The Art and Science of Professional Roof Inspection
When most of us think of roofing contractors, our brain usually brings up images of workers putting the finishing touches on the roofs in your neighborhood. While it is true that residential roofing is a huge part of the industry, every house needs a roof of course, commercial roofing, or roofing specifically for businesses are other large buildings, is also extremely vital. Every place of business, from your favorite local coffee shop to the supermarket down the street needs to have a roof that is perfectly tailored towards their operations. How different can these two roofing styles be? At the end of the day, they are both just roofs, right? Well in actuality there are plenty of differences between residential and commercial roofing!
Differences in Roofing Design
Take a look at the roof sitting on top of your home, then go down the street and look at the roof over your local supermarket or even your favorite bar or restaurant. One of the most important distinctions is also one of the easiest to spot: residential roofs are more often than not pitched and nearly every commercial roof is flat!
Pitched roofs are aesthetically pleasing, a beautifully designed roof with top quality materials behind it helps improve a home’s curb appeal and value immensely. Pitched roofs are also easier to install on smaller structures, and they help home’s drain water off the surface of the roof. On the other hand, flat roofs are generally cheaper to maintain and install than pitched roofs. A pitched roof would be torture and could even be impossible to install on a large commercial structure. Commercial flat roofs often have solutions present on top to help drain water off the roof.
Scale and Complexity
Commercial roofs are big projects to undertake, putting a roof over a gigantic supermarket will take time, effort, and a whole lot of skill to ensure the project is completed successfully and efficiently. A commercial roof is going to require more rigorous scheduling, more materials, and a wealth of knowledge to finish, not every residential roofing contractor will be up to this challenge. On the flip side, not every commercial roofing contractor will have the knowledge and experience necessary to install a residential pitched roof either; working with the plethora of residential roofing materials on the market requires extensive experience as well! It’s important that you find a roofing contractor that has experience in the type of roof that you are looking to get installed!
Materials
When it comes to residential roofing materials, the options are almost limitless! Shingles, slate, tile, metal; there’s no shortage of types to choose from when you’re looking at replacing your roof! On the other side of the coin, commercial roofing materials like TPO, PVC, and EPDM require expertise for a successful installation. Not every residential roofing contractor is ready to handle EPDM, and neither is every commercial roofing contractor going to have working knowledge of all shingle types! Like we said before, it’s essential to verify what experience your roofing contractor has before starting the job.
Residential and commercial roofing are two sides to the same coin, but you cannot expect every contractor to be able to accomplish everything. Only a special few roofing companies are both residential and commercial experts; luckily for you, Old Time Roofing happens to be one of those groups! We have extensive experience handling both residential and commercial roofing across the Tampa Bay area! We believe in the power of knowledge and are constantly seeking now certifications and experience. Thanks to this, we have achieved the GAF master elite roofing contractor certification and we take pride in offering our skill and expertise to the people of St. Petersburg and Pinellas! Contact us today for more information!