even remove the structure altogether. Any modification to your roof structure should be relevant to your roof and not to its detriment, as this can spell doom for your investment.
Roof design errors
Every building deserves and needs a roof, but not all roofs are suitable for all industrial buildings. As a contractor or industrial business owner, you need to ensure that the roof on your building has been designed to the appropriate building standards, including its location and use, amongst others. Any roof design error made makes your roof more prone to failure. A typical example of design error can be constructing a roof with the design specifications of a warm area like Mississippi in a colder area like Minnesota, known for its heavy snowfalls. The result in such a case will be constant roof deflection, leading to collapse.
While it is true that conduit, ductwork, and plumbing are of high importance for the swift running of an industrial building, the roof and its structure also require attention and space. The inability to provide this leads to weakening your roof structure, causing deflection, which can, in extreme cases, cause roof failure.
Addition of adjacent buildings
If your building is positioned next to other properties with higher roofs that shed rainfall and snow onto your industrial building, it can be a recipe for disaster. Your industrial roof might not have the weight capacity to carry the fallout from another roofing system. The consistent runoff will lead to an increase in load on your roof, causing a lot of destructive stress that damages your roofing system. You need the help of skilled roofing professionals to plan how best to treat your roof such that it can accommodate any runoffs without repercussions. Treatment can look like changing the roof to something stronger or encouraging your neighbours to improve the design of their gutters.
Roof construction is a delicate process that experts must do in the field, which is why companies such as B & D Roofing and Building offer excellent roofing and building services to all industrial property owners. Ultimately, all you really want is a stable building for all your industrial needs. Stability starts from the foundation, through the floors and walls, to our roofing systems. For more information on our services, contact us.
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