Annual Maintenance Agreements are now more common than ever. Typically, in exchange for an agreed fee, the contractor will inspect the roof, make very minor repairs and submit a photo report annually or biannually. If they find that the roof needs additional maintenance, they will quote the work based on an agreed hourly labor and material rate. These agreements generally auto-renew annually unless one of the parties provides notice of cancellation.
Maintenance Agreements have many advantages
- As roofs age it is important to make sure that they are ageing properly and that potential issues get addressed before they lead to additional damages.
- Many factors play into the longevity of a particular roof: quality of installation, weather, ventilation, choice of materials, wildlife, maintenance and cleaning.
- Many times, factors come into play that cause premature ageing of a particular component of a roofing system: the flashings, parapet walls, junctures between different types of roofs, exposure to UV from various causes.
- Annual or biannual inspections provide opportunities to maintain or fix items, extending the life of your current roofing system.
- This can provide a tremendous financial return when factored over the life of the roof.
The potential problems come from the fact that you are now locked into using one roofing contractor
- One contractor is deciding what does or does not need to be done.
- One contractor gets to quote what extra work is needed. There is no competitive bidding on larger maintenance projects.
- One contractor with their own biases on materials or techniques, is presenting your only alternatives.
Going with an independent consultant solves the problem
- We look at everything with only one concern: what will save you money by extending the life of your roofing system at an advantageous cost.
- We can evaluate several options. We are not married to a single product, method or system.
- We can create a bid spec so you can invite several contractors to price the recommended work.
- We can create bid alternatives so we can get actual costs for various techniques.
- Our evaluations include analysis of the life-costs by considering the additional life such repairs will give you.
- We can provide job oversight, making sure you are getting what you are paying for.
- Finally, we always evaluate and comment on both the possibility of warranties or insurance covering some or all of your costs.
- We are not beholden to a contractor, a manufacturer or an insurance carrier. We are responsible ONLY to you, our client!
