Most large apartment complexes employ a team of full-time maintenance technicians. While these technicians are capable of handling in-home repairs, they shouldn't be tasked with taking care of the roofs on each apartment building.
Only an experienced professional roofer should be trusted with the maintenance and repair of an apartment roof. When you leave roofing tasks in the hands of professionals, you can reduce ongoing maintenance costs and prevent catastrophic roof failures in the future.
1. Sealing and Replacing Pipe Boots
An apartment building will have multiple plumbing exhaust pipes extending through its roof. Each of these vent pipes needs to be sealed and fitted with a pipe boot to prevent damage to the surrounding roofing materials.
The rubber seal around the bottom of a vent pipe can easily wear out after exposure to the elements. The metal boot itself can begin to corrode or sustain damage in the face of high winds and excessive moisture.
A roofing professional will be able to install a new seal and replace a damaged pipe boot to prevent plumbing exhaust vents from becoming sources of major water leaks in the future.
2. Sealing Roof Edges
Many apartment buildings are constructed with a flat roof design. A flat roof must be properly sealed around the edges to prevent potential water damage at intersection points. Professional roofers use UV-resistant and metal flashing to create a watertight seal around the outer edges of a flat roof.
As the walls and roof contract and expand when temperatures fluctuate, the caulk and flashing can become loose or deteriorate over time. A damaged edge seal can result in serious water leaks and heat transfer that could increase your residents' utility costs.
Contact a professional roofer to schedule regular repair and maintenance of your apartment roof's edge sealant to maximize the effectiveness of your roofing system.
3. Inspecting Roofing Systems
You shouldn't rely on your maintenance crew to inspect the roofs on your apartment buildings for signs of damage. The untrained eye will be unable to pick up on many subtle types of damage that could end up having a major impact on the performance of an apartment's roof over time.
Experts advise that all roofs should be inspected twice a year. Professional roofers should be called in during the spring and fall months to complete a thorough roof inspection. The inspector will be examining the visible roofing materials, as well as the ventilation system and interior roof elements for damage.
Roofing experts that complete inspections on a regular basis can tell you what condition your roof is in, what repairs are needed in the future to ensure maximum performance, and how long you can expect the roofing system to last.
This information makes it possible to incorporate roof maintenance, repair, and replacement costs into your operating budget for the year.
4. Replacing Damaged Shingles
Any major storm could blow some of the shingles from the roofs of your apartment buildings. When only a few shingles are missing or damaged, it can be tempting to have your maintenance crew purchase shingles at a home improvement store and nail them into place.
The removal of damaged shingles and the installation of new ones isn't a complicated process, but it is one that should be completed by a roofing professional. Improperly removing a shingle could cause serious damage to the underlayment. The underlayment (which consists of the roof decking and any waterproof membranes) is the workhorse of your roofing system.
Shingles are installed only to protect the underlayment against moisture damage. Putting a new shingle over a damaged underlayment could cause leaks to develop and water damage to spread across the apartment roof.
An apartment roofing professional can spot underlayment damage and perform the necessary repairs before replacing damaged or lost shingles after a storm.
