The uncertainty of spring weather. Early morning begins with a coat, hat, and gloves and ends in a t-shirt and shorts. As we all can attest, the magnificence of spring is often counter-acted by powerful storms with strong winds, heavy rain, and destructive hail. Unfortunately, many times the result of storms is damage.
Because it’s overhead and out of sight, your roof’s condition is the last thing on your mind. If your roof suffered damage over the winter months, spring storms can wreak havoc. Shawn Brannan, commercial division manager with All Elements, reports that, “Wind can damage buildings, that’s why it’s specifically covered in insurance policies. Tornadoes, straight line winds, or driving wind and rain can find a roof’s weakest link.”
Many times, customers will contact our office to report leaks after a storm with powerful winds and driving rain. However, some of those little leaks are anything but little.
It all started atop a 6 story building....
Service manager Justin Marsh was recently called out to a customer’s building for a “small leak.” Instead, what he discovered was an EPDM (rubber) membrane that was no longer adhered to the substrate board. The loose EPDM membrane reminded him of waves rolling across Lake Superior. The ballooning membrane was pretty much hanging on by a thread – clinging to only the roof hatch and PRV vent.
This type of situation requires immediate action, before loss of the entire roof. But how do you make repairs to a giant trampoline?
Quickly and with the utmost care.
“A loose membrane isn’t something to mess around with,” says John Thurber, All Elements founder and president. “We’ve seen it knock guys over and move 500 pound rolls of material around.”
Donned in harnesses, safety vests, and hard hats, the All Elements crew was called to the scene. With the use of a crane, 230 sandbags were used to secure the 19,500 square foot roof so that repairs could be completed. The entire process took 6 crew members 7 hours from the first phone call until they were back at the shop.
And if it wasn’t for the observant building manager, who reported the little leak, we’d be telling a much different story.
Don’t take your roof for granted. Avoid trouble by regularly checking for damage, aging, or worn areas. If your property does sustain damage from wind driven rain, have repairs completed as quickly as possible. The longer storm damage remains without repair, the greater the risk is for more extensive damage.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions.