If your area has had a recent storm with hail, even fairly small hail, it's a good idea to have your membrane roof checked by a commercial roofing contractor. Hail is destructive since it strikes with strong force when driven by wind. The impacts can cause punctures and tears in membrane roofing.

If the damage isn't found and repaired, rain can seep under the membrane and ruin the insulation boards. This leads to a roof leak and premature failure of your roof. Here are some repair steps a commercial roofing contractor may need to do.

Inspect The Roof Closely

Hail damage is easy to overlook. That's why you need a commercial roofing contractor to check your roof after a hailstorm. The roofer may use equipment that magnifies the surface of the membrane so fine cracks and dents can be seen. They might also use an infrared camera to check the roof for moisture that's gotten under the membrane.

If the roofer finds an area that has a lot of dents, punctures, or cracking, they may cut out a piece of the membrane roofing so the insulation board under it can also be checked for punctures and dents.

The roofer checks your entire roof, which could be a long process. They pay particular attention to places at a higher risk of damage, such as around fasteners. The information obtained lets the roofer know what type of repairs are needed.

Replace Insulation Boards

An important goal of commercial roof maintenance is to keep the insulation boards under a roof membrane dry. Once rain leaks onto an insulation board, the board soaks up the water and begins to deteriorate.

If enough insulation boards have water damage, you may need to get a new roof. If only random boards are wet, the roofer can remove the membrane in the area and take out the wet boards so they can be replaced.

Patch Damaged Membrane Roofing

Fortunately, punctures and tears in membrane roofing are easy to repair. Your commercial roofing contractor has to decide if repairs are appropriate or if the roof needs to be replaced. If repairs are chosen, the contractor cleans the area around the damage and then places a membrane patch over the damage.

The patch is secured to the roof using adhesive or by heat welding depending on whether the membrane is rubber or plastic. Care is taken to ensure the patch has a tight seal so no rain can leak through. When you have roof inspections again in the future, the patched areas are checked to make sure they are still watertight.