Did you know that there are about 80,000 roofing contractor businesses in the United States alone? Together, they employ about 253,000 people who help keep our roofs in good condition. There is enough demand for their services for them to generate about $57 billion in revenue each year.
People often have to hire roofing contractors for expensive repairs after they suffer from roof storm damage. One of the worst parts about this is that you can often avoid serious damage in advance. However, doing so requires that you understand a little bit about regular commercial roof maintenance.
With the right maintenance tips, you can keep your commercial roof in robust condition so that it can resist storm damage. So why is maintenance so crucial when it comes to preventing roof storm damage?
Read on to learn all about how regular commercial roof maintenance can help your roof resist damage in storms!
Invest in Roof Repairs Before They Cause Collapse
Most problems with your commercial roof will start out small. When some building owners or managers discover a small roofing problem, they often figure that it is no big deal and that they can delay getting it repaired.
However, this is a risky strategy that comes with a number of downsides. First, even small roofing problems create vulnerabilities in your roof. If you get a heavy storm, a tiny leak in your roof may be the part of your roof that is most susceptible to storm damage.
On the other hand, it might seem like a small roof problem doesn’t weaken your roof enough to make it vulnerable to a big storm. However, some small problems will be bigger underneath the surface. Modern roofs are designed on purpose to look much simpler on the outside than they are on the inside.
If you have ever seen the anatomy of a roof, you will appreciate how sensitive they can be when they do not receive proper maintenance.
Fixing Problems When They Are Small
On top of that, small roof repair problems tend to grow bigger with neglect. If you have a tiny leak, the water that flows through it will start to wear out the surrounding materials of your roof. Before long, it will become a bigger leak.
Other kinds of roofing maintenance issues display similar patterns. If you do not solve your roof problems when they are small, they will get bigger and bigger until you are forced to pay for expensive emergency repairs.
In many cases, that will happen when these growing problems come to a head during a huge storm. The wind and rain of a big storm can take a developing roof problem and turn it into a catastrophe within a few minutes or hours. That can even manifest in a roof collapse depending on the nature of the damage.
That is why scheduling regular roof repairs is an investment. By repairing your small roof problems as soon as you can, you will avoid weakening your roof. That will make it much more resistant to storm damage.
Avoid Water Damage With Roof Maintenance
If your building has shingles, there is a good chance that one or more will go missing over the years. In other cases, the corners of one or more shingles will bend or degrade. Even if you have another type of roof, it will start to develop its own type of vulnerability to water damage.
One of the biggest problems with water damage is that it does not need a large entrance to cause a large amount of damage. Even if you have a leak in the far corner of your roof and even if the rest of your roof is in strong condition and will not succumb to the forces of a storm, that tiny leak can allow water to spread throughout a huge section of your roof or building.
Once water damage begins, it tends to build upon itself. Before too long, you might be dealing with mold and mildew as well. Water damage will also increase the chance that you deal with pest infiltrations.
Regular roof maintenance will help your roof maintain a tight seal and avoid water damage from a storm.
Prevent Damage With Regular Roof Cleaning
Over time, your roof will tend to develop a buildup of debris. That goes double during storms.
As this buildup gets heavier, it can push down on your roof and cause problems during big storms. In other cases, a buildup of sticks, leaves, and other materials can cause water to pool on your rooftop during rain storms.
You can also end up with a pool of water on your rooftop if you have clogged gutters.
On the other hand, you might have moss growing on your rooftop. Left alone, moss will tend to spread across a wider area. The roots of this moss will dig into your roof, causing more erosion.
All of these problems can be prevented if you keep your rooftop clean. It is often more efficient to invest in regular small cleaning jobs than to wait until you have a huge cleaning job on your hands.
Avoid Roof Storm Damage With Proper Maintenance
As a general rule, roof storm damage is more likely to occur if your roof has already developed weaknesses. It is inevitable that roofs develop such weaknesses, but you can use proper maintenance to take care of them while they are small. As long as you do not let these vulnerabilities develop, there is a much lower chance that you will suffer from serious roof storm damage.
To learn more about how you can find the right commercial roofing services for your needs, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!i mea
