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A leak in your roof usually is the first indication that your roof needs attention. Leaks on a flat roof can be caused by several items, a faulty seam, clogged drain, failed caulking, or a deteriorated flashing. In any case water may travel several feet along rafters and through insulation before it actually drips into your home or building.
Some leaks are easier to find than others. Some leaks can be in your walls. If these leaks go undetected for a substantial amount of time, your building could suffer from structural damage. Things to look for in this case are softness in the drywall, brown stains where the ceiling and wall meet, mold and mildew along the carpet line and you may even see peeling paint or loose wall paper. These can be signs of moisture in the wall cavity and you should call a roofing professional to investigate.
Most asphalt roof repairs are temporary, permanent repairs should be sought out if at all possible, but if the leak is severe and the current built-up roof or asphalt roof is older than ten years a roof replacement should be considered.
In the life cycle of every roofing project, at one point or another, you will have to deal with a leak. In general, roofs are not designed to last as long as the rest of the structure. This does not imply that a leak means the roof needs to be replaced, but it can be a warning. Since water will come in at some point, educational and health care facility managers should plan for it before it happens. Strategically placing buckets and plastic tarps in maintenance closets can reduce the time it takes to find them, thus reducing the damage when the leak does occur.
The first thing to remember is not to panic. The roof can be repaired. Most building materials are tolerant of a certain amount of moisture. The amount of damage done to building materials is directly related to the amount of moisture and the time of exposure, if both of these can be reduced then the potential for permanent damage to the inside of a building can be reduced. Try to minimize the damage once the leak is discovered, then work diligently to stop the leak and to prevent additional damage.
First move away from the wet, leaky area anything that can be damaged by direct moisture. This includes filing cabinets, desks, chairs, pictures on a wall, etc. Buckets and plastic should be installed using duct tape to hold them in place in order to catch the water. Ceiling tiles should be removed. Ceiling tiles will just spread the leak from one tile to the next. If they are already damaged they will not get any better if left in place. By taking them out, the water should drip more directly from the underside of the roof deck to the floor where buckets and plastic have now been placed. Put up wet floor signs, warning signs, perhaps even a warning line so that other building occupants are not walking through this area. It might be worthwhile to utilize a wet vac as they can be rented inexpensively. This will reduce the potential for permanent damage to the carpet or flooring.
Remove the ceiling tile in the area along the wall. Try to expose the leak - it may not be at the wall. Apply plastic with duct tape to the wall as high as possible. You may be able to help divert the water away from the wall and onto the plastic where it can then be contained, caught and mopped up. Minimize the amount of time the water is on the wall. The deck-wall intersection is not an uncommon leak point. Again, plastic can be taped in with duct tape which is fairly tolerant of moisture.
Do not go onto the roof if there is any chance of lightning. It is more important to be safe than sorry. Having someone proceed onto the roof in a thunderstorm is not a smart idea and not worth the risk.
When proceeding onto the roof have two people go in case of an accident or in the event someone slips. One person can stay near a doorway or hatchway while the other does the work.
While checking for the source of the leak, check the drains in that area. The leak could be caused by a backed up, plugged drain. The water flowing over the flashings is a leak that is easily repaired by cleaning the drain. This should be done as part of the facility's normal roof maintenance program, however, sometimes between routine maintenance checks, debris and other objects accumulate on the roof clogging up the drain system. Look for missing or displaced metal from fan housings, ducts and access doors. If the metal is lying on the roof, did it cartwheel, tearing the roof as it traveled? Are skylights intact? Copings?
If there is a manufacturer warranty, immediately notify the manufacturer directly. The roofer may be responsible to do some of the repair work, but make sure the manufacturer knows that the roof has a leak and that you are very interested in repairing the leak as quickly as possible.
You may consider trying to stop the leak yourself particularly if more rain is predicted.
If the roofing contractor says he can have someone there right away then let him. The idea is to minimize the damage being caused by the leak. If for some reason there should ever be litigation, one of the items the court will examine is the facility manager's actions. It is the facility manager's responsibility to minimize the damage.
One technique to patch the roof is with plastic roof cement. Keep a couple of pails of asphalt mastic and some reinforcing fiberglass mesh around. Even roofs that are permanently damaged by plastic roof cement, such as PVC or EPDM, will tolerate the presence of plastic roof cement for a short period of time.
If a contractor is coming to make a permanent repair anyway, having him cut out the areas damaged by plastic roof cement will not be very involved. If it saves the facility's insulation or roof deck in addition to the interior, it is well worth the extra cost.
There are a couple of different materials that can be used for stopping leaks:
Plastic roof cement and woven glass mesh. A roll of duct tape. Self-adhesive tape will only adhere to a dry, smooth surface but may be adequate to seal small punctures or tears for single-ply systems. Bentonite clay mixture, available in bags or in plastic drums. It is spread over the area that appears to be leaking. This material is a fine powder, but when exposed to water swells up and will seal the leak. A sandbag or other donnage can be used to divert water flow from a damaged roof area.
If the repair is temporary, consider bringing in someone to do a permanent repair. If the contractor has fixed it or the manufacturer has fixed it, make sure that what they did was a permanent repair and not a temporary patch in order to keep the facility dry until the next rain, when they would have to be called again. Written notification should always be obtained from the repairing organization stating that they now feel the leak has been fixed. If possible, also request that the cause of the leak be indicated in the statement. The leak may have originally been caused by in-house personnel, in which case you would want to know how to prevent it from happening again. If it is something that needs to be checked during the semi-annual maintenance inspection, you would want to know what the cause was.
Request a cause statement and keep a copy for the permanent file on the roof. A record of that patch being made must be retained. It would be worth while to re-inspect the whole roof after the patch is made, in addition to the normal semi-annual maintenance check. If possible, check it before the manufacturer or contractor has left the project. That way, if additional work needs to be done on the facility's roof, it can be done at a minimum cost since they are already there.
A leak is not the end of the world, it is a natural occurrence. "Be Prepared" is a good motto for educational and health care facility managers to follow. If damage can be minimized, the disruption and down time to the facility can be minimized as well. The inconvenience of having to deal with the leak can be minimized with prompt attention to the leak.
Remember, water coming through the ceiling tiles does not necessarily mean that it is a roof leak. A leaky pipe or backed up toilet from the above bathroom could be the culprit.
Be prepared, know who the manufacturer is, know who the roof system contractor is, keep the roofing file handy and make sure all the facility's maintenance people know how to deal with leaks when they occur. By following these guidelines, facility managers will get better performance and be happier with the roof throughout its entire life.
-Richard Boon is deputy technical director of the Roofing Industry Educational Institute.
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