Commercial Roofing & Repairs
Commercial roofing starts with drainage
Commercial roofs fail differently to residential ones. They are usually low slope rather than steep, which means water sits on them instead of running off, and they carry equipment, penetrations and foot traffic that a house never sees. The result is that a commercial roof is less a covering than a drainage system, and most of what goes wrong on one is a drainage problem wearing a different hat.
JKey works commercial roofing out of Monroe, Georgia, Gainesville, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina. What follows is how low slope systems get assessed, what separates a repair from a recover from a full replacement, and how to keep a roof from taking the building offline.
Single ply, modified bitumen and metal, assessed on what is already there.
Residential and light commercial.
Certified roofing contractor, State of Florida.
Monroe GA, Gainesville FL and Raleigh NC.
Low slope roofs are drainage systems
A steep roof sheds water by geometry. A low slope roof sheds it by design, and the design can be defeated by something as ordinary as a blocked drain or a compressed section of insulation. Standing water is the symptom that matters most, because it multiplies every other problem: it finds seams, it accelerates UV breakdown, it adds load, and in the southeast it becomes a mosquito and algae issue on top of that.
Ponding usually has one of three causes. The drains or scuppers are not clearing, the insulation has compressed or become saturated and no longer holds the slope it was built with, or the deck itself has deflected. Those are three different repairs, and telling them apart requires looking at the roof while it is wet rather than after it has dried.
This is why a commercial roof assessment should include the drainage path end to end, not just the membrane. A perfect membrane over a roof that cannot drain is a roof that will fail early and predictably.
Repair, recover or replace
A repair addresses a defined failure: an open seam, a flashing at a curb, a puncture from equipment service. It is the right answer when the field of the roof is sound and the insulation underneath is dry, and it is worth confirming that second part with a moisture survey rather than assuming it.
A recover installs a new membrane over the existing one. It avoids a tear-off, which keeps the building operating and keeps material out of a dumpster, but it is only available when the existing assembly is dry and the structure can carry the added weight. Codes also limit how many roof layers a building may have, which can rule a recover out regardless of condition.
A replacement takes the assembly back to the deck. It is the answer when insulation is saturated, when the deck needs attention, or when the roof has already been recovered once. It is also the only path that lets the insulation be brought up to current energy requirements, which on a large building is a real operating cost rather than a rounding error.
Keeping the building open while the roof is worked on
The part of a commercial roofing project that owners underestimate is not the roofing. It is the coordination. Tenants need access, deliveries need a path, and rooftop equipment serving the space below cannot simply be switched off for a week.
Sequencing the work in sections keeps the building operating, and it also keeps the roof watertight overnight, which matters more in a Georgia or Florida summer than it does anywhere with a dry season. Every day of a low slope project should end with the open area tied off and dried in, not covered with a tarp and a hope about the forecast.
The other coordination item is the equipment. Curbs, condensate lines and gas piping all interact with the roof surface, and the flashings around them are where a recovered or replaced roof most often leaks afterwards. Those details are worth naming in the scope rather than leaving to the field.
How the work happens
5 stagesFrequently Asked Questions
How do I know whether my commercial roof needs replacing?
The membrane is not the deciding factor. Saturated insulation is. A roof whose surface looks worn but whose insulation is dry is usually a repair or a recover candidate; a roof with wet insulation is a replacement regardless of how the surface looks, because that moisture will not dry out under a new membrane and will keep degrading the assembly and the deck.
Why does water sit on my roof after it rains?
Some water sitting immediately after rain is normal. Water still standing 48 hours later is not, and it points at one of three things: drains or scuppers that are not clearing, insulation that has compressed or become saturated and lost its slope, or a deck that has deflected. Those need to be told apart before anything is specified, because the repair for each is different.
Can a new roof go over the old one?
Sometimes. A recover requires the existing assembly to be dry, the structure to carry the additional weight, and the building to be within the number of roof layers the code permits. When all three hold, a recover keeps the building operating and avoids a full tear-off. When any one fails, a replacement is the honest answer.
Will my business have to close during the work?
It should not have to. Low slope work is normally sequenced in sections so that occupied space stays accessible and the open area is dried in at the end of each day. What does need planning is roof access, the delivery and debris path, and any rooftop equipment that serves the space below.
How often should a commercial roof be inspected?
Twice a year is the common recommendation, plus after any significant storm, and the reason is drainage rather than the membrane. Drains and scuppers collect debris seasonally, and a blocked drain turns an ordinary rainfall into standing load. Inspections that include clearing the drainage path prevent more failures than inspections that only photograph seams.
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