This month in “It Pays to Maintain,” we’ll be talking about the causes of roof failure system and the financial cons of quick fixes.

When considering the cost of a new roofing system, most consider the capital cost of the roof. A 100,000-square-foot roof, for example, costs roughly $300,000 upfront. While some might consider

roof maintenance costs, most choose a reactionary mindset — opting to repair a approach if nothing ever went wrong. After all, a roof installed by a reputable contractor has an average life expectancy of 20 years.

Unfortunately, so much can go wrong with the overhead barrier that is expected to keep us and our electrical equipment safe from the outside elements. Extreme weather, improperly added equipment, damages caused by trades other than your can all contribute to needing roof repairs.

Interestingly, a property management company that tracked leak calls from more than 1,600 tenants found that only 21 percent of leaks came from the roof itself. In fact, 29 percent of the reported leaks came from HVAC units, and 25 percent came from skylights. Many construction trades (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc.) use the roof as a launching point or working platform for their trades.

Unfortunately, so much can go wrong with the overhead barrier that is expected to keep us and our electrical equipment safe from the outside elements. Extreme weather, improperly added equipment, damages caused by trades other than your can all contribute to needing roof repairs.

Interestingly, a property management company that tracked leak calls from more than 1,600 tenants found that only 21 percent of leaks came from the roof itself. In fact, 29 percent of the reported leaks came from HVAC units, and 25 percent came from skylights. Many construction trades (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc.) use the roof as a launching point or working platform for their trades. unfortunately, most of these trades are unaware that their equipment can contribute to leaks when the years later.

That being said, the question is not if you want to pay to keep a roof over your head, but when and how much. According to “Is Maintenance a Good Investment?” from foot roof will cost upward of $500,000 to completely replace at year 10 if you do nothing to maintain it. And on top of that, each leak costs $750 to repair, plus $500 for interior damages caused by the leak. That’s $1,250 total for every leak. If you expect one leak from years three to seven, two leaks in year eight, three leaks in year nine, and four leaks in year 10 before a complete roof-replacement is needed, you can expect to pay $20,000 in leak repairs alone over the course of your roof’s short 10-year lifespan.

Let’s compare that to a moderate roof maintenance program that consists of a yearly visual survey and only one moisture survey at year 15. Let’s also assume that damaged areas of the roof are repaired, not patched. With visual surveys costing a penny per square foot (that’s $1,000 each year for our 100,000-square-foot roof) and a moisture survey costing $5,000, a moderate roof maintenance program would cost $20,000 before replacing the roof at year 16 — the same cost as repairing those 12 leaks from the previous example.

Because this roof has had regular surveys, however, leak repairs by a trained crew ($250 each) are only needed from year 3–15, and interior damage control is only required once in year 7. The total cost of the leak repairs comes to $3,500 over your roof’s 16-year lifespan.

Not only has your roof lasted six more years than the underprotected roof, but you’ve saved $16,500 in leak repairs, just by implementing a moderate roof maintenance program. But the news gets even better. Because you’ve completed roof maintenance, not only has your roof lasted longer, but the cost of replacing only the wet areas of your roof at year 16 comes to $325,000 as opposed to the $500,000 it would cost to replace the entire roof. That’s a savings of $175,000! If you combine these savings with the $16,500 you saved in leak repairs, you save a grand total of $191,500 by using a roof-maintenance program!

At Castro Roofing, we want to save you money, frustrations and lengthen the lifespan of your roof with LOOKOUT™ roof monitoring program.  During LOOKOUT™ inspections, your entire roof while videotaping and roof analysis, which includes condition reports, pictures, videos, and current and future budgets, are saved in a secure web portal to help you easily review your entire building portfolio. Having the correct data in a way to quickly and easy access it, helps the facility manager make smart recommended maintenance procedures take care of you!

Make sure to keep an eye out for “It Pays to Maintain” in our next blog, where we will continue discussing the advantages of preventative roof maintenance. Want more information about LOOKOUT™, click here.