Working Commercial Roof Maintenance & Restoration Into Your Annual Budget

Avoid surprise expenses and control costs by working commercial roof maintenance into your yearly budget.

The future can be difficult to predict — especially when it comes to what sort of weather the seasons will bring. Hailstorms, windstorms, tornadoes, heavy rains, heavy snow…all of this can have a negative effect on your investment property’s rooftop. While we can’t predict the weather, we can always fortify our response and our processes around how we handle commercial roof damage caused by mother nature. This includes having the financial readiness to handle unexpected building damage. Control your commercial property’s maintenance costs and save yourself hours of stress from surprise expenses by following a few simple tips.

First things first: find the right commercial roofing contractor and partner with them.

It’s great to work with the same commercial roofing contractor every time because they likely know your rooftop inside and out. If you’re always switching companies to find the right price, you might not actually be saving as much money as you think. Find a great roofing company that is reliable and high-capacity and then stick with them. You can even ask them to help with your yearly commercial roof maintenance budget. While you might anticipate needing some repairs that don’t actually need to happen, this is your budget. If you have some budget left over at the end of the year, you’re not going to lose it.

Find a company that offers an ongoing maintenance program.

Many commercial roofing contractors offer a maintenance program that covers preventative maintenance with regular inspections. In many cases, they will keep a maintenance log of your commercial roof. This means that no matter who is assigned to the job that day, they have plenty of historical notes to look at prior to showing up onsite. This program normally has a price tag associated with it (which can be worked into your annual maintenance budget). Owning commercial property is such an amazing investment, especially in Colorado. Make the most of your investment by keeping the most important part of the building in top shape. Controlling costs is just another benefit; surprise roofing costs can throw your annual budget into a tailspin causing all kinds of unnecessary stress. 

It’s never a bad idea to plan for the worst-case scenario.

If you’ve lived in Colorado or Wyoming for any amount of time, you know what the weather is like. It’s ABSOLUTELY unpredictable. When it comes to mountain weather, there’s a saying: “You don’t know what it is until it’s on top of you.” This adage holds true in our experience, and it is important to consider what kind of damage can happen throughout the entire calendar year. In the spring and summer, there can be hail, heavy rains, and potentially VERY heavy snow. In the fall and winter, anything goes! It’s never a bad idea to plan for some damage and put some budget aside for it. Again, surprise costs can cause an incredible amount of stress. Commercial roof repairs can be extremely expensive and wholly necessary if there is a water intrusion happening in your building. Set a specific amount of budget aside for unforeseen damage that causes the need for professional commercial roof repairs.

Don’t be conservative with your commercial roof maintenance and repair predictions.

Severe weather will happen. It’s the one thing we feel comfortable predicting; we’ve seen some incredible weather events after working in Colorado and Wyoming for 30+ years. The average cost of a commercial roof replacement — let’s say a 20,000 square foot rooftop at $5 per square foot for single-ply installation — is $100,000. That price can increase significantly if the decking is bad and new boards are needed (up to $15 per square foot). A total commercial roof replacement every year isn’t necessary, but it’s never a bad idea to consider putting aside a percentage of these costs every year. Plus, if a hail storm hits and your TPO is punctured in multiple locations, you will need to pay a commercial roofing company to come in and repair those damages before they wreak havoc on your commercial property.

Budget planning is a boring topic, but it pays off in dividends.

The simple act of working commercial roof maintenance into your property investment budget is smart. It will save you money down the road by finding issues faster. Working with a trusted contractor and building social capital with them is also a great investment. They will keep good records of your rooftop, they will hold themselves accountable if a repair is not satisfactory, and they will get to know your roof really well. And remember, being too conservative with your budget planning can lead to surprise costs and high stress levels. Are you interested in talking to one of our experts? We offer free consultations any time. Contact us today.