WHY HIRE A COMMERCIAL ROOFING CONTRACTOR?
For many roofing decisions, even in a commercial environment, facility managers will choose to perform the repairs, improvements, or installations themselves. This is often seen as a way to save money, maybe even get the project done quicker, and to eliminate the waiting game and just get it done yourself. In some cases this works out well and can save money. However, for most commercial roofing projects, it is more prudent to hire a contractor to perform the work for you.
Don’t Get Tied Up in Large Projects
Obviously it’s up to you to make sure you feel up to the task before beginning. But even if you think a project is manageable, it often isn’t once you get into it. You think you have a small repair that you can handle yourself, so you decide not to call a commercial roofing contractor but to fix it instead yourself. You may find that a month later you’re still dealing with the project because it continues to balloon into something larger and larger. By hiring a commercial roofing contractor out of the gate, you can make sure that you don’t run into this problem. Small projects can slowly turn into projects that take up entire days or weeks of your time.
You May Not Have the Manpower
In the case of projects that grow and grow until they take up all your time, the crew is an issue. Commercial roofing contractors will have the crews necessary to tackle the problem. If you thought it was a small issue, you may find yourself and a couple unqualified partners trying to fix it. This exasperates the growing problem as your lack of qualified workers can even make the problem worse. If you’re not sure whether or not you have the manpower, we recommended hiring a commercial roofing contractor to help you.
Do You Have Expertise for the Issue?
Many people fix problems at home by looking up solutions on YouTube. This may work on small projects like replacing a window, but not on complex commercial roofing projects. You need to not only know how to fix the apparent problem. You also need to know how to fix any secondary issues you weren’t aware of or that may pop up unexpectedly. A commercial roofing contractor will have the experience necessary to identify these new issues and fix them accordingly. While you may be stumped at new problems, a contractor can usually fix them without issue.
Prevent Investment in Equipment
Many roofing projects require a not-insignificant investment in equipment. A roofing contractor already has the tools required, while you might be spending money on material and equipment for the job. This can be a large portion of the project cost. The contractor can divide these expenses among all their customers as they continue to use the tools. But once you complete the project, you have new tools just sitting in storage.
Don’t Forget Safety
You also have to consider the safety of yourself and others while working on your roof. You’re in a new environment and probably don’t have all the proper safety equipment installed. This can be a dangerous combination, especially if you have multiple employees on the roof. Considering safety can often be enough to push a building owner to call a contractor.
Discounts on Materials
Commercial roofing contractors buy their materials in much larger quantities than you do. This allows them to get price discounts unavailable to you. You might be paying 30-50% more than they do for the same product. If you need a lot of material for your roofing project, you can end up spending way more than a contractor would. The contractor won’t always get material cheaper than you can, but if they do you could be wasting money by going it alone.
Peace of Mind
Finally, hiring a commercial roofing contractor provides you peace of mind you may not get otherwise. Did you make the repair correctly? Will the roof leak the next time it rains? Will you be in danger while on the roof? These are questions that simply don’t come up if you hire a contractor to perform the work for you. The peace of mind that they got the job done correctly, timely, and safely, is generally worth any premium you pay in price.
Conclusion
Working with a commercial roofing contractor can provide many different benefits. Working on your commercial roof on your own can be tempting, but generally it doesn’t pay off. In the short run and long run, there are major benefits to utilizing a commercial roofing contractor on your next roofing project.
