Commercial Buildings

Commercial Buildings are those that generally consist of office space or a combination of office space and warehouse space. Business parks, office buildings and light industry buildings fall into this category.

These buildings usually do not require the same amount or type of roof maintenance as retail or industrial properties. Typically, the roof area will be populated with a few HVAC units, some skylights and a few other types of equipment. As a result, foot traffic on the roof is more limited than with industrial and retail roof areas.

The threshold at which leaks and other roof deficiencies become problematic is usually lower than on most other buildings. If the owner is responsible for roof leaks, the tenant usually complains at any sign of leakage. If the tenant is responsible for leakage, it might not be addressed as quickly or quite possibly even be ignored. Prolonged leakage can cause severe damages (such as dry rot or mold).

To achieve the full service life on a Commercial Roof, it is important to conduct roof inspections and perform roof maintenance at least once a year. One of the objectives for this is to remove leaves and other debris from the roof. It does not take very long for dirt and debris to accumulate on the roof. Drains can easily become clogged. Also, roof penetrations caused by tenant improvements are sometimes installed without the owner or manager’s knowledge. Keeping drains cleared and being aware of tenant improvements will put the owners and managers ahead of problems before damages occur.