What the file is for
The visits produce a record with dates on it, and the record outlives the visit. It answers questions asked long afterwards: whether the roof was maintained, when a fault first appeared, whether anyone repaired it and who. Owners need that for a warranty claim. Lenders and buyers ask for it during a sale. A board approving money wants to see that the request has a history behind it rather than arriving new.
The record also changes what an inspection is worth. One visit is a snapshot of something that is always moving. Three visits are a direction. Most of the judgments owners have to make about a roof, whether to keep repairing it, when to plan for replacement, whether a coating is sensible, depend on direction rather than on condition today.
What we do not do
We do not open the assembly on a routine visit. Core samples and moisture surveys make holes and cost money, and they are scheduled separately, with your approval, when the surface evidence raises a question it cannot answer on its own.
We do not rate a section we could not reach safely. Where access failed, the report says so and says why, rather than filling the gap with a guess from the parapet.
We do not treat the program as a repair contract. Finding and recording is the job. Repair work is quoted and approved separately, so the inspection and the invoice are never the same conversation.
And we do not write a report that ignores the last one. If a finding has not changed, the report says it has not changed. If it has been repaired, the repair is photographed. If it was ignored, the report says that too, which is uncomfortable and is the point.
When people start one
Usually after something forced the issue. A leak that turned out to have been running for months. A warranty claim that failed because nobody could produce records. A roof replacement, where the owner wants the new roof documented from the first year rather than the last. A change of property manager, where nobody can say what condition the buildings are actually in. A reserve study that asked for evidence and got invoices.
The cheapest time to start is on a roof that is not leaking, because everything found is still small. The most common time is the week after one did.
Common questions
What does an annual program include that a single inspection does not?
Comparison. A single inspection tells you the condition of the roof on one day, while a program tells you which way it is going.
- The same roof plan every visit, so this spring's photograph sits beside last spring's
- Open items carried forward and marked repaired, unchanged or worse
- Visits timed before and after the season that does the damage
- Access, tenant notice and any lift arrangements settled once rather than each time
What you end up with is a file instead of a drawer of unrelated opinions, and a file is what a lender, a board or a warranty claim actually asks to see. Tell us the building and we will set the first visit date.
What roof records should a program keep for a warranty claim?
Read your own warranty document first, because the requirements differ by manufacturer and by the cover that was bought.
- Dated reports with photographs, each finding located on a roof plan
- A record of what happened next: invoices, completed work photographs, the contractor's name
- The original paperwork: certificate, specification, details as built, manufacturer correspondence
- Work by other trades, since a new curb or conduit run can affect cover
Owners tend to keep the inspection and lose the repair record, and claims turn on the second set of documents. Send us the warranty and we will tell you what the program has to produce.
What happens if a storm hits between the scheduled visits?
We come out and document the roof, and that visit is part of the program.
- Wind and hail damage is rarely visible from the ground and rarely reported from inside
- Displaced metal, debris and fresh bruising are evidence that fades
- Findings are photographed, located and compared against the previous report
- We do not decide cover or advise on claims, we record what is there
A dated inspection from before the weather is the clearest way to show that a condition is new rather than old. If something is letting water in, say so when you call and we treat it as urgent.
Who does the repairs a program finds?
Your decision. The report is written so that any competent contractor can price the same work, whether that is us or somebody you already use.
- Every finding carries a photograph, a location, a plain cause and a ranking
- Ask each bidder to price the same scope
- Keep access, the repair and insulation replacement as three separate lines
- Send completed work invoices and photographs back for the file
Insulation is where quotes diverge most, because a price written for a dry roof and an invoice written for a wet one is the commonest dispute in commercial roofing. A repair nobody recorded is, to a later claim, a repair that did not happen.
How does a program change the way we budget for the roof?
It replaces an age estimate with a record. Most roof budgets start from the install year and an assumed service life, which is a guess written as a number.
- The same sections rated at the same points every year, with photographs behind each rating
- A roof that has held its rating is a maintenance line
- A roof failing in more places at each visit is a replacement coming toward you
- Repairs found early stay in operating, while section replacement and re roofing sit in capital
A board looking at photographs of the same detail across three years is being shown evidence instead of an opinion. We cannot tell you what the work will cost, but the report is written so that a contractor can.