The most common
roof problem is a leak. Routine maintenance
and inspections help ensure the roof is able
to protect the building against its main
antagonist: water.
"Water is a
universal solvent," Mock says. "It will
damage anything, given time. If you can keep
water off the roof, you will get more
service life out of your roof covering."
Something as
simple as clearing drains can prevent a
plethora of problems because the roof dries
faster. Unfortunately, starting a
maintenance plan now might prevent future
problems, but it won't vanquish existing
problems.
If the roof
has been leaking for some time, the
structural integrity of the roofing system
could already be damaged and its load
capacity compromised, says Mock. This is a
special concern for some roof decking
materials, such as cementious wood fiber,
which are more vulnerable to water damage
than others.
Equally
serious is wet insulation, "lnsulation must
be dry to do its job," Mock said. "If it's
not doing its job, the building manager or
occupants will end up paying more for energy
costs."
To detect wet
insulation, a roofing expert will conduct a
non-destructive survey with infrared
thermography, capacitance or nuclear test
method options. Wet insulation warmed during
the day will hold heat after sunset. An
infrared scan pinpoints where heat radiates
from the insulation.
