Commercial Roofing around West Valley City
Low-slope and membrane systems for commercial buildings.
Commercial Roofing for West Valley City homes and buildings
TPO, EPDM, PVC, modified bitumen and built-up, specified for the building and the traffic it takes.
Most of what we work on here went up between the 1970s and the 1990s, which means a lot of roofs are on their second or third covering. That matters, because a tear-off down to the deck on a house with two existing layers is a different job from a straightforward strip.
A commercial roof is a different trade from a steep-slope house roof. We do both, separately.
What matters on commercial roofing
Drainage before material
The first question on any low-slope roof is where the water goes. Ponding is what kills membranes, and a roof that holds water for days after a storm will fail early regardless of which sheet is on it. We look at the slope, the drains and the terminations before we talk about material.
Seams and terminations
Field failures on commercial roofs are rare. Failures at seams, curbs, drains and the parapet edge are common. A hot-air welded seam that has been probed is a continuous sheet. Anything taped or glued and unverified is a scheduled leak.
Commercial Roofing around West Valley City
How the system goes together
Bringing an old metal roof back
A metal roof with sound panels and a tired finish is usually a candidate for restoration rather than replacement. Every exposed screw gets pulled and replaced one size up with a fresh washer, the seams and penetrations get reinforced, and then a coating system goes over the whole assembly to seal the thousands of small fastener points at once.
It only works on sound steel
Where the panel has rusted through, or where water has been getting into the insulation below for years, there is nothing for a coating to hold onto and we will say so.
Decking is the part nobody plans for
The sheathing under the roof only gets looked at once every couple of decades, which is when the old roof comes off. Older homes up here might have skip sheathing, plank decking with gaps, or plywood that has been soft over a leak for years. It gets replaced where it is bad, because fasteners do not hold in punky wood and a soft deck telegraphs every wave through a new roof.
It is measured, not guessed
Sheet count gets documented once the roof is open, before anything goes back down.
What we check
- Field condition and granule loss
- Valleys, ridges and every transition
- Penetrations and their flashing
- Gutter and fascia condition
What the job looks like
Get on the roof
We walk it rather than look from the drive, check the decking underfoot, the flashings and the ventilation, and photograph what we find before any number is discussed.
Show you what we saw
The photographs come back to you with a plain read of what the roof needs and, just as often, what it does not need yet.
Crew on site
The crews we hire work under Hancock’s direction, staged so landscaping and the drive are protected, working the detail in the order it is supposed to go on rather than the order that is quickest.
Leave it clean
Site cleared at the end of every day, a magnet run over the whole yard for nails at the finish, and the roof walked with you before we go.
Fog that never burns off
Valley fog in the cold months sits low and holds. It puts a film of moisture on everything without registering as precipitation, which is why a homeowner can swear it has not rained in three weeks while the roof has been wet the whole time. Organic debris in a valley stays soft and packed instead of drying out and blowing clear.
Where that shows first
Under the bottom course at a wall, and in the seam where a porch roof ties into the main body of the house.
Runoff volume off a steep pitch
When the melt finally comes, a steep roof hands its whole surface to the gutter in a hurry. Pitch does not make water, it concentrates it, and a gutter sized for a gentle slope overshoots on a steep one. The water lands at the foundation instead of going down the leader.
Undersized is the usual answer
Bigger trough, a second downspout, and a deeper gutter apron so the overflow does not run behind the fascia. That is a cheaper fix than a wet basement wall.
Where roofs go wrong
The shortcut we see most
A membrane laid over wet insulation because tearing off would have cost a day. The roof looks finished, the moisture stays underneath, and the sheet fails early from below.
What good looks like instead
Moisture surveyed, wet sections cut out and replaced, drainage corrected, then the membrane installed and its seams probed.
Signs worth a look
- Ponding water still standing two days after rain
- Seams that have lifted or opened at an edge
- Blisters or ridging across the field
- Interior staining near drains, curbs or the parapet
What to expect
Scheduling around your operation
Most commercial work can be staged so the disruptive part happens when the building is quiet. Tear-off noise, crane or hoist time and material deliveries all get planned against your hours rather than ours.
What the roof survey covers
Before specifying anything we survey the existing assembly: slope and drainage, moisture in the insulation, the condition of seams and terminations, and how the roof is being used. A roof somebody walks on weekly needs a different answer from one nobody touches.
Documentation
Commercial and public work runs on records. We photograph the existing condition, the work in progress and the finished assembly, so there is a file rather than a recollection.
Getting to West Valley City
We have worked enough of Salt Lake County to know which builders put up which subdivisions and where they cut the same corner twice. That is worth more on a roof than any brochure.
That proximity is most of what matters when weather moves through. West Valley City sits in Salt Lake County, and we are on roofs across it regularly enough to know how the housing there was built.
Questions we get asked
Not the question you had? Call the shop and ask a person. We would rather talk it through than have you guess from a website.
(801) 382-8898Do you actually work in West Valley City?
Yes. West Valley City sits inside the ground we cover around Salt Lake City, and the crew is there most weeks rather than once a season.
How fast can you get to West Valley City after a storm?
Storm calls jump the queue. We get there, stop what is coming in, and schedule the real fix rather than rushing a permanent repair in bad weather.
Do you handle the insurance side?
On hail-damaged roofs, we work with your insurance to get the roof covered. We document the damage thoroughly with photographs, so the claim reflects what is actually on the roof.
What happens if you find bad decking?
We show you. The decking is only visible during a tear-off, so that is when soft sheathing gets found and replaced. We photograph it rather than just add it to a list.
Do you work through the winter?
Yes, with judgment. Shingles need to seal, and in genuine cold that takes longer or needs hand sealing. Emergency work happens whenever it has to. Full replacements get scheduled around the weather rather than forced into it.
Where West Valley City sits on our map
We cover West Valley City on the regular route rather than treating it as a trip.
Commercial Roofing in West Valley City
Call (801) 382-8898.