Roof leaks and the subsequent damage caused to a building's interior can quickly deplete an owners planned maintenance budget.  While the scenario of simply calling a contractor and hoping the problem goes away may work in certain cases, it hasn’t told you anything about your roofing asset other then you had a leak.  How do you know the leak won't come back, did the contractor resolve the cause of the leak or simply apply a Band-Aid?  Establishing a systematic method of reviewing & tracking leak information within a database can answer these questions and better track the performance of your roof so it can be evaluated for planned maintenance to help prolong its service life and save money. 

Stopping Leaks Before They Occur

The best way to manage roof leaks is to keep them from occurring.  An audit of your roof system should be performed to know what you are dealing with prior to handling leak calls.  A thorough roof inspection should be performed to determine roof age, system type, and existing deficiencies.  The inspection should also provide you with an estimated remaining service life for your roof and give you an idea of ongoing maintenance needed to keep your roof in a watertight condition.  The information gathered during the inspection will be a useful reference tool when a leak does occur if it is stored within a database that can quickly be accessed and reviewed.  Any deficiencies found during the survey should be repaired and records kept of problem areas for future reference records kept of problem areas.

Record keeping and information is a key ingredient to Leak Management.  Besides the need for the baseline roof inspection, any other pertinent information should also be compiled.  Warranty documents, installing contractor information, and past repair information are all valuable tools when tracking the condition of a roof.  This material tells the story of a roof's service life and will be invaluable when a leak occurs to help determine the cause of the leak.

When Leaks Occur

Now you should be well prepared when a leak call comes in.  Your roof has been inspected, maintenance repairs have been performed, and you have compiled an historical file on all information pertaining to your roof. 

When you receive a leak call, instead of resorting to the original scenario of immediately calling a roofing contractor, your records need to be checked first to see if the roof is under warranty.  If it is, the roofing manufacturer or installing contractor should be contacted as the leak may be repaired free of charge.  If no warranties exist, then a qualified roofing contractor should be called to repair the leak.  However, since you have a history of the roof system, this information should be relayed to the contractor along with the approximate age and system type of the roof so the proper repair materials will be brought on the service call.  With this information the contractor will have a better chance of accessing the cause of the defect and resolving the source of the leak. 

When making your service request to the contractor, you should require that detailed information be sent with their invoice instead of the standard “sealed leak” response.

Require before and after photos of the leak area and a detailed description of the leak cause and resolution from the contractor.  A break down of time and a descriptive list of the amount and types of materials used should also be included with their invoice.  This will allow you to review the contractor's charges and document the leak cause and repairs that were performed for future reference.  Ongoing documentation of roof leaks will allow you to better track the performance of the roof system so you can continually evaluate future action to prolong the roof’s service life.

Repairing a roof in the rain can be a difficult ordeal for even the most qualified roofing contractor.  Roofing materials which act as a waterproofing agent can often not be installed when wet.  Keep in mind that additional repairs may be needed after the emergency leak repairs are performed.

Using Leak Information as a Roof Management Tool

Your roof was inspected and you've been able to better direct your repair contractor and then determine if the proper repairs were performed.  What does all of this stored information tell you about your roof as a long term asset?

By keeping detailed records of each leak, you can see if a pattern of leak location and cause develop.  This will give you a red flag area to focus on during your next roof inspection, and help with making decisions on repair or replacement needs based on the age and overall condition of the roof.  

The key to roof leak management is the continued tracking of all information needed to prevent a chronic problem leading to a catastrophic roof system failure.  Properly diagnosing and repairing leaks can save you thousands of dollars by avoiding damage that will require major repairs or premature roof replacement.

Some of the advantages of better leak information tracking include:

-   All warranties are protected.  No Warranties are jeopardized because the wrong contractor was sent to the site.

-   You control costs because no multiple visits or running back to the shop to get the proper materials will be needed.  A better-informed contractor will be able to solve the problem on the first visit.

-   Costs reduced due to less interior damage as the contractor is able to fix the leak on the initial visit.

-   Historical tracking forces better decisions and gives you the ability to focus resources where they are most needed in your portfolio.

Continued leak tracking and record keeping are needed to understand the quirks of your roof system.  If you don’t know what’s broken, it can’t be fixed.

The following spreadsheet is a basic example of how you create a quick reference of leak occurrences.

Building Leak Activity History