Collapsed Commercial Roof – Signs and Prevention

Avoid catastrophic financial loss and indefinite business closure from a collapsed commercial roof. Knowing the warning signs that indicate an imminent roof collapse and taking preventative measures can save you from such a disaster.

New Image Roofing Atlanta gathered information to help you detect and prevent an unthinkable commercial roof collapse.

Signs of an Imminent Roof Collapse

The following signs indicate something is terribly wrong with your roof and/or building structure. Be on the lookout for the following:

1. A Sagging Roof or Ceiling – If your ceiling or roof starts to sag, contact your roofing company immediately. This signals structural failure that needs to be investigated and corrected before your roof fails.

Solution: Immediately call your roofer, and be prepared to call a general contractor.

2. Leaking Roof or Water Stains on the Ceiling – A leaking roof is never a good sign. Roof leaks indicate water is reaching your roof’s support structure and potentially causing devastating damage. Any time your roof leaks, it is alarming and needs to be fixed promptly.

Solution: Once you spot a leak, have your roofer:

• Identify the leak source
• Evaluate any sustained damage
• Provide a detailed quote for immediate repairs

3. Misaligned Sprinkler Heads and Ceiling Tiles – If your ceiling tiles or sprinkler heads are out of alignment, your ceiling has shifted. Ceilings are not supposed to move.

Solution: If you detect a sudden or developing misalignment of your ceiling tiles or sprinklers, call a professional roofer and/or general contractor to discover why and immediately correct it.

4. Difficulty Opening or Closing Doors and Windows – Similar to ceiling tiles or sprinkler heads being out of alignment, if your doors and windows have become increasingly difficult to open or close, structural shifting has likely occurred. This shifting can cause your roof’s support system to buckle and fail.

Solution: If your doors and windows have become difficult to open or close, call a professional roofer and/or general contractor to discover why and immediately correct it.

5. Cracks in Exterior Walls – Cracks in the masonry on the exterior of your building are a clear indication of uneven settling or severe structural issues. It could signal that your roof has become unstable and is nearing premature failure.

Solution: Have your building engineers inspect the structure and request a roof inspection from your roofer to evaluate the roof’s integrity.

Note: Cracks in the interior walls, support columns, and ceiling also indicate potential structural issues. These cracks should also be promptly investigated.

Severe Weather Damage

Depending on your region, many weather-related factors can cause or contribute to severe roof damage and failure:

• Snow Accumulation
• Hurricanes
• Tornadoes
• Wind Storms
• Hail Storms
• Extreme Temperature Fluctuations
• Wildfires

Your roof should be inspected immediately following severe weather events. Ensure your roof/building insurance covers damages from specific weather events.

Solution: Purchase a maintenance program with an annual inspection/report provided by your roofer. Most maintenance programs include a severe weather clause in which an inspection team is automatically dispatched after severe weather events.

Watch this video for more information on insurance, deductibles, and how New Image Roofing Atlanta can help you with a claim.

Roof Equipment Installation

Installing new equipment on your roof may add considerable weight. In some cases, you may exceed your commercial roof load and put the roof and building’s integrity at risk. When planning to install equipment on your roof, calculate your roof’s dead load, live load, and transient load capacity to avoid exceeding your total roof load capacity.

Solution: Find your building’s roof load on the blueprints used to construct your commercial structure. If your blueprints are unavailable or lost, you can obtain copies from your city planning department (a copy should have been submitted to ascertain permits when the building was constructed). You can hire a general contractor to evaluate your structure and calculate its roof load.

Ponding Water

Ponding water happens when a roof’s drain systems get clogged, the roof is poorly installed, or the roof is poorly maintained. Regardless, ponding water adds immense weight to your roof structure. When this water accumulates and persists, your roof’s load may be exceeded, leading to failure.

Note: One gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds; 100 gallons of rainwater can add 834 pounds of dead weight to your roof.

Solution: Keep your roof debris-free by purchasing a maintenance program with seasonal or annual inspections/cleanings provided by your roofer. Have any overhanging branches pruned away from your roof.

Creaking and Popping Sounds

Popping and creaking sounds in buildings are often dismissed as normal (as if the building is “settling”). Never assume your building is just settling. These sounds may be occurring due to structural defects or failure.

Solution: If you hear these sounds, have your building engineer and roofer investigate them immediately.

Building Shift

If your building exhibits the following signs, it may indicate a structural shift:

• Floors become warped/uneven
• The building “feels” tilted
• Support columns and vertical installations appear angled

If your building has shifted on a structural level, your roof may fail, and your building may collapse.

Solution: When the above signs are recognized, your building engineer or general contractor should be called to investigate this immediately.

Signs of a Potential Commercial Roof Collapse

In this article, you discovered signs that your commercial roof is failing and how to prevent an unthinkable and deadly commercial roof collapse.

Recognizing roof failure signs (and resolving them) protects your business’s assets and avoids a potentially lethal situation. Failure to act on signs of your roof’s structural failure can result in catastrophic production and financial losses if the roof collapses.

If your commercial roof collapses, all production will cease, and the building will close until your roof is replaced and OSHA inspectors allow reoccupation. Your insurance claim can be denied if the collapse results from a lack of maintenance or a preventable structural failure.

Sources:
osha.gov/emergency-preparedness/guides/structural-collapse
eng-resources.uncc.edu/failurecasestudies/building-failure-cases/hartford-civic-center/