Building owners don’t often spend a lot of time on their roofs, and if they do pull out the ladder, they might not know what to look for. By making semi-annual roof inspections, building owners can get a snapshot of their roof’s condition, the effectiveness of their maintenance plan, and an overall synopsis of where their budget should be allocated.
Like oil changes for your car, roof inspections only prevent problems when they’re conducted regularly and consistently. Semi-annual roof inspections can identify long-term problems early and greatly reduce overall repair costs over an extended period of time. These snapshots enable reliable budgeting measures and prevent costly, unexpected spikes in their building portfolio budget.
- Inspections Reveal How a Roof System is Performing
The first thing a semi-annual roof inspection reveals to building owners and managers is the overall condition of their roof. A proper inspection can identify small roof issues before they inevitably turn into larger issues when left unchecked. For example, an area of the roof’s membrane might need repair. If the building owner makes repairs immediately, it’s an easily remedied situation. But if it’s not spotted with a roof inspection, the membrane repairs may affect building operations, the safety of customers or employees may be compromised, and insulation or equipment may be damaged.
- Long-Term Protection: Prevention Through Basic Maintenance
The second thing building owners learn from a roof inspection is the amount of routine maintenance the roof requires. Inspections help roofers identify and fix small problems, which should be done a few times a year anyway. This includes:
- Clearing debris
- Topping off pitch pans
- Making patches
- Sealing off unprotected areas
These small, simple steps contribute to a roof’s overall longevity. A well-maintained roof with a 10-year warranty can possibly last up to 25 years. That translates into significant capital budget savings.
- Inspections Paint an Overall Picture that Makes Long-Term Budgeting Easy
Finally, a semi-annual roof inspection gives a snapshot of the roof’s overall condition. Is the central maintenance plan working? Is it not working? What changes should be made? This information is crucial for capital budgeting. When the accountant or asset manager knows what costs will be incurred over the roof’s entire lifespan, he or she can work toward the goal of true level-line budgeting.
An experienced roofer should be able to tell you within 5% certainty (pending inflation, material price fluctuations, and other factors) how much to budget for repairs that might be 3 years down the road. This is especially important for modern building owners, who are keeping their buildings for a longer period of time, yet often have less capital to invest in their roofs.
A semi-annual roof inspection reveals three things to building owners: the immediate condition of their roof, the effectiveness of their maintenance plan, and an overall snapshot of their roof’s condition and life expectancy. When regular inspections are part of a business’s operating budget, building owners can learn about their roof’s condition and protect that asset by making informed decisions.