Your commercial roof has had a busy summer, shielding your people, equipment, and inventory from storms, hail, high winds, and relentless heat. Before winter arrives with its own set of demands, it’s worth taking the time to make sure your roof is ready. Here’s where to start.

Start with a Walk-Through Inspection

You don’t need to be a roofing expert to do a useful first pass. If it’s safe to access your roof, take a walk around early in the fall before icy conditions become a concern. You’re looking for anything that doesn’t belong: leaves, branches, and wind-blown debris like plastic bags are surprisingly common, especially on and around retail and commercial centers. All of it can clog drains and gutters, back up water onto the roof surface, and accelerate damage over time.

While you’re up there, check your HVAC equipment. Are access doors closing securely? Any obvious signs of damage or displacement? You don’t need to diagnose mechanical issues yourself , just note anything that looks off and pass it along to the appropriate contractor.

Know What Damage Looks Like

Walk the entire roof surface and look at the components around it: flashing, gutters, downspouts, scuppers, and scupper boxes. Standing water anywhere on the surface is a red flag.  Ponding indicates a drainage problem that won’t resolve itself and will get worse under the weight of snow and ice.

Back inside the building, check ceilings and walls for water staining. Staining doesn’t always mean a roof failure.  There are other potential entry points, but it does mean water is getting in somewhere, and that needs to be tracked down and resolved before winter.

The Most Important Step: Schedule a Professional Inspection

A self-inspection is a useful starting point, but it’s not a substitute for a professional assessment. A qualified commercial roofing contractor will evaluate everything your walk-through can’t: membrane integrity, flashing conditions, drainage performance, and any developing issues that aren’t visible to an untrained eye.

Schedule that inspection as early in the fall as possible. Once wintry weather arrives, safety constraints can delay inspections and limit a contractor’s ability to make repairs before the season takes hold. The window for preventative work is shorter than most property owners realize.

For over 40 years, LaFerney Commercial Roofing has helped commercial property owners across the Southeast get ahead of winter with professional inspections and preventative maintenance. Don’t wait until there’s a problem, reach out now while there’s still time to address whatever we find.

Call 800-633-3119 or contact us online to schedule your fall roof inspection.