Commercial Roofing
The dark plume on a restaurant roof, fanning out downwind of the hood exhaust, is the first thing worth photographing, because the membrane under it ages on a different clock than the rest of the roof. Edinburg, TX has restaurants of every size, from free-standing buildings on pad sites to suites in shopping centers, and each has a kitchen that sends heat, steam and grease up through the roof. The roof is a service platform: the exhaust fan, the makeup air unit, the walk-in cooler's condenser and the water heater vent all share a few hundred square feet of membrane.
We start at the exhaust and work outward. Any leak is followed from the stain back across the membrane, with photographs pinned to the roof drawing so the sound areas, the shifted ones and the single place needing a test are easy to tell apart.
Grease laden air leaves through the hood fan, and some of the grease settles on the roof. A grease pan or trap under the fan catches part of it. When the pan is full, missing or overflowing, grease runs onto the membrane. Many roof membranes soften, swell or lose adhesion when grease sits on them, and the area under the plume wears faster than the rest of the roof.
We check the fan, the pan, the curb and the membrane within several feet of each exhaust. We compare that surface with clean membrane elsewhere on the roof and record the difference. If the membrane is soft, tacky or blistered, the repair has to remove the damaged area and replace it with a material that tolerates grease. PVC roofing and KEE roofing are often priced for these zones. The pan and the cleaning schedule matter as much as the membrane, since an unmaintained pan will damage any material.
A restaurant roof has many penetrations in a small area: hood exhaust, makeup air, plumbing vents, refrigeration lines, gas lines, conduit and rooftop units. Each depends on a flashing, and each is serviced by technicians who walk the roof. The curbs for exhaust fans sit in the zone where grease and heat are worst, so their flashings are the first to age.
Water that enters at a curb runs along the deck and drips at a joint or fastener, often in the kitchen or the dining room some distance away. The manager tells us where stains showed and in what weather; we plot them against the roof drawing and walk the line upslope, then read the insulation with a meter or an infrared pass. A penetration flashing repair that rebuilds the curb detail on a grease-affected roof uses materials chosen for the exposure, and a leak above the cooking line gets temporary protection first.
Restaurant roofs vary with the building. Pad-site restaurants often have single-ply membranes or modified bitumen over insulation on a metal or wood deck. Suites in a shopping center share the center's roof. We confirm the system from samples and records, since a recovered roof can hide an older membrane under a newer one.
Protective measures extend the life of the roof around the kitchen. A walkway pad on the service path protects the membrane from foot traffic. A larger grease pan or a containment system catches overflow. A protective sheet under the fan, a raised curb or a stack extension moves the discharge away from the surface. We record what exists and what is missing, and the list goes to the owner and the kitchen manager together. The photo record also lists rooftop units serving the dining room, with condensate drain locations, since a drain that falls in one place leaves a stain and a wear mark. A drain and scupper check ensures water has somewhere to go.
A restaurant roof sits over a hot kitchen and under the sun of a Valley summer that runs from May through October, and both temperatures push on the membrane. Heat ages sealants, softens grease-laden surfaces further and drives the daily expansion that works on curbs and seams.
Storm season spans June through October. Hurricane Dolly's gusts passed through the county, and Edinburg took wind and street flooding from Hurricane Hanna in July 2020. For a restaurant, a storm can mean power loss, wind-lifted signage and rooftop equipment on the move. Before the season we check fan fasteners, screens and drains and stage temporary protection. Once a storm passes, edges and flashings get walked ahead of the field. A wind damage repair record documents what moved.
A repair around an exhaust extends to sound, grease-free membrane, and the edge of the repair must bond to a clean surface. If insulation under the plume is wet, the boundary includes it. If the roof has been patched repeatedly, the patches themselves may be failing in the grease, and the question moves to restoration or replacement.
For an owner choosing among options, a replacement with a grease-tolerant membrane in the kitchen zone is priced next to a series of repairs. Price turns on layers, wet insulation, penetrations, access and the restaurant's calendar, and the permit runs through the city's adopted 2018 codes. For a tenant in a shopping center, the lease decides who pays, and the record gives both sides the same facts. A tenant who plans to add a fryer line or a second hood should tell the landlord before the equipment is ordered, so the curb location and the grease containment can be planned together.
A restaurant has peaks, and the roof crew has to stay out of them. We ask the manager for the lunch and dinner rushes, delivery times and any days when the kitchen is closed, then plan noisy steps for the quiet part of the day. Hood fans are not shut down during service; any lift of an exhaust unit is scheduled for a closed period, and the kitchen manager signs off on the time before the crane is booked.
Fire safety rules apply near exhaust, so hot work is avoided and welded or cold-applied methods are used. Air intakes and exhaust outlets are protected from dust and debris. No opening is left overnight, and covers wait on the roof for sudden rain. An operator with sites in Edinburg and McAllen gets matching records for each. A pad-site kitchen shares its tenant questions with shopping center roofing, and its guest-facing schedule with hotel roofing.
Grease and heat from the exhaust settle there. Many membranes soften under grease, so the area needs a suitable material and a working grease pan.
Usually. We work around the running fan, and plan any lift or reset for a closed period.
We trace it to the entry on the roof, protect the area and repair the curb or seam that let water in.
Yes, on a schedule. A full or missing pan sends grease onto the roof, and no membrane tolerates that forever.
A city permit under the adopted 2018 building and energy codes, plus the landlord's consent where the restaurant is a tenant.