Whether you’ve noticed brown wet spots on your ceiling or witnessed water dripping from the roof, it’s time to take action to resolve your roofing issues before they get worse. The first thing you should do is contact a commercial roofing contractor in order to schedule a free inspection. You may want to contact multiple contractors in order to see what your options are, what their prices may be, and to find out if they discover different issues with your Maryland roof. Most roofing contractors will perform these inspections free of charge, in the hopes that they will get the job afterwards. The best inspections should meet the following requirements: proposing a solution that fixes your problem, finding a solution that’s cost-effective, finding every area and opportunity water has to enter the building, and explaining the issues and their solutions in an easy to understand manner. But, you may be asking, what happens during the actual inspection? Read on!

Starting From the Inside

A professional roofing contractor begins the inspection from inside the building. This is so they can see where the leak terminates. For example, if there are water stains in the bathroom, they know to check the roof straight above the bathroom. Another good indication of where the leak might begin is an intentional penetration, such as an HVAC unit on top of the roof above the bathroom.

Walking on the Roof

Once the indoor inspection is complete, the roofer will need to access the roof to walk around in search of unusual circumstances. These may include standing pools of water, cracks or blisters in the roof, uplifted nails or shingles,damaged seams, and much more. The roofing contractor will start at the perimeter of the roof and work their way towards the center. This is because the perimeter is more likely to have an issue causing a leak than the center, but it’s also to ensure that they check every inch of the roof for a potential problem. The perimeter is most susceptible to damage because it can be lifted by wind, causing the edges to lose adhesion much sooner than the center of the roof would.

A Core Sample

Your roofing contractor will likely take a core sample of your roof. This is the removal of a small portion of the roof in order to determine certain facts about the roof. These include the number of roofing layers, the material of the substrate, the age of the roof and the degree of saturation or moisture. The amount of core samples will vary depending on the size of the roof, the areas where water travels or pools, and other highlighted areas noted during the internal inspection. In general, a roofing contractor will take one or two core samples for every 10,000 square feet of your roof. The area where the core is taken is repaired by using silicon inside the area, around the core, and on top of the existing substrate.

Report

After the visual inspection and core sample process, a detailed report will be given. This will include areas that are causing leaks, areas of the roof that are saturated, photographs of trouble areas and recommendations for moving forward. These recommendations will help you make the decision as to whether you need to repair or completely replace your roof.

Once you’ve received multiple quotes from multiple inspectors, it’s time to review which company made the best recommendations, which company found the most issues, and which company has the most cost-effective solution to resolve your issue. When you’re ready for an inspection, contact DC Generals!