When it’s time to update or replace your commercial building roof, property owners have two choices: do the work yourself (DIY) or hire professional roofers. Understanding the positives and negatives of both can help you make an informed decision for your commercial building’s roof. Let’s break it down.
Commercial Building Roof DIY
Drawbacks of Commercial Roof DIY:
- Danger: It can’t be overstated how dangerous roofing work can be. At Roberts Roofing, our staff goes through extensive safety training and refresher courses every year. This is dangerous, hard labor, often in extremely hot and humid conditions, and accidents of all kinds can happen – with equipment, fasteners, exposure to hazardous materials or falls – which can be fatal. Slips, trips and falls are among the biggest causes of death in this industry.
- Time: Here in Northeast Ohio, our unpredictable weather makes roofing work a challenge and a race against the clock during a window of good weather. The longer your commercial building is exposed and under construction, the more chance there is of major damage occurring. When you DIY, you must devote all your time and energy to the job every day until it’s done—a luxury of time that many busy people do not have. Consider how much time and physical labor will go into doing the work yourself on top of your existing demands.
- Lack of experience: Commercial roof repair and installation isn’t something you can watch a quick YouTube video about and then re-roof your whole building. You could be subjecting your building to major damage down the road if the work isn’t done correctly. The money you think you’re saving by not hiring a professional is very small compared to paying for building damage from an improperly installed or repaired roof. Plus, if you didn’t do it right to begin with, you may end up hiring a pro later on to fix your errors, which will cost even more money than hiring professional roofers to begin with.
- Warranty: The warranty is one of the most important factors to consider. Most roofing material manufacturers come with a requirement for their roofing systems that professional roofers install and maintain the roof as part of their warranty. If you do the work yourself, you likely won’t get that type of protection.
Benefits of Commercial Roof DIY:
- Cost savings: The obvious benefit of doing the work yourself is saving money.
- Pride: There’s something very satisfying about the independence of doing your own work instead of relying upon someone else to handle it.
- Skill expansion: If you are an extremely handy type of person and can learn roofing work, this can be an additional skill in your personal tool belt that can be helpful for years. If you enjoy the work and are well-suited to it, you could seek formal training and do roofing as a “side hustle.” Roberts Roofing is always looking for hard-working roofers.
Hiring a Professional Roofing Company
Drawbacks of Professional Roofing Companies:
- Cost: You’ll pay more to have the work done by a roofing company than if you do it yourself. A commercial building roof is an investment no matter who does the work. However, when you hire pros, that investment can pay off through years of continuous protection.
Benefits of Hiring Pros for your Commercial Building Roof:
- Safety: When you hire a roofing company, they assume the risks involved with replacing or installing a commercial building roof, which can be many.
- Time: If you are a building owner, you likely have personal and professional obligations that would make it very difficult to set aside time to do roofing work yourself.
- Expertise: The quality work done by an experienced roofing team most times cannot compare to what someone would do on their own. Roofing companies know how to get the job done correctly, efficiently and expertly. They have the right tools for every job and know how to get the precise amount of materials needed for a commercial roofing job.
- Warranty: When you hire professional roofers, you get the benefits of the manufacturer’s warranty. While you hope to never use it, you’ll be glad you have it if you need it.
Experience You Need; Work You Can Trust
Roberts Roofing has been installing and servicing commercial building roofs for more than 40 years. We will work with you to find a roofing solution that offers optimal protection for your budget. Every roofing system we install is custom designed and chosen for that specific business based on our experience and your needs. Contact Roberts Roofing online to discuss your commercial roofing needs, or call us at 440-946-2233.