Roof Leaking in my Building - Again!

Roof Leaking in Your Commercial Building?

I was recently in a large retail store and right by the registers was a common sight - a yellow "Caution Wet Floors" sign and several large plastic buckets capturing water leaking from the roof. Now, you would think that a large retail store would be able to keep a leak-free roof, right? Not so easy, and if you work in building maintenance, you know it can be challenging and expensive to track down the source of the leak.

I started a series on roof leaks back in January - you can catch up with the series here and here. In our last blog, we talked about how leaks develop in Flat Roof systems. No matter what kind of flat roof system is installed on your building, they all have some weaknesses in common. Whether there is just one layer or several layers, the material in the substrate and the applied membranes will have seams that can become weak with age. Weather, foot traffic and UV rays from the sun can break down adhesives and materials, even PVC, asphalt and tar. Once water finds an opening in the outer layers it will continue to flow along the substrate until it finds another opening. Water will soak any insulation, wood or ceiling tile in the way until it reaches its saturation point, and then continue on its way until it finally reaches your floor.

You can see why leaks can be so difficult to locate; the water you are seeing on your floor can be a great distance from where it actually enters the building. You can call a roofer to fix the problem but even an experienced professional may make several attempts before he finally finds and repairs the problem. To add to your frustration and expense, he may have to take out areas of the interior ceiling in order to track the water. Unfortunately, with each failed attempt, you can expect even more damage with each subsequent rain event. Another complication will occur when you have wet insulation mixed with the heat inside the building; mold will begin to infest the insulation. Mold eradication is expensive and dangerous for anyone occupying the space.

Quickly Locating The Source of Roof Leaks

With Infrared Thermal Scanning I can help you narrow down the search area for your roofer to ensure a fast and targeted repair. How does it work? During the day the roof builds up heat. It releases heat as it cools in the evening. The interesting thing is that all that wet material under the roof will hold the heat longer than dry material. Those wet, warm areas show up clearly on an infrared scan allowing me to indicate the most likely areas to check for repair.

Calling a certified infrared thermographer is the quickest and most cost-effective way to identify the source of water leaks in your flat roofing system. Interested in learning more? Call me at 803-328-2889 and let’s talk!

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit us on the web or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!