CQR President Carl Clark “Why is my roof still leaking?” PING Presentation

In Feb 26, Clark’s Quality Roofing president Carl Clark was invited to present at the PING Salt Lake County Business Alliance networking luncheon, a collective of local chambers including the West Valley Chamber, the Taylorsville Chamber, the Kearns Chamber, and the Millcreek Chamber.  Carl talked about a subject most roofing companies prefer to avoid:  roof leaks.  The roof is one of the most litigious aspects of a building due to the complexity and expense in maintaining it. Overall, leaks are a problem which can lead to expensive damage, increased costs, and ongoing frustration for business owners, tenants, and property managers.

Leaks can have hard-to-find sources, which often leads to a lot of finger-pointing. Carl’s talk helped illuminate just why leaks are not so straight forward to resolve.

In fact, only 21% of “roof leaks” are actually caused by the roof itself. HVAC units account for 29%, skylights for 25%, and other components like windows, concrete walls, design flaws, and other items account for the rest.  Most roofing companies are not experts in these other components.  They will do a general survey of the roof and its components, checking for the obvious signs of failure, but this will lead to a correct resolution only 20% of the time.

Our CQR technicians have become known for their superior leak repair services. They use a methodical 6-step approach to resolving leaks at their source:

 

 

• Interview building occupants to discover conditions leading up to water infiltration
• Start gathering clues from the inside out
• Pin-point exactly where the water is entering the building
• Do a general survey of the roof and its components looking for the obvious  *This is where most companies start and stop.
• If it is not obvious look harder
• Take corrective action even if you are still unsure

The truth is that occasionally we can’t be sure what the source of the leak is right away — but by following this approach, being persistent, and taking corrective action against the most probable causes, we fix the problem 7 out of 10 times and save the property owner from an expensive and unnecessary re-roof.  We also shore up the building and roof against potential leak problems down the road.