When deciding on an office location, to lease or buy, attention to detail is very important. Many factors within the building need to be examined prior to making a purchase. The most important fixture of the building often goes overlooked: the roof, and it could potentially cost you thousands. Many problems can occur with roofs throughout their lifespans, two of the biggest issues are weather and shoddy workmanship.
Issues like water damage, fallen trees or tree limbs, and faulty maintenance can wreak havoc on your office. Roof inspections help navigate you away from these issues by identifying and correcting them before they can become real problems.
What could go wrong?
Let’s say that you decide to go ahead and purchase an office. After getting situated in the office, you notice that a leak is dripping down right by a spacious window. You ignore the leak as a small problem and continue to use the office for work, as time passes a section of the roof collapses due to structural damage.
You proceed to call in a contractor to fix the problem area in your office for fear that it may spread if not taken care of. You meet with the contractor, and he assesses the situation, he returns to you with a final report of what’s plaguing your office. The contractor tells you about pre-existing faulty work and extensive water damage throughout the roof of the building.
He then reminds you that your roof has many fixtures that will cost you more due to the additional labor required to work around these fixtures correctly. He then gives you an estimate for your roof that makes your heart sink to your stomach; the price isn’t an easy swallow, but the work is entirely necessary.
The cost of the bill is exacerbated by office downtime, with the only option to relocate costing an arm and a leg. Important financial, employee, and customer information is lost permanently which leads to lost time. Luckily none of the office workers were within the building during the collapse, but the total cost would have been far greater if you had lost a key member of your team.
Avoiding the Stress
Avoiding all of those headaches is not as complicated as it may seem, spending a little bit of money now for twenty years of peace of mind is the smart decision to make. By calling in a reliable professional inspection team, you can get the run down on the condition of your office building before it becomes a problem. These inspections can find pre-existing faulty repairs, water damage, and decking or framing damage.
With the problems identified you can begin to figure out who to go to for roof repairs. Figuring out a contractor can be difficult without the right information already on your mind.
Choosing the Right Contractor
When determining who to pay for roof repairs, several factors need to be considered. First of all you are going to want to make sure to do business with a bonded and licensed professional with an established reputation in the area. Do not be afraid to ask to see certifications as well as making sure they have active and current insurance, including liability and workers compensation insurance.
After rounding up all your available options, you should begin to acquire bids on the work contract from all the businesses you approved. After you settle on a single contractor, you are going to have to hammer out a reasonable contract that satisfies both parties. It is important to note that your contract shouldn’t be without a couple of stipulations. Be sure to include all work being done within the contract, this includes whose hauling away debris or cleaning the grounds.
Make sure that the contract requires all damaged materials to be replaced and make sure that you get clear, concise warranty information that you will keep properly maintained in case you need it in the future.
If you’re looking for a quality contractor who meets all the above requirements I highly recommend turning to ReRoof USA.
The writer of this article, Eduardo Dieguez, is a blogger who specializes in business related topics and strives to help his readers keep track of all aspects of business management – including infrastructure maintenance and inspection. If you wish to learn more about Eduardo you can visit on Google+.