construction | Infinite Roofing & Construction Roofing Blog

The year 2020 has been filled with terrible wildfires in the west, in areas that were not considered to be in the “danger zone,” such as Oregon, Washington and parts of California. Unfortunately these fires are still raging in many of these areas which resulted in destruction and evacuations. Many believe the top priority should be put on being better prepared and enforcing roofing materials to protect against wildfires.

California updated its residential fire code for building new construction in early 2008, requiring fire-resistant roofs, siding and other safeguards. This has protected 51% of the new construction homes built after 2008 that were in the path of wildfires. In contrast to the 12,100 homes built prior to 2008 with only 18% avoiding destruction. Many other states that are affected by wildfires have yet to consider adopting the same fire codes as California. The metal roofing alliance (MRA) is leading the trade organization to adopt the basic standard and create incentives to help homeowners protect their homes against wildfires in certain states and regions.

The most important factor to provide and protect against wildfires starts with how a home or building is constructed and designed. This all determines the behavior of wildland fires. Implementing mandates such as fire-resistant roofs, siding and other safeguards, help people and homes survive. Research supports that homes built after 2008 sustained far less damage than home prior. In areas such as the Gulf Coast that have been devastated by destructive hurricanes have had to learn hard lessons in the need to build homes that are more resilient to severe climates. Miami Dade is the first in Florida to certify hurricane resistant standards for structures which the Florida Building Code subsequently enacted across all requirements for Hurricane resistant buildings. It is important for the west coast to adopt a similar mindset for regional climate conditions for homeowners in wildfire prone areas.

Homes with fire-resistant materials vs Homes without

Your home’s roof is the most vulnerable part for ignition in the presence of a wildfire, certain materials like quality metal for a roofing system are essential. Metal roofs have a Class A rating for fire resistance and living in wildfire prone areas it can make or break you. Building materials that are fire resistant are not particularly expensive and when you factor in how long a metal roof will last you, it is definitely worth every penny. You should consult with your local roofing company to see what you can do to upgrade your home with fire-resistant materials.

Recent studies show that a new home built completely to wildfire resistant codes can be built for roughly the same cost as the typical home, and much less costly than potential fire damage. Fires are still raging on the West Coast so they are still being assessed, but the MRA urges builders and local officials to help better prepare homeowners for future wildfire seasons.

Mandate fire-resistant building materials

Similar to California, populations located in wildland areas have grown and continue to grow in recent years. These homes are located near flammable vegetation close to forested areas, raising a constant threat of wildfire destruction to land and homes. Newer standards that mandate fire-resistant roofing systems discourage potentially flammable materials like asphalt shingles and wooden shakes. It should be mandatory that every local roofing company in fire prone areas, educates their customers on fire-resistant materials, better roofing standards and strictly enforce the use of them.

Incentives to improve fire safety

Low interest loans, tax credits, local grants and other incentives are available in some areas to help people living in locations threatened by wildfires. Some owners of older homes that do not have the means to make fire-resistant upgrades on their own, so these incentives are a huge help. In 2009 California passed an ordinance declaring that a wood shake roofing system is a severe fire hazard. They then offered a cash incentive to replace their roof with a fire-resistant version and $4,500 to do so. Now because of this, the amount of wood shake roofs are very rare and no new home is built without a fire-resistant roofing system.

Providing education about fire safety

Communities that live in fire prone areas need to better educate their people on better roofing standards, the most resilient maintenance, home improvement, and preparation planning for fire season. There are many ways to help increase the odds that your family and home will be protected during a wildfire. There are various free resources from insurance companies that have a history in dealing with wildfires and in your local communities. “As we witness the horrible destruction wildfires have and are causing, the more we can do as an industry and community to help homeowners protect themselves against these increasing threats, the better,” said Ramey. “Investing in preventative measures now that help decrease risks is essential to guarding against costly devastation and suffering in the future.” (Ramey, MRA executive director)

Preparing your home for a wildfire

Even if you have purchased top of the line Class A fire-resistant roofing and home materials, sometimes nothing can prevent a wildfire from approaching your home. In these cases there are some tips to prepare your home and family for what could be coming. We suggest creating a home evacuation checklist to ensure you don’t forget anything, in the case that you and your family will need to evacuate your home. On this checklist we suggest having:

An evacuation bag ready to go ASAP
Make sure to know your communities emergency response plan to map out routes to drive
Shut all windows and doors of the house
Remove flammable curtains and window shades
Shut off your gas at the meter and be sure pilot lights are off
Leave your lights on in the house so firefighters can see your home in smoky areas
Shut off your air conditioning
Turn off your propane tanks outside and move BBQ away from the house
Connect garden hoses to outside valves and make sure water is on for firefighters to use
Do not leave water sprinkler on outside, it affects critical water pressure needed
If you have a ladder leave it against your home in the case that firefighters need to go on your roof quickly
Seal your attic vent with plywood
Clean up leaves and flammable debris
Continuously check your property and surrounding areas, do not wait for an official evacuation order, if you feel it’s time to go, the GO!
Check on your close neighbors and of course your pets

Many people might ask themselves why they should maintain or how they should maintain their commercial roof. Well, preventing any problems that would require an emergency roof repair or replacement would be the best way to take care of your commercial roof. Taking care of your roof before the winter comes means that it will be in the best condition for the rest of the year. When your roof gets the proper maintenance, it helps it fair better during storms and extreme weather, which means there would be less of a chance of getting any leaks or other elemental damage. When something serious goes wrong with a commercial roof, such as severe weather damage, unforeseen circumstances, or lack of routine maintenance and routine inspections, this can cause an entire section of a building to be shut down. This is terrible for any commercial operation! Especially one that has business going on constantly. Therefore, any business, especially one that has a large amount of square footage dedicated to a roofing system, should have their roof maintained properly. Maintaining every part of your commercial roof is a key duty of the facility manager. Regular roof maintenance is essential to ensure the total integrity of the building, however, knowing how to approach it is a big responsibility.

Roof Warning Signs

A properly designed roof provides structural support, fire resistance and more. A minor issue like a tear in the outer layer or warped asphalt, sealant could pose a risk. Therefore, when hiring an experienced professional roofer they should do a routine inspection. During a routine inspection, they could look for some of the following warning signs.

Having bubbles or blisters on your commercial roof is a definite warning sign that should be taken care of as soon as it’s spotted. An improper roof application is typically a leading cause of roof blisters and bubbling. Bubbles appear on your roof when there is moisture that is trapped under the roofing materials, where the water evaporates, and the result is usually the formation of bubbles or blisters.

Your roof shouldn’t be uneven, simply for the fact that a roof is built to bear its own weight. If you happen to notice any part of your roof sagging, then contacting a commercial roofing contractor is your best bet so that they can look at your roof and determine what actions should be taken. A sagging roof could be caused by many different issues, among them, being accumulated moisture, additional weight on the roof due to the installation of new roofing materials on top of old ones for a long time and other factors.

Excess standing water also known as ponding is very dangerous for your roof. Standing water is defined as water on a roof that hasn’t been drained or evaporated within the 48 hour period after rainfall, flooding or any other causes. If it hasn’t evaporated within that period, you can be expecting it to remain for an extended period of time. The accumulation of standing water on a roof over time can lead to dangerous defects which would include leaks that may eventually allow hazardous mold to grow on your roof surface. When the standing water has been on your roof for a while it can begin to cause sagging, thus creating a larger dip/pool to hold yet more standing water. Once you get standing water, it often creates a vicious cycle that ends with roof repairs or even full replacements to counter the damage caused.

Regular Routine Inspections

Many commercial roofing companies recommend that facility managers, or their local roofing contractors perform a routine inspection of a roof twice per year, usually once in the spring and again in the fall. This will allow you time to address any concerns before bad weather could cause an issue or make any issues worse. It could be tempting to do the roof work yourself and you might even be lured into thinking that any roofing contractor is qualified for the job. However, hiring the wrong commercial roofing company will lead to more expense and wasted time correcting any issues they have caused. When hiring just any roofing contractor, they could be using inadequate materials or they could get injured while servicing your property. This can cause invalid warranties and cause your insurance costs to skyrocket.

An experienced commercial roofing contractor would be able to find any signs of a leak or any other type of damage. They would be able to pinpoint any loose materials that need to be replaced, overhanging branches that would need to be trimmed, along with any dirt and debris that would need to be cleared off. Hiring a professional commercial roofer, they would be able to visually survey the total roof system and check all the flashings, fittings and other roof-related accessories. Any blockage to drains or downspouts should be checked in order to prevent adequate water drainage. A routine commercial roof inspection would look for gaps or tears in penetration and flashings, proper seals on all rooftop vents and equipment, and any other signs of damage.

A proper commercial roof inspection would cover counter flashing as well. The purpose of counter flashing is to prevent moisture from entering behind the vertical flange of the headwall or sidewall flashing. Usually, the material covering the exterior wall serves as the counter flashing and often a separate slip metal flashing would be installed under the counter. Counter flashing is important mainly when it comes to brick walls. When properly installed, counter flashing sections are inserted into the mortar joints. Afterwards the joints would be sealed with an appropriate sealant. Counter flashing is also inserted into a groove cut into the brick, and then it is sealed.

During your routine inspection, your local commercial roofing contractor would conduct an interior and exterior exam. When conducting the interior inspection of the roof, you would be looking for discolored or water-stained ceiling and walls, raised or deteriorated areas on the wall, discoloration or water staining around window frames. There could also be rust or other deterioration of the roof decking, joists or other structural components, as well as mold on any interior surfaces.

With the exterior of the building, on the other hand, there could be excessive standing water on the roof’s surface that would most likely be caused by structural failing, broken purlins, broken joists, loose/buckled flashing or damage to the roof membrane. There could also be materials stored on the rooftop that should be stored elsewhere. You would also have to look for nails or screws in the roof deck backing out of the roof membrane, debris on the roof or in the drains and gutters, missing domes on drains and defective, damaged or missing masonry joints.

Maintenance Program

The most trusted providers of commercial roofing or re-roofing services often offer a commercial roof maintenance program that has a comprehensive plan. Proper maintenance can extend the roof’s life and reduce potential damage to the building’s interior, protecting one of a company’s biggest assets, their building. When setting up a commercial roof maintenance program, the recommendation is that once every two years you have a plumber check all the roof drain lines. For a comprehensive commercial roof maintenance program, you should create standardized documentation for each building that is being inspected to help maintain proper records. With that documentation, there should be a file for each roof, including the roof’s installation dates, records of repairs and updates, a map of any current leaks and every time roof maintenance is performed.

Proactive Vs. Reactive Roofing Maintenance

In order to know if proactive or reactive roofing maintenance is something that you want to go with, you should know what exactly they are. Proactive is to take control of the situation by actively preventing something from happening rather than responding to it after it has happened (reactive). On your roof, being able to spot minor problems before it becomes a bigger issue with a larger price tag, taking an active role in the maintenance of your roof by performing routine inspections and keeping up with minor repairs.

Reactive maintenance always happens after the fact. This simply means that the maintenance work and repairs aren’t addressed until there is very obvious evidence that a problem is present, such as missing shingles or water leaking into the home. Unfortunately, with reactive maintenance, warning signs of potential problems are often missed. The result is that damage and repairs often end up being more extensive and costly than they otherwise would have been. Many owners take an “out of sight out of mind approach” with their roofs. However, taking a proactive maintenance approach over the reactive maintenance approach not only extends the life of your roof but provides significant cost benefits.

Facility managers who choose to react to problems as they occur would generally pay an average of 25 cents per square foot annually for maintenance. On the other hand, facility managers who get their roofs inspected and repaired routinely before problems happen will spend less than 25 cents annually. Proactively maintained roofs last an average of 20+ years compared to an average lifespan of 13 years for reactive maintenance. The longer you can extend your roof’s life before replacement, the greater your total savings will be and the chances of a roofing disaster occurring on your property will decrease.

Better roofing standards to protect against wildfires