Commercial Roofing
A maintenance request that says only 'water in bedroom, third floor' is where an apartment roof investigation starts, and the work order that comes after it is only as good as the unit number, the date and the weather on that date. A multifamily owner in Edinburg, TX may hold a small walk-up or a garden-style community with a dozen buildings and a leasing office, and each building has its own roof, its own age and its own stack of resident complaints. A property manager with fifteen buildings needs to know which roofs are leaking now, which are about to and which can wait.
We start with the maintenance log and the site plan, then trace a leak from the unit backward across the roof above it. A photo record tied to a building-by-building roof drawing shows what is sound, what has moved and where a small test would settle the question.
Multifamily roofs combine low-slope and pitched sections, and the failures follow the details. Balconies and exterior stairs attach to walls and pass through the roof edge. Dormers, chimneys and stair towers create roof-to-wall transitions. Bathroom and kitchen exhaust vents come through the roof in rows, one per unit, and each has a boot or a cap.
We check transitions, vent boots and caps, drains and gutters, and the seams or laps across each section. Cracked boots are the quickest repair on a multifamily roof and often the source of repeated complaints on the top floor. Gutters and downspouts that clog send water behind the fascia or into the wall. A penetration flashing repair that replaces cracked boots and rebuilds transition flashing is often the most economical first step, and edge metal, coping and gutter work restores the perimeter.
In a wood-framed or masonry multifamily building, water that passes the roof covering enters the attic, the insulation or the top-floor ceiling and can follow framing, plumbing and electrical chases down several floors before appearing as a stain. The unit that reports the leak may not be the unit under the entry.
We combine the maintenance log with the roof drawing, map the units that reported water and walk the roof upslope of them. Moisture readings or an infrared scan on low-slope sections show how far wet insulation extends. Because wet materials in occupied units need prompt attention, we tell the property manager about readings that suggest the ceiling or wall cavity is affected, and the interior side is handled by the maintenance team. An infrared moisture survey across several buildings gives an owner a measured basis for ranking roofs.
We number every building and every roof section. The sequence is the same in each: the roof from the access point, then perimeter and transitions, then penetrations, then drains and gutters, then the field. Findings are photographed and placed on the drawing.
The record ranks buildings by condition and by the number of resident complaints, so the owner can sequence work. A multi-site roof program uses that ranking to spread cost over several seasons and to put the worst roofs first. Preventive maintenance before the storm season clears gutters, re-seals loose boots and finds small problems early.
The National Weather Service in Brownsville identifies May through October as the Rio Grande Valley heat-safety season. Apartment roofs spend those months under sun that ages coverings, dries sealants and cracks plastic boots. Heat also drives attic temperatures, which affects the cooling bill in every top-floor unit.
Hurricane readiness runs from June through October. Hurricane Dolly brought 50-to-70-mph gusts to populated Hidalgo County, including Edinburg, Pharr and McAllen, and Hurricane Hanna brought wind and flooding impacts to Edinburg in July 2020, including a report of shingles blown from a roof. After a tropical wind event we inspect edges, ridges, flashings, vent caps and gutters across the community, starting with the oldest buildings. A hurricane damage repair record documents condition for the owner, the insurer and the lender.
Repairs make sense while damage is limited to details and the roof covering is sound. A reroof is the answer when leaks recur across a building, when the covering is failing or when wet material is widespread. The evidence is the leak log by unit, moisture readings and the condition of the covering.
For a multi-building community, the owner usually reroofs a few buildings a year. We price a building-by-building replacement sequence next to continued repairs and, where the roof qualifies, a coating restoration on low-slope sections. Cost drivers are layers, wet material, steepness, access, the number of buildings and the calendar. Permits for a multifamily reroof run through the city, which has adopted the 2018 editions of the International Building Code and the Energy Conservation Code.
Pitched sections add their own questions. Shingles, tile or metal on a steep roof depend on the underlayment, the nailing or clips and the ridge and valley details, and wind lifts them from the edges and ridges first. Attic ventilation affects how fast the covering ages in the Valley's long heat season, and blocked vents or crushed insulation can raise top-floor temperatures. We check ventilation and insulation from the attic where access allows, record what we find and flag it for the maintenance team, so the roof scope and the cooling complaints are looked at together.
Residents need notice, safe walkways and clear parking. We agree on a notice schedule with the property manager, post it well before work starts and update it as the schedule changes. Building entrances, stairs and walkways below the work are closed with barriers, and cars are moved from drop zones. Dumpsters and staging go where they do not block fire lanes or neighbors.
Noisy tear-off is scheduled for daytime hours, and work stops at an agreed time. Pets, shift workers and young children are part of the plan, so the manager receives a daily summary. Each roof section is opened only when it can be closed the same day, and temporary protection stays on site for sudden rain. Owners with communities in Edinburg and Mission can use the same record at each property. Related building types follow similar logic, as with hotel roofing and senior living roofing.
Water follows framing and chases before it drips. The unit that reports it may be below and beside the entry.
By written notice from the manager before work starts, with updates as dates change, plus a daily summary on site.
Cracked vent boots and clogged gutters. They cause many complaints and cost little to correct when found early.
Yes. A sequence by building spreads cost, keeps most residents unaffected and puts the worst roofs first.
The 2018 edition, for both the building code and the energy code. The building department confirms which provisions reach a given roof, so the scope notes insulation and fastening before the permit is filed.