Commercial Roofing in Southside, Birmingham, AL

Old brick buildings leak at the top of the wall. Parapet caps crack. Mortar joints open. Counterflashing pulls loose. Water gets behind the membrane and runs down the wall. The stain shows up two floors below.

On a first walk we check every parapet run. We look at the cap, the joints and the flashing behind it. We photograph each defect and give it a number. A cracked cap costs little to fix this fall. The same crack costs a wall repair after three winters of freeze and thaw. Wet weather does the damage, with about 56.6 inches of precipitation a year across the Birmingham area.

UAB and the hospitals beside it sit at the center of Southside, and UAB's hospital is a Level I trauma center. UAB employed about 18,750 people as of 2011, more than anyone else in the area. Buildings near a medical campus can house clinics, labs and offices, and those tenants cannot tolerate a wet ceiling.

Each building gets its own check. For a medical office roof, we plan for quiet hours, protected air intakes and a written schedule. A leak call gets a tarp-and-dry the same day, and the cause is documented before the permanent repair is priced.

Rooftop equipment is the next check. Clinics and labs run air handlers and exhaust that cannot shut down. Every unit stands on a curb with flashing around it. We inspect every one and mark the ones that look cracked or loose. Moving a unit for repair work is a coordination job, and the schedule names who can approve it. A hospital roof follows the stricter version of the same plan.

Five Points South is an established entertainment district with several law firms, and Southside also has local businesses. New apartment and condominium construction adds roofs with terraces, mechanical zones and tight access. Restaurants add grease. Law offices add leak sensitivity.

Each type needs its own check. Restaurant roofs get an exhaust and grease check. Apartment roofs get a terrace and drain check. Office roofs get a tie-in check. We tailor the visit to the building, then give you one written report. Debris hides defects, so we clear the surface first, then look, and we photograph the roof before and after the cleaning. If you own several of these, a multi-site roof program puts them on one calendar.

Tight sites raise the price of a roof job. A crane needs a street permit, a dumpster needs a spot and material needs a staging area. A tight Southside site can call for hand carry or a small lift, and each of those adds days.

Ask for these costs as separate lines in the bid. Then you can see what the roof itself costs and what the site costs. Ask too about work hours, since some blocks restrict deliveries and noise at certain times of day. If a bid lumps them together, ask why. We list them out. It makes your budget year easier to defend.

Compare bids on the same scope. One bid may include a new cover board and another may not. One may include roof drains and another may skip them. Put the bids side by side and match the lines. A low number that leaves out the drains is not low. It is incomplete. We write our scope in plain lines so you can check it against anyone's.