Los Angeles County, California
Commercial Roof Inspections and Condition Reports in Los Angeles
A condition assessment writes down what is on the roof now and what is wrong with it, in enough detail to budget from. Here is the order a survey runs in, what the report should contain, and what to ask for before anyone prices work off it.
Free, and there is no obligation to go ahead.
- Free roof inspection
Someone comes out, gets on the roof, and tells you what they find.
- The price in writing
A written quote before anyone starts, with nothing to sign on the day.
- Licensed roofers
The roofer who turns up holds a current California license.
- Across Los Angeles County
From the Valley and the foothills to the Westside and the South Bay.
A condition assessment writes down what is on the roof now and what is wrong with it, in enough detail to budget from. Four things get looked at: the membrane, the flashings and penetrations, the drainage, and the deck and insulation underneath. An assessment that stops at the membrane has covered one of the four, and the fourth needs testing that is its own scope.
That band is a small deck. Anything larger has to be measured on the roof before it can be priced. More on roofing costs.
- What you getA defect inventory keyed to a roof plan, with photographs
- Why owners order oneLease events, a sale, reserve planning, or an insurer asking
- What a walk findsField, seams, flashings, penetrations, curbs, drains and edge metal
- What it will not doTell you what is wet without a cut or a survey
The survey has an order, and it starts before the ladder
It starts with the roof plans if the building still has them, and a talk with whoever maintains it about what has leaked and what got patched up there. On older stock around here the added units and conduit runs are on no plan anywhere, and that is where the survey spends its time.
- The field.Blisters, punctures from equipment traffic, chalking from UV, membrane shrinking off the termination bars.
- The seams.Heat welds on TPO and PVC get probed along their length, so an unbonded section opens under the probe instead of under the next storm. On modified bitumen the laps lift with thermal movement.
- Flashings.Base flashing pulling away from the wall, sealant split at the termination bar, an open gap along the top seal line.
- Penetrations and curbs.A hardened pipe boot, sealant gone at a vent collar, an HVAC curb set so low that water gets under the unit.
- Drains and scuppers.Blockage, corrosion at the clamping ring, and whether the roof still pitches to it. Ponding gets judged on the commercial roofing page.
- Edge metal and the deck from below.Fasteners backing out of the coping, open joints in it. Underneath, staining, rust streaks along the flutes, deflection under equipment loads.
Finding the source runs from the inside out
On a metal deck the water runs along the flutes, and a low flute carries it away from the hole before it drops through a joint or a fastener. So the search starts inside. Measure the stain off a column line, transfer that to the roof, and inspect that zone and upslope of it.
What the written report should contain
It should open with a roof plan drawn to measurement, with the units, the curbs and the drains on it. Every defect should go on that plan with a count, and each photograph keyed to a spot on it. The plan shows where a defect is, how many are up there, and whether it was there the last time the roof was surveyed. Then the recommended actions, each with a cost and a date.
A report should also say whether moisture in the insulation was assessed, by what method, and by whom. If it was not, it should say so. A price issued without that was set blind to the insulation.
Remaining useful life is a judgment about how many years a component keeps doing its job. Whoever writes it should say what it rests on: the membrane type, the state of the seams and flashings, whether the insulation is dry, and what has been repaired before.
On a transaction the lender wants a property condition assessment, and ASTM E2018 sets that procedure. In a triple net lease the roof usually sits with the landlord, and some leases push part of the repair onto the tenant, so read the clause before you assume the label answers it.
Wet insulation decides repair against replacement
Wet insulation stops insulating, so the heat load goes up while the roof looks unchanged from the street. It does not dry out inside a sealed assembly, and it rusts the deck under it. Isolated wet areas get cut out and replaced. Once the wet area is widespread, patching around it leaves water trapped against the deck. Ask whoever writes the report where they put that line.
Moisture testing is its own scope
Finding that water is a separate scope from a walk survey. ASTM C1153 covers infrared, read at night because wet insulation holds heat longer than dry as the roof cools. ANSI/SPRI/IIBEC NT-1 covers nuclear gauge readings on a grid, and operating that gauge requires its own license. ASTM D7954 covers impedance scanning. Each marks a suspect area and none settles it. What is under the membrane gets found by cutting it open, which is on the replacement page. If a building needs one of these, ask who is performing it and under which standard.
What to ask for
- Which parts did somebody stand on, and which were looked at from a parapet or a drone?
- Is every deficiency marked on a roof plan, with a count?
- Does the report say whether the insulation is wet, and how that was determined?
- Is the remaining life an estimate, and what is it based on?
- Which items are this year, and what does each cost?
Say what the report has to answer, because a lender's reserve table and a lease handover want different things. The visit and the written scope of work cost nothing. A full condition survey with a keyed plan and moisture findings is separate work, so say which one you need, and ask the roofer who attends for their CSLB license number. Ask for a condition report.
The offer
$500 off a new roof, 10% off any repair
Start online and it is attached to your request, with nothing to remember.
- We get on the roof, and into the attic if that is where the answer is
- You get photographs of whatever we find
- The price in writing, with nothing to sign on the day
Where we work
Across Los Angeles County
Tell us what is going on
A description is enough to start. We will come out, look at the roof properly, and give you the price in writing.