TPO roofing, flat roof repair and commercial roof coatings

Commercial roofing is a different job from residential roofing. The roofs are larger, the slopes are low, and the details that fail are usually seams, penetrations, drains and the edges where the membrane meets a wall. On a flat roof, a small opening can let water travel a long way under the membrane before it shows up as a ceiling stain, so the stain is rarely right under the problem.

Both offices take commercial roofing work. Our commercial jobs are run by a foreman who handles commercial work, and he looks at each roof the same way our repairmen look at a house: find the real problem first, then decide whether it needs a repair, a coating or a new system. The Knoxville business is listed by GAF as a GoldElite Commercial contractor, and the company also holds GAF Master Elite residential status, Tennessee contractor license 59116 and a BBB A+ rating.

Most of our commercial calls come from people who already know someone we have worked for. A property manager hears that we fixed the leak on a neighboring building, or a church member mentions that we put the roof on their church. We think that is how commercial roofing should work: by doing what we said we would do and earning the next call.

Every building starts with what the architect originally specified, and the right system depends on the structure, the slope, the drainage and how long the owner plans to keep the building. This is how we explain the main options to building owners.

We have applied commercial roof coatings in both Middle Tennessee and Knoxville. A coating is a good alternative when an existing TPO or EPDM roof is showing its age but the membrane and the insulation under it are still in decent shape. It gives the owner a new surface, extra years of service and a warranty, without the cost and disruption of tearing the roof off.

Warranty length depends on the coating system and how thick it goes on. Applied at the required thickness, a coating can carry a 15-year warranty, and that is what one building owner received on a recent coating job. We had repaired that roof for three or four years before we told the manager it was time to do something bigger, laid out the options of a new roof or a coating, and the owner chose the coating. We sent photos of the finished roof, and the leaks stopped.

A coating is not the answer for every roof. If water is trapped in the insulation, if the membrane is shrinking away from the walls, or if the deck is soft, a coating only hides the problem. In that case we recommend replacement and show you the photos that explain why.

A commercial roof maintenance plan puts that on a schedule. Most plans call for a visit in spring and in fall, with a check after any major storm; some owners prefer quarterly. Each visit covers drains and gutters, seams, joints and fasteners, flashing and penetrations, HVAC curbs and vents, and the minor repairs we can make on the spot, and it ends with a written report with photos and recommendations so you can budget. Many manufacturer warranties require documented maintenance, and that report is the documentation. Tell us the building's hours and we plan the visit around them where we can. Plans are customized to the roof, and plan customers get priority status when a repair comes up.

Most commercial roof problems grow slowly. Leaves and debris collect around drains and hold water. Sealant at penetrations dries out. A contractor installs a new rooftop unit and leaves a curb poorly flashed. Leaks around AC units are some of the most common commercial calls we get, especially as a roof gets older.

A regular look at the roof catches these while they are still small repairs. We clear debris from drains and valleys, check seams and flashing, look at the areas around rooftop equipment, and send photos of anything that needs attention. For owners who lease their buildings, that record also helps when a tenant reports a leak and everyone wants to know what the roof has been through.

Leaks that come back after they were patched, more frequent leaks in more places, and leaks around rooftop units are the signs we hear about most. On the roof itself, look for blisters, open or lifting seams, membrane that has pulled away from walls, and water that sits long after a rain.

A single leak on a roof with good membrane is a flat roof repair. Widespread wear on a membrane that is still dry underneath points toward a coating. Wet insulation, a soft deck or repeated failures across the roof point toward replacement. We will tell you which one we see and why, and we will not push a new roof onto a building that only needs a repair.