Roof Maintenance Plans

Repairs are reactive.

Maintenance is proactive.

Cooper Roofing brings the skill and experience necessary to both repair your roof and insure that it is maintained properly over its lifetime.

A maintenance plan is a commitment to a disciplined program of regular inspection and repair that maximizes the life of the roof. This is accomplished through strategic, planned repair work which provides a much better value than waiting for failures to occur.

For example, consider the homeowner who has his roof and drainage system checked and regularly cleaned twice a year after the spring seeds and autumn leaves fall. Without regular cleaning the homeowner could incur far more expense to correct problems brought on by blocked drainage systems. In Cooper’s 30+ year’s of experience the majority of major roof repairs we have encountered have stemmed from blocked draining systems.

Maintenance is nothing more than smart roof management. Unfortunately, as simple as this may sound, few people actually take time to plan to avoid problems. In almost every case, a sound roofing maintenance plan helps avoid even more costly, large-scale repairs or replacement later on.

In order to avoid out of control costs you must be proactive. Though there is no guarantee that a maintenance plan will avoid all repair costs, our experience shows that, like repairs to your car, a regular plan of maintenance will help keep your overall costs to a minimum.

When In Doubt, We're a Phone Call Away

Our first suggestion is to simply keep the lines of communication open. If you have a question, don’t put it off. Simply pick up the phone and call 610-275-ROOF. The “Verbal Maintenance Plan” might just help you figure out whether something that “looks” like a problem is a disaster in the waiting.

Commercial Grade Needs, Commercial Grade Maintenance

Our formal, Written Maintenance Plan includes a report (with pictures) which document areas of roof weakness and areas of the roof that are performing well. This fee-based service is for professional commercial building owners or managers who want to stay ahead of their roof while accumulating documentation. The reason for this is simple; prolong the life of the roof and maintain comprehensive documentation regarding maintenance of the roof.

This maintenance data base is important if, years later, a large re-roofing budget needs justification. Regular documentation over the span of years protects building managers from second-guessers wondering if re-roofing could have been avoided. The last thing a manager needs is to be questioned about premature replacement due to management negligence. Receiving our written reports each year allows you to document each and every step you took in extending the life of the roof.

So, whether reaching a verbal understanding with your roofer, or having that understanding documented, a carefully crafted maintenance plan is an excellent idea which routinely saves our customers money.

Controlling Tear-Off Roofing Costs Through Regular Maintenance

Tear off roofing costs are at least double that of recovery (going over existing) costs. Reactive repairs, after damage is detected, are not nearly as effective at helping you avoid water infiltration as are proactive maintenance repairs.

Most people are not aware that water entering a commercial (flat) roof system does not simply flow straight through into the building interior. Much of the entering water will instead soak into the flat roof substrate which could be rigid insulation or some other material with a sponge-like consistency. This absorbing material then becomes permanently wet beneath the roof, creating a negative impact on the roof’s surfacing. When it comes time to reroof your only option becomes expensive removal of all wet materials in order to completely eliminate this trapped moisture. New roof simply can’t be installed over damp substrate. Doing so will drastically shorten the life of the new roof.

Commercial owners and landlords must never let their roof management standards deteriorate to the point of allowing periodic water infiltration. This reactive approach to roof maintenance assumes that small leaks have limited impact. That’s simply not true, especially in commercial facilities.

This kind of attitude toward roof leaks comes from those who own warehouses or buildings in which occupants have a ‘high leak tolerance.” That is to say those inhabiting the building are not overly disturbed by regular or periodic roof leaks.

But regardless of whether the occupants of a commercial structure might have a high leak tolerance, most roof systems have a low leak tolerance. Allowing water to infiltrate a roof system more often than not leads to a much more expensive replacement next time around.

It Takes an Expert Eye to Know When a Roof is In Danger

As professionals who inspect roofs every day of the week, every week of the year, we have an acute awareness of what is and isn’t ‘working’ on any particular roof. If you want to stay proactive through one of our maintenance plans we will use our discerning eye in order to help you avoid unnecessary expenses.

If, while inspecting your roof, under any of our plans, we find something obviously wrong which can be repaired easily (within your previously agreed to budget) we’ll do it on the spot. If the repairs cannot be completed within your budget we will submit a detailed repair recommendation for your consideration.

Verbal or written, you’ll have an idea of what the expense should be if it is above and beyond your understood budget.

And if All is Well, We'll Tell You How to Keep it That Way

If your roof is in good shape, we will confirm it. We will tell you how to keep it up to excellent performance standards. The more you know, the better equipped you are to know how to insure your roof’s performance for the long term.

The sad truth is most roofing contractors won’t extend a maintenance plan option to you because most roofing contractors aren’t in the business for the long-haul. It’s a simple courtesy you would expect, but won’t often see.

Cooper Roofing Corporation offers you an option to be proactive, crafting a maintenance plan that reduces your long-term costs of ownership.

Cooper Roofing Corporation - 610.275.7663 (ROOF)