Palm Beach Gardens Living - August 2025

A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 | PA L M B E A C H G A R D E N S L I V I N G 5 COMMUNITY By John Carr As a contractor, we see all types of problems with buildings, especially the roof. Most of these problems are avoidable. Routine maintenance is key to preserving your building and roofing system to last as long as possible. What most associations do is avoid maintenance agreements due to cost or they believe that their in-house maintenance staff can handle the proper maintenance on the roof system. In my opinion, both of these decisions are bad ones. I have seen a roof leak on a condominium cost the association over $100,000 in interior repairs and, believe it or not, with a $ 3,000-a-year maintenance contract that leak would have been avoided. There was a drain that was clogged which caused the roof to hold water and that water ended up being high enough to flow into a penetration that the caulking around the penetration was dry-rotted from the sun and was no longer watertight. The storm that caused the sudden ponding of water came in fast and furious. By the time the association was alerted, several units were already damaged and we had to bring in our water mitigation team immediately. It could have been worse if they didn’t call us right away. Again, most associations rely on their maintenance team, and I appreciate them more than you can imagine. However, when it comes to roof leaks, I highly recommend you call a licensed roofing professional to handle the work. Our emergency response team was onsite within an hour of the call. We found the clogged drain and opened it up just enough to stop further damage to the building. We then followed up with a thorough assessment of the entire building and found several areas of concern on the roof and exterior of the building that were vulnerable to water or rodent intrusion. What ended up being a very expensive day for the association could have been avoided with a simple annual roof maintenance program. Below are 7 reasons to have a roof maintenance program for a home or building. 1. Can help keep manufacturer warranties valid. 2. Save money! Maintenance can help avoid high-cost repairs and it can also free up your maintenance staff to perform other tasks. 3. Be able to provide insurance companies with the condition of your roof prior to a loss. 4. Expedited service calls during emergencies (Maintenance Clients of Roofing & Restoration of Florida receive elevated service response time). 5. Free Pre and Post Storm Property Assessments (Maintenance Clients of Roofing & Restoration of Florida receive these assessments at no cost). 6. Proper record keeping for association records. Roofing & Restoration of Florida provides detailed photo reports after each visit. 7. Peace of mind…….. The bottom line is that just about every association I know has a pool maintenance program, do you know why? They see it every day! Well out of sight out of mind. Don’t forget about your roof and don’t forget about the rest of your building. Think about it, the most important part of your building that protects your investment is your roof, so why not maintain it? Please contact John Carr at john@rrroffl.com wi th any questions. Building and RoofingMaintenanceWhy Do I Need It?