Rules of thumb proliferate in every industry, including commercial roofing. Planning a yearly budget, most facilities managers or property owners may base the next year’s maintenance budget on last year’s budget. That may not always be the best approach.
What Industry Experts Say
The industry experts at FacilitiesNet say roof maintenance averages around two percent of installation cost per year. If you have records for the installation of your property’s roof or were on hand when it was installed, the calculations are easy.
For example, imagine you partnered with a trusted, local roofer like PSI Roofing to have a single-ply PVC roof installed, with the understanding that the 100,000-square-foot roof should last 30 years, with proper maintenance.
Suppose the roof cost $1,000,000; per-year installation cost is $33,334; annual maintenance cost is $20,000. You will spend $600,000 in maintenance over the roof’s full life span.
Deferred Maintenance Costs
If you see those numbers and try to fudge your way through short-changing the roof for a few years, what could happen?
- Imagine reducing maintenance costs to $0 for five years, saving $100,000
- This shortens the life of your roof by roughly seven years, meaning your per-year installation cost climbs from $33,334 to $43,478
- You will need to spend at least another $1,000,000 a full seven years earlier than you would have with regular maintenance
Budgeting a reasonable, realistic two percent of installation costs is far better than budgeting nothing and substantially shortening the life span of your roof.
Roofs of an Unknown Age
If you are not in a position to know just how old your roof is, your local, trustworthy commercial roofer can help. Through inspections and core sample testing, your roofer can calculate the age of the existing roof and estimate yearly maintenance needs.
If in Doubt, Act!
If you are truly at a loss about maintenance budgeting, the fastest solution is to engage your professional roofer, get a baseline inspection and initial maintenance service, and use that invoice as the future amount. The worst solution is to do nothing and hope the roof remains intact. It stays intact only if you act!
Doing nothing is not a solution. Simply because a roof is not leaking now does not mean it will not develop problems over the next year. Contact the trained professionals of PSI Roofing today to ensure your roof is never neglected and your budget is on target.
