How To Get a Roof That
Works (the First Time)
Part One
Getting the Right People On Your Bus In the Right Seats
By: Michael S. Holman
and Christopher S. McCloskey
Reprinted from September 2006 ohioconstructionlaw.com
Highlights: This article and its sequel next month provide information about one of the most important construction issues affecting the success or failure of nearly every building project—getting a roof that works the first time. Owners need to recognize that getting a weather-tight roof can be a major challenge. Far too many new roofs are not installed correctly and soon require major repairs or replacement. This article tells you why that can happen and provides sound advice about what you can do to be sure your handsome new roof’s performance matches its appearance. It explains who should be on your team so you can get a roof that works from the start. Next month’s article will discuss the process for finding those team members and contracting for their services.
How Bad Can It Be?
Some experts estimate that 75% - 80% of all construction defect disputes are related to roof failures.
At Bricker & Eckler, we have seen many such failures. They are a common occurrence. During the last several years, we have represented Owners on numerous roofing disputes, all of which were big problems for the Owners. In some instances, water actually streamed through holes in newly installed roofs, and mold grew because of the water infiltration. We have seen newly installed roofs that had to be completely torn off and re-installed, all at great cost, great anxiety, and great inconvenience to the Owners and building occupants.
The fact is that the current state of the roofing installation industry is unpredictable. That’s why, as an Owner, you need to take action before the roof is installed to eliminate these problems, and we will share with you the best way to go about taking it.
Poor Installation—the Most Frequent Problem
Most people familiar with the industry will agree that the quality of roofing work varies greatly. There are certainly some excellent, quality-conscious roofing contractors out there. But there are also those “other” contractors that throw together installation crews with little or no experience and then provide poor leadership for them. Those “other” contractors are the bane of the roofing industry, of the general contractors that hire them, of the Owners whose roofs they attempt to install, and of the competent roofing contractors that they underbid.
Similarly, there are good roofing manufacturers out there that produce quality products and stand behind them, but there are also those “other” manufacturers whose products and practices are dubious, to put it mildly.
One roofing expert had the following to say about the industry and, specifically, why metal roofs leak:
Not all metal roofing manufacturers produce quality products or warranties. Some may provide initial price advantages that result in the tradeoff in long-term reliability.
Commercial standing seam roofs are complex and accessory-intensive and require high-level skills, patience, and experience to ensure proper installation.
The greatest single problem with metal roofing systems is improper installation.
Improper installation leads to system failure, invalidation of warranties, leaks, liability, and lawsuits.
Robert Stanford & Associates/Metal Roofing Consultants, Ten Things To Know about Metal Roofing.
Our experience at Bricker & Eckler with metal roofs, as well as with other roofing systems, is similar to that experienced by Mr.
Stanford. While metal roofing systems may be more complex than others,
all roofing systems require (1) quality control oversight by someone who knows what he or she is doing, and (2) an experienced
installation team that knows how to install the roofing system so that it is weather tight.
Such a team, however, is difficult to assemble, especially on public sector projects, due to the highly competitive low-bid environment. Indeed, public sector contracts are awarded almost exclusively on price, instead of relationships and prior performance. In addition, many roofing contractors have a largely transient work force, which renders the quality of the work highly unpredictable, and, unfortunately, those roofing contractors with experienced and stable work forces are often not the low bidders. As a result, in the public sector environment, a wide variation in quality is the rule, not the exception.
Getting the Right People on Your Bus
As Jim Collins, author of the outstanding business book, Good to Great (a must read), emphasizes, you need the right people on the bus in the right seats. You probably have seen what happens when you finally get the right person assigned to a job. Instead of constant problems, you have someone who thinks and has initiative, someone who can figure out how to get things done right—the first time.
This rule from Good to Great applies to every business, every governmental organization, and every construction project. Assemble the right people in the right jobs, and you will have a winner. If you have the wrong people, you will have problems, and if they are building your roof, you will have a roof that leaks.
What can happen when you don’t have the right people on your team? Here is an example:
A little over ten years ago, a school district constructed a new school building. The project Architect was knowledgeable, and the board of education chose not to use a Construction Manager to coordinate the work. Instead, the board of education relied on the general contractor to coordinate the work of the multiple prime contractors. The general trades contractor was also responsible for installing the standing seam metal roof and contracted with the low-bid roofing subcontractor to perform the work. The low-bid roofing subcontractor was over $200,000.00 low on its bid for the roofing work.
After the roof was completed, the roofing manufacturer inspected the roof three separate times. On the third try, the installation finally passed and secured a roof warranty. In the meantime, however, the roof leaked every time it rained. The board of education repeatedly asked the general trades contractor and the roofing subcontractor for assistance. People came, applied caulk to the roof, left, and made excuses, but the roof never stopped leaking. The board of education suffered for nine years. In fact, in one reported instance, a teacher opened an umbrella in the building to get students from class to class in a downpour without getting wet.
Here are some of the pictures showing the water infiltration and loose insulation in this new
school building:
After a few good rains, teachers began complaining and pointing out what appeared to be mold in the building. The board of education then hired an environmental engineer, who confirmed the presence of mold in the building. As a result, the board of education was forced to clean up the mold and purchase expensive dehumidifiers and H.E.P.A. filters to eradicate the moisture that the water infiltration caused.
Why did this roof leak? The roofing subcontractor’s daily job logs tell the story.
The workers on the project changed daily. There was no consistency with the work force.
Daily job log
“Had to say something to Sylvia about standing around while Sam did the work. She got mad and started curseing. I wrote down on paper what happened and showed her she wouldn’t sign it. At 9:15 a.m., she got her tools and lunch Box. I asked what she was doing she said she would be happyer making hamburgers and left.”
Daily job log
“Sam said he was quitting, I had a talk with him and he said he’ll be back Monday, Scott Davis said he was also quitting He had no check as he didn’t work last week. Every place I put Scott work went slower than without him, Looked for reason why things wouldn’t work.”
Daily job log
Doug is all upset after I said I wasn’t Happy with 6 roof panels (valley) in 7 hours for 2 men 14 m/h. I told him he was out of Here (layed-off) if He didn’t pick it up. This is the third time I have had to say something about how slow he is moveing. Michael went back to home local to work.”
Daily job log
“Chris got mad because I showed him some leaks in Roof. Came after Me and was pushing me around and saying he was going to kick my ass. This is the second time he has done this.”
What’s Wrong with the Standard Process?
For that project, were the right people on the bus in the right seats? The answer is obvious: no, they were not.
The board of education did nothing wrong. The board of education followed the standard process. Except for not hiring a
Construction Manager, the board of education did what almost every public Owner does when it builds a building.
It hired an Architect, and it awarded contracts to the lowest responsible bidders—contractors who appeared to be competent.
For roofs (and other critical systems), regardless of whether you are building a new building or installing a new roof on an old building,
the standard process is not adequate. It will not assure that you have a roof system that works right the first time.
Why isn’t the standard process good enough? After all, it is “the standard in the industry.” Well, for starters, the standard process is very general. As you will see in next month’s article, the Owner usually gets some observations by people with knowledge of the design concepts. In most cases, however, the Owner does not get a dedicated roofing expert assigned to the project to see that the Owner gets a weather-tight roofing system.
The Architect and Construction Manager have many responsibilities. While they may observe the roof work from time to time, in most cases they are not experts in roofing installation, and, even if they are, they will not be up on the roof daily during the installation, carefully monitoring the roofing contractor’s work. The reality is that although the Architect and Construction Manager will understand the design concepts, in most cases, they will not be thoroughly familiar with the technical details of what is required to install the roofing system so that it is weather tight.
Getting Your Roofing Champion on the Bus
If you are going to get a roofing system that is weather tight the first time, you need someone in your corner, your champion who will protect your rights. Your champion must be on the roof daily during installation, looking out to make sure the roofing system is installed correctly. This person should also be involved in reviewing and commenting on the roofing drawings and specifications with regard to their design and constructability. This person needs not only to understand the design concepts but also to have a thorough understanding of the technical details of what is required to install your roofing system.
If you don’t have a roofing champion up on the roof daily during installation, then you are rolling the dice on whether or not the roofing contractor installs a weather-tight roofing system. In today’s very competitive, low-bid environment with a transient work force, that is a risk that we at Bricker & Eckler recommend you avoid.
Is Another Consultant Necessary?
Right now, you probably are thinking, do I have to hire another consultant? I’m already paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an Architect and a Construction Manager. Shouldn’t one of them understand the technical details for installing a weather-tight roofing system? You need to find out, and you should do so when you interview candidates for these positions. Don’t be surprised if many, if not most, firms don’t have roofing experts on their staffs. If they don’t, then we suggest you hire a qualified roofing expert to be your champion.
If your Architect or Construction Manager has someone on staff who understands the technical details for installing a weather-tight
roofing system and is available for your project, then you will not need an additional consultant, but you will want to make sure that person is on the roof
daily during installation. This means, as we explained, that when you interview potential
Architects and Construction Managers, you need to ask questions to determine whether one of them has such a qualified roofing expert
available for your project.
You also need to understand that having a qualified expert review and comment on the roofing design and then be up on the roof each day during its installation to protect your interests will take additional time. You need to contract specifically for that additional time, and you are going to pay for it. But the payment will be minimal compared to the cost of correcting problems that will occur if your roof is installed by unguided, unqualified workers.
Can Competent Roofing Contractors Be Found?
What about the roofing contractor? Can you find a competent one? Maybe. There are no guarantees, but you can improve your chances of getting a competent roofing contractor if you have the right Contract Documents.
First, let’s review the contracting environment. As we have said, for public Owners in particular, this is a very competitive, low-bid environment, with a transient work force, where price rather than relationships and a history of quality installations most often determines who gets the job. If you agree with us at Bricker & Eckler that there are far too many problems with newly installed roofing systems, then you want your Contract Documents to give a high priority to spelling out in detail the qualifications for the contractor who will install your roofing system. The Contract Documents must specify the qualifications of the workers and supervisors as well as what is to be done and who is to be present at the critical “getting started” phase of the roofing work. By spelling all of this out and building quality requirements into your Contract Documents, you will be “leveling” the playing field. If you include these terms in your Contract Documents and tell the bidders about your expectations very clearly during the bidding phase, then you will improve your chances of getting a competent roofing contractor on your project.
Previews of Coming Attractions . . .
This article explains why roofing systems can be such a big headache, even in a brand new building. We have discussed who you need, your roofing champion, who will be the right person on your bus in the right seat. We have also discussed the need to have the right terms in your Contract Documents, which will improve your chances of getting a competent roofing contractor on your project.
Next month we will discuss the process for finding your roofing champion and contracting for his or her services. We will examine the terms in the standard industry agreements and discuss what questions you should ask during the interview process so you will have someone on your side who really knows what installation techniques make a roofing system weather tight. We will also discuss what additional terms to include in your Construction Documents and your agreements with your Construction Manager and Architect to improve your chances of getting a competent roofing contractor and a quality installation. After reading this article and its sequel next month, you should be ready to raise the roof!
Note: We thank Dr. Renee Dupuis of Structural Research, Inc, Gary Mays of Mays Consulting & Evaluation Services, Inc., and Robert Stanford of Robert Stanford & Associates, Inc., for reviewing this article. To the extent there are errors or problems with this article, those are attributable to us and not to Dr. Dupuis or Messrs. Mays and Stanford.
Part Two: Finding and Contracting With Your Roofing Team
Part Three: The Making of a Roofing Expert
