What is a roof maintenance contract?

What the contract covers

A planned maintenance contract is a standing arrangement, usually agreed for a year or longer, in which the roofer visits at set times to look after the roof. The contents vary with the building, but a good one is specific about what happens at each visit and what is charged for extra.

• Inspection. A walk over the covering, the laps and seams, flashings, upstands, edges and rooflights, noting any defects with photographs.
• Drainage. Clearing gutters, outlets, valley gutters and downpipes of silt, leaves and moss, and checking that water flows away.
• Minor repairs. Resealing a lap, replacing a few fixings or refitting a flashing, done during the visit where it is small and safe to do.
• Report. A report of what turned up, what was done and what needs attention next, with an indication of urgency.
• Safety checks. Where a fall arrest system is installed, a check that it remains in working order.

Anything larger than a minor repair is quoted separately. The contract should say where that line is drawn.

Why a planned visit beats waiting

Failures tend to start at the details: an outlet choked with leaves, a flashing lifted by wind, a seam opened by the sun. Each of these starts small and costs little to put right at the beginning. Left alone, water gets under the covering, wets the insulation and rots the deck. By the time it shows as a stain on the ceiling, the repair has grown.

Planned visits are timed to the seasons. Autumn after leaf fall is the obvious moment to clear drainage before winter, and after winter is the time to look for frost and storm damage. Extra visits after a major storm are common in a good contract. Our answer on why industrial valley gutters fail shows how a blocked outlet in a gutter ends up inside the building.

A written history also helps when something does go wrong. Anyone reading the file, whether an insurer, a landlord or a buyer, can see the roof has had regular attention. Policies commonly carve out wear and tear, and a dated record of upkeep is useful to have beside any claim. That is not a guarantee that a claim will succeed.

Manufacturer guarantees and warranties

A new membrane or roof system often comes with a manufacturer's guarantee, and those guarantees commonly set conditions about maintenance. Typical wording asks that the roof is kept clear of debris, that damage is reported and repaired promptly, and that records are kept. If a maintenance routine is not followed, the guarantee may be harder to rely on. Read the terms that came with your roof rather than assuming.

This is a place where a contract earns its keep. The report from each visit shows that conditions were met. It also shows who touched the roof and when, which matters because damage from other trades, such as engineers servicing plant on the roof, is a frequent cause of leaks.

A maintenance contract is separate from the workmanship guarantee on installation work. Our own roofing work carries a 10-year written workmanship guarantee, and a maintenance contract does not replace or extend it. If the roof is due for renewal, our page on commercial roof energy looks at how insulation and the covering affect the building's running costs.

Access, safety and fall arrest

Maintenance means people walking on the roof, so access must be safe. A contract should state how the roofer reaches the roof, whether permanent edge protection exists, and how fragile areas such as rooflights are protected. Without permanent protection, each visit needs a risk assessment and temporary measures, and that adds cost.

A fixed fall arrest system gives roof workers a line to clip a harness to. Fitting one can make routine maintenance faster and safer, and it protects other trades visiting the roof. Such systems also need checking at intervals. Read about the roof fall arrest system for what fitting one involves.

The building owner has a responsibility for who goes on the roof. Contractors for other services should be told about fragile areas and should be asked to report any damage they cause. A permit system, even a simple one, makes sure that happens. In a school that discipline matters more still, and our answer on school roof repairs covers it.

Choosing and pricing a contract

When you compare offers, look at what each one actually does. A cheap contract that covers a quick look from the ground falls short of a roof walk with gutter clearing and a photographic report. Ask how often visits happen, what is included in the price, what counts as a minor repair, how emergency call-outs are handled and whether reports come with pictures.

For maintenance clients, leaks and storm damage take priority, and stopping water getting in is the first step. Each contract is written after a survey, because a flat roof with two outlets and a long run of valley gutters on a factory need different attention. The price follows the survey and is fixed in writing, and larger repairs found on a visit are quoted separately so you can approve them.

A contract can start after we have repaired or renewed a roof, or on a roof of any age, though we would want to see its present state first. Tell us about the building, its age and its roof covering, and we will say what a sensible schedule looks like. The commercial roofing hub shows where maintenance sits among our other business work.