The variety of commercial roofing Fort Lauderdale businesses use to catch customers’ eyes and to make a name for themselves on the cityscape is truly astounding. The city has historic buildings, gleaming contemporary structures, and quirky delights like the B Ocean Resort. Every one of these buildings needs a sturdy, weather-resistant roof, but every one offers unique challenges. What three things should all building owners know about their own buildings, so that roofing is never an unpleasant surprise?
Size
Knowing the total square footage of your building’s roof is invaluable in assessing estimates for everything from cleaning to inspection to repair to full replacement. A 5,000-square-foot roof for a warehouse is a different scale of roofing challenge than a 500-square-foot roof for a restaurant.
Age
Knowing the age of your roof may sound easy, but for some buildings, this can be difficult. Accurate roof records can help, but a 50-year-old building could actually have a 13-year-old roof, if the old roofing system was completely torn off and replaced.
Age, too, is never simply a measure of chronology. If your roof is 10 calendar years old but suffered hurricane damage or wind uplift, it may really be more like 20 years old. A thorough inspection and maintenance by a qualified Fort Lauderdale commercial roofer can give you an accurate age estimate.
Slope
One of the most basic aspects of commercial roofing Fort Lauderdale business owners should know is the slope of a roof is its pitch, or angle. No roof is truly flat, but low-slope roofs can be very subtle indeed. The International Code Council (ICC) provides this guide:
- 0.25” per 12” of run, or 0.25:12 slope, gives a 1.2 degree pitch, which is the shallowest slope that still allows effective water runoff
- Roofs up to 3” per 12”, 3:12 slope, or 14 degree, pitch are considered low-slope roofs
- Any roof above a 3:12 pitch is a steep-slope roof
Slope matters because some materials are not meant for low-slope roofs. Your contractor may tempt you, for example, with asphalt shingles due to their low installation cost, but they are not recommended for any roof less than 2:12.
For more than the basics of commercial roofing Fort Lauderdale businesses depend upon, contact us at PSI Roofing. We can walk you through both the basics and the advanced concepts, and help with your own building’s roofing needs.
