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Government Storm Damage Roofing


Storm and hail damage on government roofs, documented and repaired.

Roof deck covered in synthetic underlayment with wrapped chimney chase, staged metal trim and mountain view

What government storm damage roofing involves


We check the membrane, metal and rooftop units after a storm, photograph the damage, and repair or replace what needs it.

Hail and wind damage on a big flat roof is easy to miss from the ground and expensive to find later.

Low-slope roof stripped in patches, dark sheet torn away exposing OSB decking, satellite dish and tear-off shovel
Newly sheathed OSB roof deck marked with chalk lines beside an older gravel roof with scrap lumber

What matters on government storm damage roofing


Planning around the building

Government buildings stay in use while the roof is worked on. The plan covers where we get onto the roof, where material is staged and how the entrances stay clear, before anything comes off.

A record of the work

Public buildings need a file of what was done. We photograph each stage and record the materials used, so the next person responsible for that roof knows what is up there.

Bare OSB roof deck after tear-off on a white vinyl-sided house, with drip edge and metal vent

After a storm


On a low-slope roof, hail shows on the rooftop units, drains and metal edges before it shows on the membrane. Wind lifts edges and parapet caps. We check all of it and photograph what we find.

On hail-damaged roofs, we work with your insurance to get the roof covered.

Service areaSalt Lake City & surrounding counties
Covering9 counties
In the trade27 years
As Hancock Signature8 years

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.

Low-slope transitions over a porch

The spot that gives homeowners here the most trouble is where a nearly flat porch or addition roof meets a pitched main roof. Shingles need slope to work and a porch often does not have it, so the correct answer is a membrane on the low part carried up under the shingles above, with the transition detailed so nothing depends on a lap.

Shingles on a flat porch will leak

Not immediately, and not in every storm. But water sits on that plane after every event and shingles were never designed to hold water still.

What we check

  • Field condition and granule loss
  • Valleys, ridges and every transition
  • Penetrations and their flashing
  • Gutter and fascia condition

How we approach it


1

Look first

We get on the roof and read what is actually happening before quoting anything.

2

Say what we find

Photographs and a plain explanation, including when the answer is that you do not need us yet.

3

Built in sequence

Crews we hire and run, working the right detail in the right order.

4

Leave it clean

Magnet over the yard, container gone, walked with you.

Inversion keeps a roof damp

Winter here can park a lid of cold air over the valley floor for a week straight. Nothing dries during that stretch. A shaded slope that got wet on Monday is still wet on Friday, the sheathing under it never gives its moisture back to the air, and any lap that was going to wick does its wicking slowly with no interruption.

Gray weeks do quiet damage

Storms get blamed for roofs. Nine flat gray days with the sun never touching the north face do more, and nobody remembers them.

Snow sliding off steep pitch

Steep roofs shed, which is good for the roof and hard on everything below it. A loaded slope lets go at once and takes gutters, vent caps and the occasional shrub with it. On metal it happens faster because there is nothing to hold it. Homes with steep pitch over a walkway or a doorway get looked at differently than the same roof over an open yard.

Snow retention when it matters

Where a slide is a hazard, cleats or a retention rail spread the load and let it melt off instead of releasing in one sheet.

Stripped roof deck of old planks partly re-sheathed with new OSB panels, worker's boot at left edge

What this looks like on a real roof


There is a version of government storm damage roofing that gets sold off a clipboard in the driveway and a version that comes off actually reading the roof. The second one costs the same and lasts.

What follows is the part most people never get told: what usually went wrong before we arrived, and what the job looks like when it is done in the right order.

Where roofs go wrong


The shortcut we see most

Rooftop units and drains added over the years, with the roof patched around them instead of reworked. Those patches are where most public-building leaks start.

What good looks like instead

Every penetration, curb and drain flashed into the roof system properly, and a record of it in the facility file.

Signs worth a look

  • Water still standing days after a storm
  • Ceiling-tile stains near rooftop units
  • Seams lifting at the edges and parapets
  • The same area repaired more than once

What to expect


1

Before the job starts

A walk of the whole roof, photographs of what we found, and a plain written scope. We talk through access, staging and the building’s schedule before any work is planned.

2

While the work is underway

The building stays in use. Material is staged where it is out of the way, entrances stay clear, and the loudest work is planned around the schedule we are given.

3

When it is done

Photographs of each stage and a record of the materials installed, ready for the facility file.

Related work


Government covers more than one job, and they are not interchangeable. These are the others in the same family, each on its own page.

Full roof replacement on government buildings, planned around the building’s schedule.
Repairs on government roofs, traced to where the water actually gets in.
Commercial roof systems for government facilities, specified for the building.
Roofing for city halls, public works buildings and other municipal facilities.
Full roof replacement on municipal buildings, sequenced so the building stays in use.
Roof replacement on county buildings, from courthouses to road shops.
Roof replacement on state facilities, planned around fixed work windows.
Roof replacement on federal buildings, with the documentation and site conduct the work calls for.
School roof replacement planned around the school calendar.
Roof repair for libraries, rec centers and other public buildings.
Emergency roof repair on government buildings: the water gets stopped first.
Metal roofing on government and public buildings.
TPO membrane on government flat roofs.
EPDM membrane roofing on government buildings.
Flat and low-slope roofing on government buildings.
Roof coatings that add years to sound government roofs.
Waterproofing for government roofs, decks and parapets.
Roof inspections for government facilities, with photographs and a written record.
Scheduled roof maintenance for government buildings.
Roof restoration for government roofs with years left in them.

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) 382-8898
Can you work while the building is in use?

Usually. We plan access, staging and the loudest work around the building’s schedule before the job starts.

Do you document the work?

Yes. Each stage is photographed and the materials are recorded, so the facility has a file of what was installed.

Can you look at several of our buildings?

Yes. We can inspect them all and give you a list in order of need, so the budget goes to the roof closest to failing.

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.

What makes a Utah roof different?

Snow load, ice at the eaves, canyon wind and high-altitude sun, all on the same roof. A crew that learned roofing somewhere mild has to learn it again up here.

Will you tell me if I do not need a new roof?

Yes. Plenty of what we look at turns out to be a repair, and we say so. A roof with years left in it gets left alone, and you get the photographs either way.

Ask about government storm damage roofing


Call (801) 382-8898 or send a note. We will look at the roof and tell you straight what it needs.