Commercial Roofing Services
Commercial Roof Inspections & Reports in Green Bay
Inspection Timing Built to Wisconsin's Two Roof Seasons
The inspection records membrane, seams, flashings, drains, penetrations, edge metal, moisture indicators, photographs, and practical next steps in a condition report. A roof inspection in Green Bay earns its keep at two specific points in the year: right after bay ice-out when winter damage is visible but not yet leaking, and again in fall before the first hard freeze locks in whatever wasn't fixed. We schedule around both windows rather than a generic once-a-year visit.
The Spring Inspection: Reading Winter's Damage
Snow load, ice damming, and freeze-thaw cycling leave marks that are easiest to spot once the snow is gone but before summer sun and UV exposure start their own separate wear pattern. We walk the roof looking for membrane cracking at fastener rows, split seams at parapets, and displaced ballast or gravel where wind off the bay pushed material during winter storms.
Ice-out season also brings sharp temperature swings, and a membrane that flexed too many times through freeze-thaw cycles shows fatigue at the seams first. Catching that in April, before summer thunderstorm season, gives you a repair window instead of an emergency call.
The Fall Inspection: Getting Ready for Snow Load
Fall inspection focuses on drainage capacity and structural readiness for the snow load coming. We check that drains and scuppers are clear, that gutters and downspouts on sloped sections are sound, and that any repairs flagged in spring actually got closed out before winter locks the roof down for months.
Rooftop units installed or serviced over the summer are a common source of new penetrations that don't get inspected until something leaks. We check every curb and pitch pan added since the last visit, because a fresh penetration with a marginal seal is exactly what a hard freeze will find first.
Moisture Scanning and What It Actually Tells You
Infrared and capacitance moisture scans find wet insulation before it shows up as a ceiling stain, which matters most on larger roofs where a visual walk can't cover every square foot. For food processing and cold storage buildings, catching wet insulation early is the difference between a targeted repair and a section tear-off six months later.
We don't run a moisture scan on every visit. It's a tool for roofs over a certain age, roofs with a history of leak calls, or roofs coming up on a capital budget decision, where the extra data changes what you'd otherwise decide from a visual inspection alone.
What an Inspection Report Includes
- Photo documentation of every roof section and detail checked
- Condition notes on membrane, flashing, edge metal, and coping
- Drain, scupper, and gutter capacity and clearance status
- Moisture scan results where one was run, with a marked-up roof plan
- Remaining estimated service life of the current system
- Itemized repair recommendations, ranked by urgency, not alphabetically
Tying Inspection Findings to a Capital Budget
An inspection report is only useful if it feeds into a decision. We rank findings by urgency and cost, from immediate leak risk down to items you can plan into next year's or next decade's capital budget, so a facility manager or ownership group can see the roof's trajectory in dollars rather than a simple pass or fail grade.
For portfolios with multiple buildings, whether that's several distribution buildings along I-41 or a campus with more than one roof section, we track inspection history year over year so the trend line drives the budget conversation more than any single snapshot does.
We also weigh findings against building type. A school or municipal roof on a tight capital cycle gets a different urgency ranking than a distribution roof with a flexible maintenance budget, even if the physical condition looks similar on paper, because the practical timeline for approving a fix isn't the same.
Reading an Inspection Report Without a Roofing Background
Most of the people who read our reports aren't roofers, and we write them that way. Condition notes describe what we found in plain terms, tie each finding to a photo, and avoid technical shorthand that only makes sense to someone who's spent years on roofs.
Where a finding requires a judgment call, like whether a section of ponding water is a cosmetic nuisance or an early sign of drain capacity trouble, we explain the reasoning behind our ranking instead of just handing over a severity label with no context.
Inspection Questions We Hear Often
How often should a commercial roof actually get inspected?
Twice a year covers most buildings in this climate: once after ice-out to catch winter damage, and once in fall to confirm the roof is ready for snow load. Roofs with a history of leaks or roofs over 15 years old sometimes warrant an added mid-summer check.
Do you inspect roofs you didn't originally install?
Yes. Most of our inspection work is on roofs we didn't build, including buildings changing ownership or facility managers who inherited a roof with no maintenance history.
What's the difference between an inspection and a maintenance visit?
An inspection is diagnostic: we document condition and flag issues without necessarily fixing anything on site. A maintenance visit under a program agreement includes minor repairs, drain clearing, and debris removal as part of the visit itself.
Can an inspection report help with insurance or refinancing?
A documented condition report with photos and remaining service life estimates is often exactly what a carrier or lender asks for during underwriting or a policy renewal. We format the report to stand on its own for that purpose.
What happens if the inspection finds something urgent?
We flag urgent findings, like active water intrusion or a compromised deck section, the same day rather than waiting for the written report to reach you, and we'll quote the repair separately so the inspection itself stays a fixed, predictable cost.