Hail damage can wreak havoc on a commercial roof. No roofing team understands that better than Five Star Commercial Roofing—and no team is more adept at providing expert repair services to remedy hail damage in the Columbus, OH, area.
We offer a full array of commercial roofing services to meet all of your needs, from inspection and maintenance to repair and replacement. Give us a call today at 330-936-7571 to schedule a free, no-obligation damage assessment.
Hail Havoc
The type of damage a commercial roof will sustain due to hail depends greatly on the kind of roof membrane you have. Certain types of roofs can be damaged by hail as small as a half-inch in diameter, while other roofs can stand up to smaller hailstones but may succumb to larger ones.
Below is an overview of different common commercial roof types and the kind of hail damage they are most susceptible to:
- Metal: Metal roofing will typically become dented in a hailstorm. This is usually just a cosmetic problem that looks unattractive but doesn’t affect the water-tightness of the panels. If the finish of the panels is chipped or cracked, however, this can lead to rusting.
- Thermoplastic: If in good condition, thermoplastic roof membranes such as TPO and PVC can stand up to hailstones about 1 ¾ inches or smaller. If the membrane is older and deteriorated, very small hailstones can inflict damage, such as fracturing.
- EPDM: EPDM, or rubber roofing, is highly flexible and can typically stand up to hailstones as large as 2 ½ inches. If hail-related damage is sustained, it usually appears in the form of surface cracking. Fracturing is most likely to occur where installed equipment is placed or at the perimeter of the roof. If the roof substrate is not solid, puncturing can also occur due to hail.
- Built-Up Roofing (BUR): Built-up asphalt roofing systems, commonly known as BUR, generally have gravel surfacing, which safeguards the membrane from hail damage. A BUR that is installed in a smooth-surfaced configuration is more susceptible to damage from larger hailstones.
- Modified Bitumen: A modified bitumen roof generally stands up well to larger hailstones. Granule-surfaced membranes, which are the most durable type of modified bitumen membrane, can be subject to displacement of the granules by hail or fracturing of the underlying reinforcement. If ridging or blistering occurs in the membrane, hail is more likely to inflict damage to that unsupported section of roof.
Hail Repair Experts
Whatever type of commercial roof you have, when hail has descended upon it, you can count on the Five Star Commercial Roofing team to address the damage and fix it properly. Give us a call today at 330-936-7571!