Spring commercial roof inspections often discover similar types of damage no matter the type of roof assembly. Whether you hire a professional inspection team from Delta Innovative Services or handle the task yourself, make sure you don’t forget to check for seasonal damage. Take care of your Kansas City commercial roof by looking for signs of these five common types of winter damage.
Why is Winter So Hard on Commercial Roofs?
Cold temperatures affect the durability of most commercial roofing materials, but Kansas City also experiences winter weather that contributes to damage. Many spring commercial roof inspections discover that snow loading, ice crusting, and the freeze-thaw cycle have caused damage across the roof.
Regardless of the cause, the result is the same:
Prompt repairs to prevent leaking and structural damage. Winter weather damage can take a number of forms, but most roof issues in need of prompt repairs fall into one of the following five categories.
Common Commercial Roof Repairs Post-Winter
1. Damage to the Drainage System
Low-slope commercial roofs are particularly prone to ice damming because there’s no slope to encourage the shedding of snow and ice. When cold temperatures cause water to freeze around the drains that clear the surface, any other moisture on the roof becomes trapped. This leads to ponding that increases the weight pressing down on the roof assembly, complicating your storm damage repair efforts.
Keeping the drainage system clear and free from clogs over the next winter may require the addition of heat tape or insulation in the fall. Don’t forget to watch out for debris that clogs the gutter system as well, such as twigs and leaves from nearby trees.
2. Rips, Tears, and Cracks
Winter weather conditions contribute to torn and cracked commercial roofing materials in two different ways.
First, the cold temperatures that affect Kansas City for months on end cause many membrane and sealant materials to stiffen up and become brittle. This means they’re more susceptible than usual to damage.
Second, snow and ice build up and press down on the roof assembly with an increasing amount of weight. Even if it’s just water ponding on the roof due to ice dams blocking the drain system, it’s all likely to rip, tear, or crack the roofing materials.
Maintaining proper drainage will prevent some of these issues, but it can’t entirely protect your roof against rips caused by heavy snowfall.
3. Damage to Flashing and Sealants
The same cold temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles that can damage any part of the commercial roof are particularly hard on the flexible sealants used to connect sheets of roofing membrane and seal them around the perimeter.
Flashing materials that help protect against leaks around roof penetrations, like vent pipes also tend to flex over the winter due to temperature changes. This means they pull away from the roof and penetrate, leaving gaps that allow water to travel into the roof assembly and form blisters under the surface. This kind of damage is often harder to spot than larger cracks and tears occurring in the middle of a membrane. Since it occurs along the existing edges of the material, only an in-depth or thermal camera inspection will reveal it.
4. Sunken or Collapsed Membranes
If the winter damage is extensive enough, the surface membrane of the commercial roof might pull away enough from the perimeter and collapse entirely. In these cases, you’ll find that the weight of the snow or ice on the roof can partially or completely collapse the insulation under the surface as well.
Winter winds can also pull at a membrane that has torn due to weight and further strip it away from the structure. It’s not as simple as pulling off the damaged roofing material and putting on a new layer. The entire roof assembly must be dried out first, then repaired as necessary from the framing up to restore the smooth draining surface and insulation value.
5. Exposed Fasteners
The cycle of freezing and thawing slowly worsens any existing cracks or gaps in the roof. Water soaks in even the smallest openings and then expands when it freezes. This same process affects roof fasteners as well. It’s a common cause of lifted fasteners, which are further exposed to damage like rust.
Commercial roof leaks caused by lifted or missing fasteners are particularly hard to find because moisture enters through tiny openings that often span across the roof. Spotting fasteners when they first begin to rise and reseating or replacing them is an essential step in spring commercial roof maintenance.
Preventative Measures to Protect Your Roof
While it’s always a good idea to promptly inspect your commercial roof when winter ends, there are some steps you can take to prevent damage next fall.
Have any surrounding trees trimmed so that branches and other debris can’t end up on the roof during winter storms.
Also, consider adding heat tape and other protective measures to keep ice accumulation to a minimum and ensure the drains are clear throughout the season.
Finally, watch out for materials like EPDM that shrink in cold temperatures. If you must choose this kind of membrane for covering your commercial roof, stick with high-quality products designed to withstand the cold winter conditions that the Kansas City area can experience.
If you have some time, we recommend checking out our Quick Guide to Winter Roof Maintenance!
Get Ahead of Damage with Regular Roof Inspections and Maintenance
Instead of just hoping for the best, get the full picture of how your roof is doing with an in-depth inspection from Delta Innovative Services. Contact us today, and we’ll help you determine if there are any issues with your current roofing system and recommend the best course of action for repair. You can turn to us for help in the fall when it comes time to prepare your commercial roof for the next winter as well. If you are looking for a trusted ongoing maintenance program, check out our WeCare roofing maintenance plans.