EMERGENCY ROOF REPAIR – AML INDUSTRIES – WARREN, OH

In the summer of 2019, TEMA Roofing Services was contacted to address an emergency roof repair situation at AML Industries, located in Warren, OH. A severe storm had come through the area, and, as a result, blew the building’s poorly installed roofing system into the parking lot (leaving the business’s equipment and assets susceptible to the elements).

TEMA was able to be onsite within a couple hours of the initial call and immediately worked to address AML’s emergency roof repair needs. First, a temporary roof was put in place to prevent further damage to the building and its contents. Second, TEMA assessed the damage and generated a report to submit to insurance. Finally, once the claim was revised and approved, TEMA installed a permanent roofing system that met Ohio Building Code requirements and the manufacturer’s warranty.

TEMA’s knowledge and quick response helped to keep AML Industries fully functional—with zero downtime or lost equipment—despite the extreme damage to the building’s commercial roof.

AML Industries is a manufacturer of AMLUBE metalforming lubricants and coatings. Located in Warren, OH, AML operates a 45,000-square-foot facility that includes the plant, laboratory and business offices.

Prior to the emergency situation, AML had worked with another commercial roofing company who incorrectly installed a spray foam roof over top of two previous roofing systems. Due to the company’s incorrect repair, AML’s roofing system was no longer covered under the manufacturer warranty. 

A commercial roof warranty is typically one of three types: manufacturer’s material warranty, manufacturer’s system warranty and contractor’s workmanship guarantee.

Roofing Manufacturer’s Material Warranty

Issued by the manufacturer, this particular type of commercial roof warranty covers defects or failure in the roofing material. Warranty length is generally between 10 and 30 years and does not cover the costs of labor that may be necessary to repair faulty material.

Roofing Manufacturer’s System Warranty

Also issued by the manufacturer, this particular type of warranty is generally better for the consumer because it can cover certain scenarios of defective installation or repair. Most system warranties exclude things like flashings that aren’t produced by the manufacturer.

Roofing Contractor’s Workmanship Warranty

This warranty comes directly from the commercial roofing contractor who is installing the system. A workmanship warranty’s coverage length is generally shorter than that of a manufacturer’s warranty, but often, it covers both faulty materials and instances of defective installation or repair.

A commercial roof warranty typically does NOT cover the following:

• Incorrect Repairs
  • The warranty will detail what materials and processes should be utilized for repairs
• Unauthorized Modifications
  • The warranty may specify which contractors or types of companies can make repairs or changes
• Standing Water
  • The warranty covers roofing material and installation. Since standing water is usually due to a drainage issue, it is not typically covered.

AML Industries’ needs were two-fold; they needed to temporarily fix the roof (which was no longer covered under warranty) so that normal business production could continue and they needed to assess/plan for a full commercial re-roof to permanently address the damage.

The severe storm created several problems for AML Industries. Since the roof—quite literally—blew off of the building, the interior was left exposed to the elements, which meant the company needed an emergency solution in addition to the coordination of insurance claim information and a long-term roofing system. 

Believe it or not, this type of catastrophic roofing event is not necessarily uncommon. In fact, wind uplift is one of the most important factors to consider when designing or maintaining a commercial roof.

Effects of Wind Uplift of Flat Roofs

Consideration of wind uplift is essential for any commercial roof repair or replacement situation. If your roofing system is unable to withstand high pressure from uplift, it’s at a higher risk of separating from the structure.

When the pressure underneath the roof is greater than the pressure above the roof, uplift is created. Many things play a factor in this process: the height of a building, the environment surrounding the building and the design of the structure.

Roof repair or full replacement due to the effects of wind uplift can be prevented by using knowledgeable, experienced commercial roofing professionals who understand the effects of pressure on commercial roofing systems. In AML Industries’ case, TEMA Roofing Services needed to quickly address the devastating effects of wind uplift on a poorly installed system. To do so, TEMA got to work on a temporary repair of the roof (in order to maintain normal business operations) and long-term commercial roof replacement coordination and implementation.

Emergency Roof Repair

Not all commercial roofing companies offer emergency roof repair services. It takes a large, responsive and knowledgeable team to coordinate response at the drop of a hat.

At TEMA, we recognized the importance of providing this type of service, which is why we implemented our 24-hour emergency commercial roof repair line. We guarantee to have a technician to your site within 24 hours (or less, depending on the severity of the roof emergency). We have two response levels:

• • Priority Level A: Emergency Roof Repair
    Priority Level A is defined as any roofing emergency that could physically endanger an employee, customer, the physical building and/or cause an extreme product loss.

    Customer Priority Level A emergency service calls are to be responded to (on-site) within 4-8 hours, as specified by the customer contact person. This includes all service calls made on weekends or holidays by the customer contact person or answering service.

• • Priority Level B: Emergency Roof Repair
    Priority Level B is defined as anything that is not classified under Priority Level A.

    Customer Priority Level B emergency service calls are to be responded to (on-site) within 24-48 hours as specified by the customer contact person.  This includes all service calls made on weekends or holidays by the customer contact person or answering service.

• 
  Long-Term Roof Replacement Solution

  In addition to emergency response and repair, AML Industries needed a commercial roofing company with experience and knowledge to permanently replace the faulty roofing system with an appropriate long-term solution.

  Seasoned roofing companies are able to provide a detailed scope of work while presenting findings in a clear, understandable way to the customer. In AML’s case, it was also imperative to find a company that could act as a liaison to their commercial property insurance company, since damage and replacement were covered under their policy.

Upon getting the initial call from AML, TEMA’s expert staff worked to prioritize the emergency situation by immediately going out on-site to evaluate the damage with the owner present, deliver a temporary solution and install a completely new roofing system, as approved by AML’s insurance company.

Unfortunately, the faulty roofing system was not covered under a manufacturer warranty. The spray foam material used (which is the material that blew off of the roof) was not the proper application for the building—the previous contractor didn’t apply a spray foam that had a warrantied specification for the roofing systems already in place.

The building’s roof was, however, covered under AML’s commercial property insurance. So, in order for AML to receive appropriate compensation for the costs of a new roofing system, they needed to partner with a reliable roofing company that could put together a comprehensive report and proposal for the insurance company.

TEMA’s Emergency Commercial Roof Repair

TEMA’s staff was onsite at AML within hours of the initial call because the situation was considered a Priority Level A emergency, meaning that the roofing issue could physically endanger an employee, customer, the physical building and/or cause an extreme product loss.

The quick response meant that AML was able to submit a report for the insurance company (for both a temporary and a permanent replacement strategy) and keep their operations fully functional—no downtime, no lost equipment, no danger to employees.

Insurance Coverage for Roof Repair

TEMA Roofing essentially acted as the official liaison between AML Industries and their insurance company, ultimately facilitating two claims: one for temporary repair and one for a permanent solution.

Almost immediately, TEMA’s roofing experts were able to complete and submit a report to the insurance company detailing the extent of damage for temporary repair. TEMA also completed multiple (additional) site visits, gave a detailed scope of work, put together a report to submit to insurance and assisted in the presentation of findings in order to get claims issued to cover the cost of existing roof removal and full roof system replacement.

Claim 1: Temporary Roof Replacement

Upon receiving TEMA’s proposal and sending it to their roofing consultant, AML’s insurance company approved the plan and released TEMA Roofing to make the temporary repairs needed until the roof could be fully replaced.

The temporary system utilized a new, single-ply membrane that would allow for a watertight solution until a permanent solution was agreed upon. The single-ply membrane was in place for eight weeks but was designed to keep AML’s business fully functional for multiple months, if necessary.

Claim 2: A Permanent Commercial Roof Solution

In order to plan for an appropriate roofing solution, the existing roof’s condition needed to be thoroughly inspected. Those findings then needed to be explained to the insurance company (detailing why the existing roofing system was done incorrectly, resulting in the roof blowing off of the building).

This inspection was no easy task because two other roofing systems remained under the spray foam layer that had blown from the building. TEMA needed to account for problems that couldn’t necessarily be seen until all systems were removed (like areas on the roof where decking would need to be replaced).

TEMA’s expertise allowed for the permanent roofing installation to be completed without concern to the time of year (insurance approvals took the project well into the fall/winter of 2019) and gave the customer a roofing system they could rely on:

• TEMA’s crew removed all three previous roofing systems (down to the structural supports) and replaced numerous areas where decking had been compromised.

• A completely new roofing system was installed that met Ohio Building Codes and the manufacturer’s design warranty requirements (which was important because the previous roof WAS NOT covered under manufacturer warranty).

One of the lessons AML Industries learned from this experience was to have a trusted roofing team in place. It doesn’t seem out of the ordinary to have an attorney or doctor on stand-by for personal concerns. As such, it’s imperative to have a TRUSTED roofing contractor who is available to support and educate you on your roofing asset.

The importance of paying attention to your roof can not be understated. You should know what your roofing asset is made up of; you should know its installation details; you should know its life expectancy. 

A reliable, trustworthy commercial roofing company will also be able to go to bat for your needs when dealing with insurance claims. Additionally, an experienced roofing contractor can complete a re-roof project throughout winter months—when novice companies say it can’t be done—because they know details about the materials and equipment being used and have the staff to accommodate working on good winter days.

As TEMA Roofing Services proved to AML Industries, quality workmanship can not only address concerns created by previous, faulty installation but it can also deliver a higher standard of excellence when planning for and installing a completely new commercial roofing system.