How To Fix a Commercial Roof Leak
Commercial buildings are subject to the same forces of nature as your own home, so it’s no surprise that over time, their roof systems may sustain storm damage or structural damage, or experience emergency roof leaks. Roof damage can be extremely detrimental to your business, disrupting your workflow and putting your employees, materials, and products at risk.
What You’ll Learn About
Common Signs of a Leak
Although commercial roof systems may be complex, the signs of water damage and leaking are often rather plain. For example, leaking and water damage can cause staining, discoloration, bubbling, or blistering within the walls and ceilings of your commercial building. These are all unsightly indications of things going wrong within your roof—somehow, water is making it through.
If you smell a wet, pungent odor or see mold, you may also have a water damage issue, since mold tends to appear in consistently moist locations. With mold, it’s especially important to act swiftly since it can cause respiratory harm or illness to you and your employees. Finally, you might simply see water trickling in or running down the walls or floor. In any case, you’ll need to get to work dealing with roof leak detection and repair.
Common Causes of Commercial Roof Leaks
Water loves to flow freely. During a storm, it splatters against your roof and cruises downhill, finding the smallest cracks and openings within the roof’s surface and squeezing through them. In the case of a commercial roof, this can become an issue that puts your products and employees at risk. Here are a few ways that water can get in your commercial roof and cause damage:
- Improper channeling of water can lead to excess pooling or puddling on your roof, which can degrade and damage the roof membrane, eventually allowing water through to the other side.
- Water can seep through damaged roof flashings, which are the thin metal sheets that seal corners, skylights, and the places where two sections of roof meet.
- Water can also get in through via roof penetrations. These are places along the roof where there’s an opening or hole to the inside of the building, such as HVAC units, vents, drains, pipes, or gas lines.
Having issues with your commercial roof? Learn more about Floridian’s commercial roofing services.
What To Do When Your Roof Is Leaking
When you notice your roof is leaking, it’s important to act swiftly to minimize the possibility of storm and structural damage and to mitigate the risk to your employees and products. Here is a brief list of steps to follow when you’re dealing with your commercial roof leaking.
Mark the Leak’s Point of Entry
After the flow of water is contained, you’ll want to mark the leak’s point of entry on the ground or the ceiling itself. Consider using bright or reflective tape, which will help alert others to the possibility of slick surfaces and running water. Because the water will eventually evaporate, it’s important to take this step while the leak is, well, leaking. This way, when the storm passes and the water dries, you’ll be able to pinpoint where the breach occurred. Marking the location of the commercial roof leak also helps later when describing the situation to a roofing company or roofing contractor.
Clear the Way and Minimize Interior Damage
If you notice water coming in from the ceiling or walls, clear that area of people, equipment, and supplies. This will help prevent water damage to materials as well as injury from falling on slick flooring. When the area is clear of important objects and other people, try to collect the incoming water in a bucket or some other type of receptacle. Keeping the water contained is the first step in dealing with a commercial roof leak.
Look for Other Leaks and Assess Your Entire Roof
Leaks are easier to detect when the water is actively flowing. If you notice one leak, take the time to inspect the rest of your commercial roof’s walls and ceilings. In many cases, there will be multiple places where water is able to come in. Water can actually travel very far—even across the most gentle of slopes—so the possibility of there being more than one point of entry is likely from this broad area of coverage. Assessing the full scope of water damage will prepare you for dealing with patching the leaks, roof repair, or even roof replacement, if needed.
Contact Insurance Agent and Commercial Roof Leak Repair Service
After dealing with the initial leaking and assessing other areas of leaking or damage, you should contact your insurance agent to see if interior damage from roof leaks is insured. Next, you should contact a commercial roof repair service in order to quickly deal with your leaking commercial roof. Roofing companies can help deal with the current issues as well as catch smaller problems within your roof that can cause further issues down the road.
Find Your Top Quality Roofing Company
Commercial roofing contractors can help you deal with emergency roof leak repair, water damage, and roof leak detection. In many cases, roof damage can be mitigated with repairs, rather than with an entire roof replacement.
If your commercial roof is leaking, Floridian Roofing and Solar might just be your solution. By providing you with a certified roofing team with over 20 years of expertise, Floridian Roofing and Solar aims to eliminate surprises and disruptions regarding your roof. Not only can we patch that leak in your commercial roof, we can also provide inspections and roof maintenance that will help prevent leaks or water damage in the future, letting your business move forward without worrying about interruption from water damage. So, if the rain’s coming in, give us a call.
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Floridian Roofing & Solar is a full-service provider of commercial and residential roofing services. We use our 20 years of experience to put a durable roof over your head.
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10752 Deerwood Park Blvd. STE 100
Jacksonville, Florida 32256
License #CCC1331581