Commercial Roof Leak Repair in San Antonio

Commercial roof leaks are almost never where they appear to be. Water enters a membrane defect, travels along the top of the insulation or along the deck, and exits through the nearest low point - which may be 30 feet horizontally from the entry point. The most common mistake in commercial leak repair is patching the visible wet ceiling location without tracing the actual entry point. The patch holds for a few weeks, the next rain event finds the same path, and the building owner has spent money twice on the same leak.

We trace leaks before we repair them. Our diagnostic protocol uses a combination of visual inspection at the interior wet area, roof-surface examination above and around the wet area, and - when the entry point is not visually obvious - smoke testing or controlled water testing to establish the water pathway. We have traced leaks in downtown San Antonio office buildings along the Riverwalk corridor where the entry point was at a parapet scupper three bays away from the ceiling stain, and in medical office buildings near the South Texas Medical Center on Fredericksburg Road where the water was traveling along a mechanical conduit from a penetration on the opposite side of the HVAC unit.

We also make a direct distinction between permanent repairs and temporary dry-in. Temporary dry-in - a membrane patch, a layer of sealant, a piece of sheet metal - stops a leak for the current season. A permanent repair closes the water entry path and the conditions that created it. We deliver permanent repairs. When a condition requires temporary dry-in because the permanent repair requires capital budget that is not immediately available, we say so explicitly and document what the permanent repair will require.