Owners and managers of commercial properties often see expenses rise every year. It seems that the costs for heating, cooling and lighting the building are not likely to ever decline. Payroll costs are rising, landscapers are increasing their rates, and even cleaning services are going up on their prices steadily. When property owners and managers start looking for ways to control costs, they sometimes decide to focus their attention on their preventive maintenance plans, especially their commercial roofing maintenance plans. However, being proactive about maintaining a commercial roof is a very smart move.
What Is the Difference Between Proactive and Reactive Commercial Roof Maintenance?
If you follow a reactive maintenance plan, you wait for problems to develop before you take action. For example, you may ignore maintenance on your commercial roof until water begins to leak inside the building. At that point, you hire a contractor to repair the leak. However, if you had followed a proactive maintenance plan, there is an excellent chance that an interior leak would never have occurred. The problem would have been identified and addressed during a routine inspection.
Why Do Commercial Roofing Contractors Recommend Proactive Maintenance?
A commercial roof typically has a harder life than a residential roof. Technicians servicing roof-mounted HVAC equipment can inflict damage through carelessness. Tenants and employees looking for a great view or using the roof as a smoking area can tear the membranes. Heavy rains can turn a flat roof into a wading pool if the gutters and downspouts are clogged. Commercial roofing contractors are very familiar with the numerous ways that a roof can be damaged, and they are also very aware of the many benefits of proactive maintenance.
1. Proactive maintenance saves money. Small issues can be found and fixed before they can cause costly damage. Furthermore, studies have found that reacting to problems with a commercial roof results in an average annual cost of $0.25 per square foot, but proactive maintenance costs an average of $0.14 per square foot per year.
2. Being proactive about your roofing services also saves you money by extending the life of your roof. With reactive maintenance, a commercial roof has an average life of 13 years. With proactive maintenance, the average life is 21 years.
3. Proactive roof maintenance helps you keep tenants happy. Tenants rightfully expect you to provide a safe, secure environment for their inventory, equipment, and employees. A roof leak can damage their belongings, cause mold that endangers the health of employees or lead to falls caused by slipping on a wet floor.
4. When you have to react to a problem, your entire day can be disrupted. Emergencies have a way of happening when you need to be dealing with something else. For example, you may have an appointment with a potential new tenant who wants to discuss a long-term lease on an entire floor, but you have to postpone the meeting at the last minute because a current tenant is highly perturbed that an overnight roof leak destroyed computer equipment worth thousands of dollars. Furthermore, you may never get a second chance with the prospective tenant.
If you need the type of high-quality commercial roofing Austin property managers and business owners value, you can count on the experts at Alpha Roofing. We offer an extensive array of commercial and residential roofing services, including flat roof replacements, roof inspections, asphalt shingle replacements, skylight installations, metal roofing systems, flashing installations and repairs, metal fabrication, chimney repairs, and siding installations. We are known for extraordinary workmanship, true professionalism, amazing customer service and reasonable prices. You can ask for a free quote by calling 512-777-1086 or by completing the online form.