Commercial Roof Surveys in San Antonio and Austin

We agree the scope before the visit. A typical survey covers four areas.

Roof surfaces

Panels or membrane across each roof area, with damage, corrosion, wear, previous repairs and differences between construction phases recorded.

Openings, flashings and edges

Curbs, pipes, skylights, walls, parapets, ridges and eaves, where a small defect lets water into a large area.

Drainage

Gutters, drains, scuppers and downspouts, with evidence of blockage, overflow or standing water.

Inside the building

Leak stains, wet insulation, rust on purlins and deck, and condensation, related back to the roof layout above. Purlin condition decides whether retrofit sub-purlins can fasten through to the existing frame.

The findings are set out so they can be acted on and shared with others involved in the building:

• a roof plan marking each defect and test location;
• dated photographs of each finding;
• the recommended project for each roof area: retrofit, TPO, R-panel, insulated panels or coating;
• the reasons for each recommendation, and the options we ruled out;
• areas that could not be inspected, and why.

A dry ceiling on the day of the visit does not prove every roof layer is sound, so the report states what was and was not checked.

Spring hail around San Antonio and Austin dents and splits metal panels, cracks skylights and crushes insulation under membranes, often without an immediate leak. Long summers of heat and UV chalk the paint on metal roofs, fatigue fasteners and sealants, and age TPO and older membranes. The survey records that wear because it decides the project: a dented but sound metal roof can still be coated, while split panels, crushed insulation and rust that has joined up across the roof point to a retrofit or recover.

Access, safety and the occupied building

Roof height, locked access points, fragile surfaces and site rules affect what can be inspected. Old skylights and translucent panels are a fall hazard and are never walked on; they are treated as openings, with protection where work is close to them. Tell us about sensitive operations, restricted rooms and security procedures, and any area we cannot reach is recorded as not inspected rather than assumed to be sound.

Surveys for capital planning

For a capital plan, the survey can cover several roofs or buildings on one site and set out which project each needs and in what order. Share the budget deadline and the records you have. A condition survey is a different level of work from a measured project specification, and we say which one the decision needs.

When to survey a commercial roof

The best time is a year or two before you expect to spend money on the roof, while you still have a choice. A metal roof surveyed while the rust is still on the surface can often be coated; the same roof surveyed after rust has holed the laps needs a retrofit. A low-slope roof surveyed before its insulation gets wet can often take a TPO recover instead of a full tear-off.

Keep the survey report with the building drawings. It becomes the starting point for the project scope, so the specification is built on measured facts.

From survey to the right project

When a roof needs work, the recommendation is one of five projects. A metal roof with surface rust and sound panels takes a protective coating. A metal roof past coating gets a retrofit on sub-purlins over the old one, often with an insulation upgrade. A low-slope roof with a dry, sound deck takes a TPO recover or replacement. A metal building that needs a new skin gets R-panel roofs and walls, and one that needs real insulation value gets insulated metal panels. The report explains which fits each roof area and why, and we do not recommend more work than the findings support.

What affects the survey cost

Roof size, the number of roof areas, height and access, the testing needed and the reporting required all affect the price. A walk-over of one metal roof is a smaller job than a multi-building survey with moisture scans and core cuts. We confirm the scope and fee before the visit.

Before a coating project,

to check the roof is sound enough to take one.

Before re-cladding the walls,

so new R-panel or insulated panels on the walls are planned with the roof.