Toronto Metal Roof Repairs
We repair and maintain lots of metal roofing every year. Metal roofs are notorious for roof leak issues. And worse, the leaks can be difficult to fix because the weather determines where, when and how much the roof will leak.
Our red seal journeymen roofers are experts at tracking steel roof leaks and solving them whether by spot repair or a complete roof coating using a product such as liquid rubber.
Our roof repair technicians, crew trucks, site equipping, and work site safety are suitable for any size of commercial or industrial work sites.
Have a leak? Some reasons why metal roofs leak:
- Low slope steel roof leaks can be the cause of significant stress. They can appear then disappear and then re-appear in a completely different area of the roof. They can appear sometimes when it rains and sometimes when it snows or if there is snow and ice on the roof. There are many reasons for this and it becomes a process of elimination if you know what to look for. Sometimes spot repairs will not work and a complete coating or replacement is required.
- Expansion and contraction of the roof system itself is the primary or most common reason for leaks. The steel sheets are fastened with screws and seamed together. As the roof expands and contracts the holes the fasteners are in become bigger and the seams will eventually work apart.
- Along the expansion and contraction point are other areas of the roof such as penetrations like roof vents and flashing. As expansion and contraction occurs the caulking may come loose or flashing may come loose. Regular maintenance will typically deal with this.
- UV from the sun plays an important role in caulking life-cycle. Check caulking regularly.
- Cold climates can be terrible for steel roof assemblies. Ice dams can bend steel and cause issue and ice build up in eaves-trough can work its way back in to the building at the roof to wall edge where the gutters are.
- Steel roof systems are also prone to condensation issues because metal naturally “sweats” from the underside. It is important to get the ventilation right.
Solutions for metal roof leaks. Liquid rubber coating crew working on industrial system.
- Above all, regular maintenance at minimum once a year is the best way to avoid roof problems. We have special maintenance programs for steel roofing assemblies.
- If the fastener holes have become too large due to expansion and contraction it may be possible to re-place the fasteners with new ones to solve the problem.
- If it is that the seams between the panels are allowing water in it is possible to tape and coat those seams to extend the life of your roof.
- As mentioned above, UV can cause caulking to flake and peel and new caulking at penetrations and flashing may be required.
- Sometimes it is simply a matter of re-setting gutters and down-spots to catch and drain water properly. Or, it may be that installing heat trace in the eaves-trough will assist in clearing ice in the gutters so they will drain properly.
- If ice is working its way back up in to the roof system at the roof to wall connection there are coating applications that can solve that problem.
- For steel roofs that experience rust issues there are industrial coatings that will stop that issue.
- In some instances, if the repairs are too far gone the roof may need a complete replacement of roof coating
