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Perspectives |
Repair & Maintenance in Roof Managementby Steve Nelson, RRC Building owners' and managers' goals for roof management often include the following:
The common objective is to get their roofs to perform better, longer, and for less money. Achieving this objective begins with the installation of roof systems (new construction or reroofing), that have the greatest potential for long life. Proven products should be used, the design should be appropriate for the building, and the application of the system should be top quality construction. From our conversations with owners and managers, the expectation of return on such an investment is 20 years or more of relatively trouble-free service life. Due to the significant costs involved in roof replacement, it is usually the focus of most roof management efforts. Proper planning and timely replacement can make a significant impact on keeping facilities watertight and roofing budgets under control. There is another aspect of roof management that is equally critical to the success of a comprehensive roof management program. In our opinion, 20 years or more of roof service life becomes a reasonable expectation only when the committment is made by the owner to properly care for a roof through timely repairs and sustained preventive maintenance. Reaching an optimum level of roof replacement for a multiple building portfolio on a 20 year reroofing cycle would mean replacing an average of 1/20 (or 5%) of the total roofing assets each year. To get these roofs to perform satisfactorily for 20 years until it is time for replacement would also mean properly repairing and maintaining the other 95% of the total roofing assets each year. Failure to do so leads to shorter roof life, more frequent replacement and a significant increase in the average annual life cycle cost of roofing. As an example, let's consider a roof management program based on the following parameters:
Given these parameters, an optimum annual roof replacement program would address 5% of the total assets (250,000 sf) at a cost of $1,250,000. The remaining 95% of the roofs (4,750,000 sf) would require maintenance and repair at a cost of approximately $332,000. It is not unusual for roof replacement, rather than maintenance, to play the role of squeaky wheel in a roof management program, as the need is perceived as immediate and therefore more critical. If budgets are inadequate to meet all roofing needs, dollars are often first committed to reroofing projects. Leftover funds are then allocated to repair the most serious problem roofs, while preventive measures may go unfunded. However, if proper care of the majority of roofs is continually compromised for the sake of the reroofing budget, it stands to reason that the overall life expectancy of the roofing portfolio will eventually diminish. As this happens, in the case of our example, for each roof prematurely forced into replacement, an additional $250,000 is required for the reroofing budget. Obtaining these funds from the repair/maintenance budget in our example would reduce it by approximately 75%. If this occurs, it is easy to imagine the resulting downward spiral of the roof management program. The key to a successful program is the repair and maintenance of small, minor, inexpensive damage before it becomes a major problem that eventually could lead to premature failure and higher costs. Annual roof repair and maintenance should reduce leakage, associated downtime, and resulting interior damage. Regardless of the composition of the roofing portfolio, feedback from our clients indicates that successful long-term roof management should focus on the sustained maintenance and repair of roofs in good condition, first. This will enable them to reach service life goals. Without repair and maintenance measures, a roof management program risks becoming a simple program of prioritized roof replacements. Such a program would have little impact on extending the overall service life of a roofing portfolio, or enhancing the value of the initial roofing investment. |