We’re seeing an epidemic of metal roof failures in Michigan. For many years, metal roofs that were designed for unheated pole barns were installed in the area. Further, many roofers installed these roofs by putting 40 fasteners per every 100 square feet. Even with a gasket and sealer around each screw or nail, the expansion and contraction of the metal in our northern Michigan climate will quickly elongate the hole and, before you know it, your roof is leaking.

To have an effective metal roof in the freeze/thaw conditions of northern Michigan, two things need to happen. First, you’ll need an under-layer that is completely waterproofed before the metal goes on; and second, you’ll want to install a standing seam metal roof that doesn’t require exposed fasteners.

Metal roofing can be effective if done correctly. We install standing seam metal roofs. These utilize a clip method, so there are no holes in the metal. The roof panels actually move with the clips during expansion and contraction. We also completely waterproof metal roofs with an ice and water shield. We then add a second waterproofing layer: a plastic reinforced product that serves as a “wear layer” between the metal and the waterproofing.

The right kind of metal roof correctly installed can cost more than some other types of roofs – three or four times the cost of shingles. Businesses in northern Michigan that are making the upgrade to standing seam metal are very comfortable with their decision and very happy with the results and to have their maintenance costs go way down and their frequent emergencies disappear. For many local businesses, the standing seam metal roof is simply a better solution and a better value.

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Have your own question? Would you like to learn more about your specific roofing issue, options, and approaches? Please consider us a resource, and reach out to speak with our management. We’ve been doing commercial roofing and helping business owners and northern Michigan facility managers improve and protect their operations for three decades. Call us directly at (231) 263-5300 or EMAIL US for a timely response.

I’M REALLY TRYING TO MANAGE MY BUDGET, BUT I KNOW I NEED A ROOF REPAIR. WHAT’S THE BEST STRATEGY? HOW WILL I KNOW WHEN I NEED A NEW ROOF? 

We find that a vast majority of our new clients don’t need a new roof. 

Most often we can help them prioritize areas of the roof that need immediate attention and then plan for future repairs and replacement to fit their budgets. As with human disease: the earlier a problem is detected on your roof, the easier it is to treat. The longer the problem goes undetected, the more damage is done, and the more treatment is required. If water finds its way below the roof membrane from one tiny little drip left alone over time, it can cause a catastrophic problem.

We know from experience that a well-maintained roof will last twice as long as one that’s been ignored. Our goal is to help you make your roof last as long as possible. We also know that an emergency roof repair usually costs 30% more than a planned project. Why? You can bet that your roof will fail during the worst weather, when you have too much going on to compare techniques and products, and when roofing companies are the busiest.

For most roofs, the “devil is in the details.” In the wide-open, clear expanses of your roof, you’ll rarely have a problem, even if you have an inferior product on your roof. The majority of deficiencies occur at the transitions or changes in plane, angle, or where there are items penetrating the roofing (piping, exhaust systems, air conditioning units, nails, etc.). Problems arise when previous roofers have done the job incorrectly or poorly. We can service a roof and fix little problems before they turn into big ones. Sometimes we can peel back the roof in the problem area only, clean out all the wetness and repair the waterproofing membrane and then put the old roofing material back on for a fraction of the cost of replacing an entire roof.

ASK US DIRECTLY

Have your own question? Would you like to learn more about your specific roofing issue, options, and approaches? Please consider us a resource, and reach out to speak with our management. We’ve been doing commercial roofing and helping business owners and northern Michigan facility managers improve and protect their operations for three decades. Call us directly at (231) 263-5300 or EMAIL US for a timely response.

WHY IS ICE BUILDING UP ON MY ROOF AND HOW CAN I STOP IT?

Ice build-up is an alarm to owners that their buildings are under-insulated. Heat escaping through the roof combines with sunlight to melt rooftop snow during the daytime. This water then runs down to the eaves where it refreezes. As this process continues, the snowmelt builds upon itself, damming up higher and higher on the roofline, and sometimes the ice can be more than a foot deep. When the weather warms, melting ice will find places to infiltrate your building.

If your roof is not waterproof or if it has screw holes, this build-up will eventually lead to leaks.

Insulation reduces ice. 

As you can imagine, it takes a lot of energy to melt that much snow. You’re paying for all the heat it took to melt that snow – a very expensive problem.

It’s seems unbelievable, but as we see buildings here in northern Michigan that have absolutely no insulating properties – that are R-0. It’s common for older buildings, even here in our area, to have absolutely no insulation. Many metal buildings in industrial situations also have less than an R-5 value, so these companies are paying to heat the great outdoors.

A new roof with proper insulation, good ventilation, and proven waterproofing can pay for itself in energy savings. More than 90 percent of the roofs we replace pay for themselves in energy savings before the warranty expires.

Ice build-up prevention and lower energy bills are important reasons for business owners in northern Michigan to pay attention to these icy warning signs.

ASK US DIRECTLY

Have your own question? Would you like to learn more about your specific roofing issue, options, and approaches? Please consider us a resource, and reach out to speak with our management. We’ve been doing commercial roofing and helping business owners and northern Michigan facility managers improve and protect their operations for three decades. Call us directly at (231) 263-5300 or EMAIL US for a timely response.

SHOULD WE USE A ROOFING CONSULTANT TO DEFINE OUR PROJECT?

There are very educated, innovative roofing consultants doing high-quality work for their clients. That being said, as the roofing contractor on your project, we feel we are responsible for the process, including recommended solutions, the warranty, and most importantly, the safety of our workers performing the installation. We want to be your partner to recommend the right solution for your business.

We take responsibility for what we do and we have decades of experience and professional engineers to design guaranteed solutions. We need to be the ones who engineer the solution we know will work for you.

For these reasons, we recommend hiring Springfield. We offer the consulting, design, installation and guarantee, all from a single, trusted contractor.

ASK US DIRECTLY

Have your own question? Would you like to learn more about your specific roofing issue, options, and approaches? Please consider us a resource, and reach out to speak with our management. We’ve been doing commercial roofing and helping business owners and northern Michigan facility managers improve and protect their operations for three decades. Call us directly at (231) 263-5300 or EMAIL US for a timely response.

I WAS UP ON MY ROOF AND SAW A LOT OF STANDING WATER. AM I IN TROUBLE?

Ponding or standing water is not good for your roof. Ponding water will accelerate the degradation of BUR, EPDM and metal roofs. Drainage is a very important part of roofing. Having proper drainage can save a roof, and you’ll note that on many historic structures there are scuppers (a notch or hole through a wall) to allow water to flow through where there is sufficient slope.

A flat roof is the most inexpensive design and requires quite a bit less roofing material, but if a flat roof is not installed with adequate slope or drains for managing the water, it can get expensive fast.

Many roofing warranties are void if water stands for any period of time. We use Duro-Last materials, and a certified Duro-Last Roof has a warranty that isn’t void if there are ponding issues because the material and the application can withstand any water. We make sure that we engineer enough drainage so that water leaves the roof in a manner that doesn’t cause issues around the building. And we may build in internal drains to manage the rain and snow loads we see in this part of Michigan.

When doing a roof, we are always concerned with where the water will go. We make sure it’s not splashing on the walls, on windows or over doorways. We utilize gutters, rain detail, drains or scuppers. We can also design collector boxes that look attractive and lead water through a downspout to where you want it, instead of having it dump down the side of the building.

ASK US DIRECTLY

Have your own question? Would you like to learn more about your specific roofing issue, options, and approaches? Please consider us a resource, and reach out to speak with our management. We’ve been doing commercial roofing and helping business owners and northern Michigan facility managers improve and protect their operations for three decades. Call us directly at (231) 263-5300 or EMAIL US for a timely response.

I’M GETTING DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT WHETHER I SHOULD TAKE THE OLD ROOF OFF BEFORE I PUT A NEW ROOF ON. IS IT NECESSARY? IMPORTANT?

Good question. When businesses ask if they can have a new roof placed over the old roof, we answer with three simple words: yes, no… maybe. It all depends on the condition of the old roof.

It’s not often that a business can come up with the money to replace an entire roof, so we can replace the roof just where it’s needed, and service other portions of the roof, repairing or replacing as need be. We work hard to help our clients get the most out of their existing roofs and to break the costs into manageable chunks.

To assess the situation, we oftentimes take infrared pictures of your roof to understand where the water is and what damage has been done. We find the natural transitions in the roof and then find a way to keep you dry by re-roofing only the sections that are critical.

We do core cuts, where we bore into the roof at regular intervals, to determine damage and wetness. We also use a capacitor and other sophisticated pieces of infrared and thermal equipment, which measure moisture content. Dry insulation warms up much more quickly than wet insulation because water has a greater thermal capacity. When we use this equipment, we can see the wet sections glowing.

WHEN THE ANSWER IS “YES”

We leave the existing roof in place, which can be big cost savings, and we won’t have to put the old material in a landfill. It’s also beneficial because we don’t have to put the building at risk by exposing it to the elements while we’re reroofing.

WHEN THE ANSWER IS “NO”

• A serious moisture problem was found, so we remove the roof and replace it.
• When building code does not allow for more than two roofs on a structure. 

WHEN THE ANSWER IS “MAYBE”

During our testing, we may find that moisture is an issue in only a very small portion of the roof. Then we can remove this portion of the roof only, and then reroof the entire building, if necessary. In Michigan, if there are already two layers of roofing, we are restricted from adding a third layer, no matter how dry the existing roof is.

In other instances, when we discover that a previous roofer has used wood fiberboard between layers of asphalt, we always remove it. It can become extremely acidic and harbors biological problems. If it’s trapped between two waterproof layers, it can destroy a building. We never use wood fiberboard, but use a closed-cell plastic urethane-based product because it’s much safer and has a much higher R-value for insulation. It costs more initially, but it’s worth the difference.

ASK US DIRECTLY

Have your own question? Would you like to learn more about your specific roofing issue, options, and approaches? Please consider us a resource, and reach out to speak with our management. We’ve been doing commercial roofing and helping business owners and northern Michigan facility managers improve and protect their operations for three decades. Call us directly at (231) 263-5300 or EMAIL US for a timely response.