Commercial roof inspection in Houston
Commercial roof inspection in Houston, TX before a purchase, after hail or before budgeting. Core samples and dated photos. Schedule a free roof assessment.
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01
What a commercial roof inspection is for
A commercial roof inspection is a one-time look at one roof, made to answer a question about it. We walk the whole roof, check the layers under the membrane, and photograph what turns up with the date on it. You end up with the condition of that roof on that day, on record before a decision gets made.
When we are looking at a roof to quote work on it, the assessment is free. Consulting and formal reports, such as for a real estate transaction or a lender, are paid work, priced before the visit. The report is usually sent within 48 hours.
We inspect TPO, PVC, modified bitumen, built-up and gravel, R-panel, standing seam and coated roofs. The buildings are warehouses, industrial buildings, strip centers, offices, medical buildings, churches and apartment properties. That covers Houston, TX, the metro, and Galveston and Brazoria counties. Commercial buildings only.
Tell us why you want the inspection, because the reason decides where the time on the roof goes. If water is coming through a ceiling today, that is commercial roof leak repair, with same-day emergency response. A roof looked after on a schedule is commercial roof maintenance.
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Before you buy, sell, lease or refinance
Nobody sees the roof on a site tour, and it is one of the most expensive parts of a commercial building to put right. Its real condition can hide under a membrane that looks fine from the roof hatch.
A pre-purchase roof inspection answers practical questions. Which system is on the building, and whether there is more than one. How many roofs sit on the deck, which a core sample shows. Whether the insulation is wet. Whether the problems sit at a few details or run everywhere, and how much has been patched. On a metal building, what the framing looks like from inside.
Ask the seller early for warranty and repair records. Whether a manufacturer warranty passes to a new owner depends on its terms, so ask the manufacturer directly. For a lease, an inspection at the start or before renewal puts a dated record of the roof beside it. Multi-tenant buildings raise their own roof questions, covered under retail and strip center roofing.
We do paid roof inspections for real estate transactions, and formal reports for lenders. What the roof means for a price, a lease or a loan is a question for your broker, attorney or lender. We do not give real estate, legal or lending advice.
Buying or leasing a building with a roof you have not seen?
Send us the address, what you know about the roof, and when you need to know, and we will tell you how we can help.
03
After a storm or hail
If a Gulf storm or a hailstorm is putting water through a ceiling, that is a leak call, not an inspection. Call or text 713-367-1495 for same-day emergency response.
More often nothing is dripping and nobody knows whether anything happened up there. Storm damage on a low-slope commercial roof is easy to miss from the ground, so the inspection covers the whole roof.
- Edges and corners
- Edge metal and coping lifted, bent or loose, and perimeter membrane lifted or creased.
- Wall and curb flashing
- Flashing pulled off parapet walls and unit curbs, and counterflashing knocked out of place.
- The membrane
- Punctures from blown debris, hail fractures in single-ply, and soft spots where hail crushed the insulation beneath. Bruised or cracked modified bitumen, and bare felt where gravel blew off a built-up roof.
- Metal panels
- Dents in panels, ridge cap and trim, loose or missing fasteners, and lifted panels. From inside, daylight at fasteners or laps where the underside can be seen.
- Skylights and vents
- Cracked skylight lenses, dented vent hoods and fan housings, and pipe flashings knocked loose.
- Drains, scuppers and gutters
- Storm debris in drains and scuppers, and gutters bent or torn away.
- Rooftop equipment
- Units shifted on their curbs. The unit is your HVAC contractor's; what it sits on is roof work.
Photographs show a roof on the day they are taken, and cannot always say when a dent or tear happened. If you are dealing with an insurer, that decision is yours and your policy's. We give no advice on claims.
Damage an inspection finds is fixed as commercial roof repair, priced in writing first. In Harris County east of State Highway 146, and in Galveston and Brazoria counties, repairs can need Texas windstorm certification (WPI-8) to keep TWIA wind coverage. We do WPI-8 certified work.
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Planning the budget
For budget purposes, a commercial roof usually comes down to one of four answers, and the inspection's job is to say which.
Nothing needed yet. The roof is sound, the drains work and the details are holding. That is a real finding.
Repairs. The trouble is at a few details, with dry insulation underneath. Each standard repair generally runs $1,500 to $3,500 and is priced in writing.
Restoration. The surface is worn out everywhere, over a solid deck and dry insulation. That is the case for commercial roof restoration, with nothing torn off. Metal with rust mostly on the surface has its own version: metal roof coating.
Replacement. Wet insulation over large areas, a failing deck, or two roofs already on the building. That is when to price commercial roof replacement, with core samples and photographs behind the number.
No inspection can give the date a roof will fail, but we include an estimate of its remaining service life. Large roofs over stored product have their own concerns, covered under warehouse and industrial roofing.
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What gets checked, and what is under the membrane
Every commercial roof has seams, flashing, penetrations and drains, and an inspection looks at all of them. What differs by system is what shows how worn the roof really is.
- TPO and PVC
- Welded seams probed along their length. Surface worn thin enough to show the fabric, membrane pulled tight at walls and curbs, and patches lifting. Near restaurant exhaust fans, whether the sheet is holding up to grease, which PVC generally resists better than TPO. More under TPO roofing.
- Modified bitumen
- Granules worn off to bare asphalt and cracking, lap edges lifting, blisters, and base flashing sagging.
- Built-up and gravel
- Bare felt where gravel has moved, blisters, long straight splits, and pitch pans with filler pulled back. Older roofs often hide another roof underneath.
- Metal
- Fasteners and washers row by row, or seams and panel ends on standing seam. Rust at laps, cut edges and fastener heads, and pitting or pinholes. From inside, the framing and the panel undersides where they can be seen.
- Coated roofs
- What the coating is, whether it is still bonded or peeling, and whether the roof beneath is wet.
- More than one system
- Buildings that have been added onto often carry two or three systems. Each is judged on its own, with extra attention at the joints.
A roof can look tidy on top and hold water below. On membrane, built-up and coated roofs, we always take core samples, usually two to four on a roof. A core is a small section cut down through the roof. It shows how the roof is built, how many roofs sit on the deck, and whether the insulation is wet. We patch every core immediately, before leaving the roof.
Each core only speaks for its own spot, so the walk decides where they go. On larger projects, infrared can show where wet insulation is likely between cores. It needs a dry roof after a sunny day, and it is not a tool for metal roofs. A controlled water test helps when the question is where a leak gets in.
Drains get checked on every system. Standing water long after rain is a drainage fault, and flat roof repair explains where it comes from.
Want to know what is under your membrane?
Tell us the building and, if you know it, what kind of roof it has. We walk all of it, take core samples, and show you in dated photos what they found.
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The report, and what an inspection is not
The report includes a summary of the roof's condition, photos of the issues found and repair recommendations. It is usually sent within 48 hours. Findings are explained by the people who were on the roof, and Wade is directly involved on every job. If the roof needs nothing, you hear that too.
Wade on why he stays tied to the work: “Because you get me involved, and I care if the roof actually performs. Bigger companies have more layers. You may get a salesman, then a project manager, then a crew, and nobody owns the problem.”
Have these ready and the visit goes quicker.
- Roof access
- Who has the hatch key, and whether a tenant space, an alarm or a locked room is in the way.
- Warranty documents
- The manufacturer, the system, the term and the conditions.
- Repair and leak history
- Past invoices, and where and when leaks have shown up inside.
- Drawings
- Roof plans, if any exist, especially on buildings that have been added onto.
- Your deadline
- The closing date, the budget date or the date a warranty term ends.
- Anyone else's requirements
- Anything a buyer's consultant, a lender or an insurer has asked for.
An inspection is not a repair; fixes are scoped and priced separately. It is not a maintenance program or a leak call. It is not a structural assessment: a sagging deck gets photographed, but framing and load questions belong to a structural engineer.
It is not an asbestos survey, and we do not survey for or remove asbestos.
It is not a masonry or equipment check, a property condition assessment, a code inspection, or a coverage decision by an insurer or manufacturer.
Who you are dealing with
Coons Roofing is a commercial-only roofing contractor working across the Houston metro. It is owned and run by Wade Coons, who is on every project from the first roof walk to the final walkthrough. There is no salesman between you and the person who looked at your roof.
Certified applicator for Versico, FiberTite, Duro-Last, Karnak, IPC, Western Colloid, Elevate and GAF. Fully insured with general liability and workers compensation coverage.
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Commercial roof inspection FAQs
How much does a commercial roof inspection cost?
When we are looking at a roof to quote work on it, the assessment is free. Consulting and formal inspection reports, such as for a real estate transaction or a lender, are paid work, priced before the visit. That price generally moves with the size of the roof, access and how much testing is involved.
Should I get a roof inspection before buying a commercial property?
Yes. The roof is expensive to put right and nearly impossible to judge on a site tour. A pre-purchase inspection shows the roof system, how many roofs are on the deck, whether the insulation is wet, and whether the problems are isolated or spread across the roof. Ask the seller early for warranty and repair records. What the findings mean for the price is a question for your broker, attorney or lender.
How long does a commercial roof inspection take?
It depends on the roof, so there is no standard time to quote. What drives it is the size of the roof, how many systems and additions it has, and how much equipment is on it. The number of core samples, whether infrared is part of it, and access drive it too. The report usually follows within 48 hours.
Can a roofing contractor give an honest roof inspection?
It is a fair question, since a roofer who inspects a roof may later be paid to fix it. Judge any inspection by its evidence: a dated photo behind each finding, core samples showing what is under the membrane, and a plain statement of what does not need money. Some buyers also bring in an independent roof consultant, which is a reasonable choice. If a roof needs nothing, we tell you.
Can an inspection tell me how many years my roof has left?
Not as a date, but as an estimate. We estimate a roof's remaining service life as part of an inspection. The inspection also shows whether the problems sit at a few details or across the roof, and whether the insulation is wet. Together, that gives a budget firmer ground than a number of years alone.
Should I have my roof inspected before the warranty expires?
It makes sense. Inspecting well before the term ends gives you time to find damage while the warranty still applies and to report it to the manufacturer under the warranty's terms. The inspection does not extend the warranty or decide what is covered; the manufacturer does that. Read the conditions first, including who is allowed to repair the roof, and check them before any core sample is cut through the membrane.
What areas do you cover for commercial roof inspections?
Houston, TX and its metro in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Galveston, Brazoria and Waller counties. From Conroe and Tomball down to League City, and from Katy and Sugar Land across to Pasadena and the Ship Channel. Commercial buildings only. Form inquiries get a reply within 24 hours, usually the same day.
Need an answer about the roof before a decision?
Tell us the building and what the inspection is for: a purchase, a lease, a storm, a budget or a warranty. Every photo we take carries its date.
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Where we work across the metro
We cover Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Galveston, Brazoria, and Waller counties. Pick your city for local detail on what we see on roofs there.
Related services
Schedule a free roof assessment
We'll walk your roof, take photos, and give you straight answers. The assessment is free when we are quoting the work.
We reply within 24 hours, usually the same day. No pressure, no sales visit you did not ask for, and we never sell your information.