Commercial Roofing in Corpus Christi. What is that? Well, commercial roofing is a very broad term that can mean just about anything on a commercial building. What type of roof do you need? What type of roof does your building need? Do you have a commercial roof in Corpus Christi or the Coastal Bend, and you’re trying to decide what type of roofing system you should choose?
There’s so many options. If it’s a pitched roof, obviously shingles would be a very common choice, even though it’s a commercial building. That doesn’t mean you can’t have shingles or metal or tile. Um, we’re happy to discuss that with you, regardless of the number of square feet that lie underneath that roof, that might still be the best option for you.
If you have a low slope roof, which is very common for commercial roofs, which are not laying near flat, then your choices are going to be less on the side of residential and more on specific commercial roofing options, such as modified bitumen. That would typically be called torched down, right?
For many people, this will have taken the place of hot mop roofing systems. A hot mop roofing system is literally layers of fiberglass and mopped on tar. that typically gets finished out with an aggregate such as rock. That aggregate is going to offer sun protection to the tar that’s underneath so that sunlight is not hitting that tar and degrading it. It also increases the square foot surface area of that and help to allow water to dissipate. It helps that water to evaporate. Hot mop is very old fashioned in a lot of ways. It’s a great roofing system, but it’s very expensive these days and not often done in most situations other than government.
Hot mop roofs can still be commonly found on schools and government buildings, but for most people that option is going to be an expensive option that they’re not going to opt for. Torch Down Modified Bitumen is in that same range. We’re still using torches to heat up tar and weld them together to make a monolithic roofing system.
When you talk about a monolithic roofing system, that’s what most of your commercial roofing systems are going to be, meaning that there’s no seams. Everything is welded together so the entire roof is one big piece so that water can’t get between seams. That’s the goal, right? On a flat roof, a low pitched commercial roof, water is going to be backing up on that roof system much more than on a pitched roof.
When you have a pitched roof and water goes down, it flows all the way off. When you have a flat roof, no matter how good your drainage is, water is still hitting a flat surface or near flat surface and it’s still going to build up on that surface more than it would on a pitched roof. And therefore we need a substance, we need a roofing system that doesn’t have seams and isn’t going to allow water to get between those seams, right?
Because water will try to find a way. So, a modified roofing system, modified bitumen. That’s one option. TPO, that would be the most common roofing system in America today. That’s what you see on top of Walmart, HEBs, and all of these huge flat warehouses. That’s the white monolithic single ply membrane that most commercial roofs in America have decided to go with because of cost.
TPO is a much less costly roofing system. Then hot mop. And it can be much less costly than modified bitumen. TPO can often be applied directly over your current roofing. So now that does. There’s a lot of caveats there, things that we would have to discuss before I could say that that’s the case in your situation, but a lot of times TPO can be applied directly over your current roof as long as you only have one layer.
If we’re talking Texas, in the state of Texas, you can only have a total of two roofing systems total. So if you’ve already had something that’s gone over a roofing system before, if you’ve already had an overlay. Then we can’t go back with another overlay. We have to take you all the way down and then build you back up. We’ll be happy to have that conversation with you if necessary.
TPO is air welded. So with TPO, we’re not running a torch. There’s no fire. There’s no molten lava asphalt on your roof, nothing to explode, nothing to burn your building down. We’re literally using heated air to melt a plastic membrane together. They can come with as long of a warranty as you desire. You can get a no dollar limited warranty with that, meaning that the manufacturer of the product will guarantee, they will send their people down to inspect that roof while we install it, make sure that it’s done to their specifications, and say yes, this roof is done right, and we’re going to guarantee it, even the contents of the inside, which is very rare.
There is no coverage limit, so if the contents of your building is worth a hundred million dollars and we do something wrong and it is ruined, then one of the largest producers of TPO in the country will be sure to have that taken care of for you.
PVC is another option. PVC is very similar to TPO. It looks the same. It’s welded the same. It’s white reflective. These are very similar options. PVC will typically cost a little bit more than TPO and there are some benefits to PVC. Ultimately, it depends on the type of roofing system you have and the interior of your building.
So if you’re going to select a single ply membrane and it happens to be a public building then PVC will often be the choice in that situation because PVC is non flammable. You can hold a piece of PVC roofing underneath a torch and it will eventually melt, but it will never catch fire.
TPO is very flame resistant, but it can catch fire. So that’s why PVC is often used in those situations. PVC is also very resistant to many chemicals. So like restaurants, often we’ll choose PVC, not just because it’s not flammable, but because it holds up a little better to the grease and the other chemicals that can be on a roof in those situations.
So commercial roofs are not the same as residential roofs. And a residential roofer, if he’s just a residential roofer, he may be inclined to think he can take on the job. Be sure you hire a contractor that knows what he’s doing. Make sure you choose a company that can carry your project through completion. Make sure you get a company that is licensed in commercial roofing. So in the state of Texas we have the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas, RCAT, and through that organization you can be licensed in residential, in commercial, or in both such as us here at Bayfront Roofing and Construction.
I am a licensed roofing contractor for both residential and commercial. I carry other licenses as well. But for right now, that’s what we’re talking about. Make sure that they’re insured. If they’re not insured, they can’t get you a permit for one. But if something were to happen, how are you going to be covered?
We carry two million dollars of insurance, liability insurance. If we were to be running a torch on your roof and cause it to catch fire and burn your building down, we have two million dollars worth of coverage to cover you in that event. If God forbid one of my guys were to fall off your roof and be injured, they’re covered for that. Liability insurance can save the homeowner or business owner a fortune. Make sure that the contractor you’re choosing has that insurance. If for no other reason, make sure he has insurance so he can get a permit. You do not want to put a new roofing system on your building and not get a permit.
If they’re not getting a permit, are they getting a WPI 8? That’s your windstorm certificate. If they’re not getting a windstorm certificate for you, you may not be able to get it insured. And you may never be able to sell it. And if you do sell it, it’s going to be a cash buyer. So make sure you know all these nuances before you choose your contractor.
Here at Bayfront Roofing and Construction, we’re happy to have that conversation with you. Give us a call. Ask to speak to me directly. I’m Scott Ricks. I’m the owner of Bayfront. If you own a commercial property and you’re thinking about putting a roof on it, give me a call. Let’s talk about which system is right for you.
Let’s talk about your budget because budgetary restraints are a real issue and they need to be discussed. Let’s talk about the pitch. Let’s talk about the design. Let’s talk about the whole project. Let’s get you the roof that fits your needs. And let’s get it at a price that you can afford.
We would love to be your commercial roofer. Give us a call. Thank you.
