bulding_envelope

                          Building Envelope Management
                                                   (How Times Have Changed)

Continued

Roofs Need Maintenance.
We see this problem over and over.   A building owner will refinance his building. He spends $300,000 on a new roof and with the extra $$$$ he has left over he purchases a new $30,000 truck. Six months later the truck gets an oil change and gets inspected by the dealer.   Six more months go by and the truck gets its 10K service, at the 2 year mark it gets another service. This goes on for 5 years. The truck has had 10-15 oil changes, 3 tune ups, and countless other minor repairs made. And yet in this same time fame nothing has been done to service the new roof.

A roof needs to be inspected and serviced. They need to be cleaned of debris and inspected for damage.   Roofs are allot like a new car. If you take care of it and fix minor things you will avoid major repair bills and it will last for many many years. Some roofing system manufacturers offer this service as part of the new roof warranty. EHA can also provide inspectional services and assist an owner with getting maintenance and repairs made by roofers that are licensed by the particular roofing systems manufacturer.

Masonry Walls Are Not Water Proof.
Brick walls are porous and take on water and then expel it. A properly designed brick building's skin works with the flashings in the wall to keep a building dry. It was never designed to keep the water at the external face of the wall. A better description of a masonry wall is a rain screen. We have seen many building owners applying clear seals to brick buildings assuming that it will fix there water infiltration problems. At best this is a Band-Aid and at worst it ends up costing a building owner more money later due to increased restoration costs caused by the clear sealant. When ever possible we always recommend that masonry be restored to its original condition instead of applying a Band-Aid over the problems.