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In my experience the roof is one thing most buyers and tenants with triple net leases have the most attention on and rightfully so. Proper maintenance and routine inspections are strongly advised. The typical commercial and industrial roof is a flat roof. This means that is has less than 2 inch of slope or fall for every level foot. Modern standards require all roofing to have a minimum of 1/4 inch of slope for every level foot. This was rarely the case in roofing before the 70s. Most any roof built in the 70s and before is almost always very flat and does not shed water well. This leaves areas of standing water. Standing water is a potential problem for two reasons; #1 is when water stands it has a way of finding a weak spot and leaking. #2 is standing water collects dirt and debris that will cause the roofing material to deteriorate faster and leak quicker. (Standing water is any water that is either 1/2 inch deep or more and not flowing or is there more than 48 hours after the rain has stopped.) From my experience maintenance is the single area that can prolong almost all aspects of any building. Proper maintenance of the roof is the cheapest insurance there is. If every owner had a roofer go over the roof every 2-3 years (once it is at least 5 years old) and make any repairs as well as do all the normal preventative maintenance, a roof can last well past its expected useful life. The usual expected useful life of a flat roof is approximately 13 - 17 years with many roofing materials, if properly maintained, lasting 20 years. The state of California has energy requirements that are listed in what is called Title 24. These are mandated energy requirements for every building in the state. (It is noted that the enforcement of these mandates is not always consistent.) It covers many areas and with roofing it requires any roof over a 'conditioned space', namely office space, to have a reflective coating over it to help reflect the heat and save on energy. This material can come in many forms from white vinyl plastic to spray on coatings and others. Where this becomes important is if a building needs a new roof. You may be required to install this type of roof and it costs approx. $1.00 more per sq. ft. to install than a standard roof. However if the roof is older but still has some life left in it, it may be possible to have an applied coating installed over it that costs from $.60 - $1.00 per sq. ft. There are two distinct advantages of installing this coating over an existing roof. One is that it will prolong the life of the roof and if applied approximately every 5 - 7 years while doing proper maintenance, the roof can last almost indefinitely. The second, and this may be bigger than the first, is that the most efficient of these materials can reflect up to 80% of the suns rays which could be a very substantial savings from an energy stand point not to mention saving wear and tear of the AC units because they are not having to run all the time during hot weather.
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Bob Pace has been a Certified Inspector since 1994 and a licensed contractor for nearly 4o years. For more information about commercial real estate inspections visit his website at www.commercialrealestateinspectors.com to find out how he can help with your real estate inspection.
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