Commercial Roof Installation on New Buildings and Additions
A new commercial roof is a trade that has to show up on time between other trades: after the deck, before the rooftop units, around the plumber’s vents and the electrician’s conduit. We plan the roof with the people building the building, so the details aren’t improvised on the day.
Veteran BuiltCypress, Texas
Commercial roof installation starts with the deck, and the deck changes everything. Steel deck needs insulation fastened through it or a board layer before membrane. Concrete deck can take adhered systems directly with the right primer. Wood deck on a smaller building behaves more like residential work. The system specified, whether TPO, modified bitumen or metal panels on a low-slope structure, has to suit that deck and the uplift design.
Insulation is usually the biggest part of the roof by volume. Energy code sets the minimum, the drawings set the thickness, and tapered layouts carry water to drains and scuppers on a building that was framed flat. Rooftop equipment is where coordination pays off. Curbs for air handlers and exhaust fans should be set before the membrane goes around them; cutting them in afterward is how corner leaks start. Conduit and gas lines belong on supports, never lying on the membrane where they’ll wear through. Roof drains also have to line up with the plumber’s leaders below, so we meet before the deck is closed.
Houston buildings get a few specific design decisions. Overflow scuppers or secondary drains matter on a flat building in a region where a stalled storm can drop rain faster than primary drains handle it. Edge metal and perimeter fastening are sized for hurricane-season wind, since roofs tend to peel from the edge inward. Light-colored membranes cut the heat load on buildings cooled most of the year. Many commercial lots sit in unincorporated parts of the region, so the permit and inspection path can run through the county rather than a city, which changes scheduling.
On the Gulf Coast the weather writes most of the work orders. Hail in March and April, tropical storms later in the year, and a long hot summer that bakes a poorly vented attic. We check decking, ventilation and every penetration, because the roof surface is only one part of whether a roof is still doing its job.
The straight answer on commercial roof installation
Here is when we would recommend it, and when we would talk you out of it.
- You’re building a new commercial structure or addition and want the roofer on the schedule before the deck is sitting there waiting.
- Your drawings call for a low-slope system with tapered insulation, roof drains and rooftop equipment.
- You want one roofing contact who will deal with the mechanical, plumbing and electrical trades at the roof line.
- If the building already has a roof, even a bad one, you’re looking at replacement or repair, which starts with what’s up there now.
- If the roof design isn’t settled, get the architect or engineer to finish the system and uplift requirements first; we price finished drawings.
- If it’s a pre-engineered metal building with a factory metal roof, the building supplier’s erection crew may be the right party for the roof panels.
How we run it
- I
Preconstruction
We review the drawings, the roof specification and the equipment layout, and flag drain and curb locations with the other trades.
- II
Deck and insulation
Once the deck is inspected, insulation and tapered boards go down, fastened or adhered per the uplift design.
- III
Membrane and penetrations
The membrane goes on and every curb, pipe and drain is flashed as the trades finish their roof-level work.
- IV
Closeout
We walk the roof with the GC or owner, repair any damage left by other trades, and hand over the material and installation records.
What we ask before we price it
- When did you first notice the problem, and has it changed since?
- Can we get into the attic, and is there a clear path to the access?
- Does the HOA need to approve materials or colors before work starts?
- Has anyone else inspected it, and what did they tell you?
- Is anyone in the house bothered by noise, dust or early starts?
When should a roofer get involved in a commercial build?
Before the deck goes on, ideally. Drain locations, curb heights and parapet details are easier to fix on paper than on the roof. A preconstruction look at the drawings is part of how we work.
Which roof system is best for a new commercial building?
The one that fits the deck, the slope, the traffic and the budget, and that the drawings specify. TPO is common on cooled buildings here for its reflective surface. Modified bitumen holds up well where the roof gets walked on around equipment.
Who handles rooftop unit curbs?
Usually the mechanical contractor supplies and sets the curb and we flash it into the roof. What matters is that the curb is in place before the membrane, at a height that leaves room for proper flashing above the finished roof.
Do you coordinate inspections?
We work with the GC on the roofing portions of the inspection schedule, which in Greater Houston may run through a city permit office or the county. Inspections are requested by whoever holds the permit.
How do you protect a new roof from other trades?
A finished membrane on a jobsite gets walked on, dropped on and dragged across. We ask for traffic routes, lay protection boards where work continues on the roof, and do a punch walk at the end to repair anything damaged.
Can you work to a tight construction schedule?
We’ll tell you honestly what the schedule can carry. Roofs depend on weather, and Houston summers mean afternoon storms, so we plan dry-in steps that protect the building between work days.
Who you are hiring
Leland Cannon spent 21 years in the Army and retired as a First Sergeant. Geoff Schardien served in Air Force Security Forces and has more than twenty years in residential construction. One of them walks every job before it starts, and you keep one phone number from the first visit to the last day.
We are a service-disabled veteran-owned company based in Cypress, verified by the Texas Veterans Commission. The person who writes your scope is the person you call if something is not right.
Google reviewers have given us 5.0 across 19 reviews, and the word that keeps coming up is honest. We would rather talk you out of a job than sell you one you do not need.