THE ROOFERS WHO CALL YOU BACK
Commercial roof replacement in St. Louis
A commercial roof replacement is a tear-off or a recover, written as a scope a board or a property manager can compare. The system, the insulation and the drainage are lines in that scope, not adjectives.
Request a free inspection Call (314) 244-3799
Leave us a message anytime.
Tear-off or recover
Tear-off takes the existing roof off the deck. It is the right replacement when the insulation is wet, the deck is soft, the membrane has shrunk off the walls, or there are already too many roofs stacked for the code at that address. Everything bad comes off. The new roof starts at a surface we can see.
Recover fastens or adheres a new membrane over a roof that is dry, attached and allowed to stay. It skips the haul-off and it keeps the building drier during the work, which matters on an occupied building. It is the wrong replacement when it buries wet insulation. A core cut is how we tell. If the cut comes up wet, the recover is off the table and the scope becomes a tear-off.
The bid says which one, and why. "New roof" is not a scope. Tear-off and recover are different amounts of work, different risk to the interior, and different things for a board to vote on.
- Tear-off when the insulation is wet, the deck has failed, or another layer is not allowed
- Recover only on a dry, attached roof
- Flat roofing
Choosing the system
The replacement names the membrane. On low-slope commercial roofs that is usually TPO or EPDM, installed fully adhered or mechanically attached, at a thickness the bid states. Modified bitumen is still the right replacement where the building already has it and the details want to stay in that system. A coating is not a replacement. It is a restoration, and it is the wrong line in this bid when the roof has failed. Metal is a different replacement, on its own page, when the building is a metal roof rather than a membrane roof.
Insulation is part of the system. Flat insulation replaces what came out wet. Tapered insulation is how a dead-flat deck learns to drain. Leaving the new membrane at the old slope leaves the new membrane in the old pond. Drainage, the drains and the crickets, is specified with the insulation, not hoped for after the sheet is down.
Tenants and operations
A replacement on an occupied building is planned before the first square of membrane comes off. We agree which area is open, where materials are staged, which doors stay usable, and how the people inside are told. A warehouse can often give up a bay. A clinic cannot give up a hallway. The phasing follows the building.
Tear-off is dusty and loud. We do not schedule it over a use that cannot tolerate it and then apologize. The open roof is closed up at the end of the day. Interior protection, where the deck will be opened over a finished room, is in the scope rather than discovered when the ceiling stains.
Property managers with more than one building get a scope per building. Combining three roofs into one number hides which building is wet and which one can be recovered.
- Phasing, staging and notices agreed before tear-off
- The open roof closed up at the end of each day
- One written scope per building
Timeline
The calendar follows the square footage, the tear-off, the weather and the hours the building can accept noise. A small recover on an open roof is not the same job as a tear-off over a school week. We put the sequence in the proposal. We do not print a number of days on this page, because a number written before anyone has seen the deck is a guess.
Weather stops membrane work. Adhesives and welds have temperatures they will not do well outside of. A schedule that ignores that pushes bad seams. We would rather wait a morning than weld a wet lap.
- Sequence in the proposal, after the inspection
- Weather respected for welds and adhesives
Permits
We pull the permit on every job that requires one. Which office that is depends on the address. A commercial replacement's permit, when one is required, is the authority that covers that building. Other municipalities differ. We do not state a commercial code section we have not verified on this page.
The practical point for a board is simpler. Ask who pulls the permit, and ask whether the bid's tear-off or recover matches what that office will allow. A recover that the office will not permit is not a savings. It is a do-over.
What to compare in the bids
Boards and property managers get bids that do not describe the same roof. This is the checklist we would want in front of a vote. It is not a slogan. It is the lines that change the work.
Tear-off or recover, and the reason. Membrane type and thickness. Fully adhered or mechanically attached. Insulation, including tapered insulation if the roof ponds. Drains, scuppers and crickets. Flashings at every wall and curb. Edge metal. What happens when the deck is rotten, as a unit price or a stated allowance, so the change is not a surprise. Who pulls the permit. What the workmanship warranty covers, in writing. Whether the building stays open, and how the days are phased.
A lower total that is silent on wet insulation, or that recovers a roof another bid tears off, is not the lower price. It is a different roof. We write our bid so those lines are visible.
- Tear-off or recover, membrane, thickness and attachment
- Insulation, taper, drains, flashings, edge metal and deck repair
- Permit, phasing and the written workmanship warranty
Warranty
A full replacement carries our written labor and workmanship warranty. The term is on the certificate for the job, and it is not the term we use for a repair or a layover. Manufacturer system terms are not restated here.
When it is a repair instead
Not every commercial roof that leaks needs to be replaced. A failed flashing or an open seam on a dry roof is a repair. That work is on the repair site. If you are not sure, start there or start with an inspection. We would rather repair a roof that has life left than sell a replacement it does not need.
Questions about commercial replacement
- How do you choose tear-off or recover?
- A core cut and a look at the deck. Wet insulation or a failed deck means tear-off. A dry, attached roof can be a recover when another layer is allowed.
- Can the business stay open?
- Usually, if the work is phased and the open roof is closed up each day. The plan is agreed before tear-off. Some uses cannot take the noise, and those hours are scheduled around.
- What membrane will you put back?
- TPO or EPDM on most low-slope replacements, at a stated thickness, fully adhered or mechanically attached. Modified bitumen where that system should stay. The TPO and EPDM page explains the choice.
- Do you include tapered insulation?
- When the roof ponds and the deck will not drain on its own. A new membrane on a dead-flat deck ponds again. The taper is a line in the scope.
- Who pulls the permit?
- We do, on every job that requires one. The office depends on the address. The county's published shingle rule is not a commercial membrane rule.
- How should we compare your bid with another?
- Line by line: tear-off or recover, membrane, thickness, attachment, insulation, drainage, flashings, edges, deck repair, permit and warranty. Totals are not comparable until the lines are.
- How long will it take?
- The sequence is in the proposal after we see the roof. We do not promise a number of days on this page.
- Is a coating a replacement?
- No. A coating restores a dry, sound roof. A failed roof is a replacement. The coating page says when a coating is the wrong product.
Why building owners work with us
- GAF Certified
- BBB Accredited, rated A+
- Our office reads every request and calls you back.
- Inspections documented with photos of what we found.
Where we do this work
- Jefferson County
- St. Louis City
- St. Louis County
- St. Charles County