DAS Products

Inspection Procedures

Quality control monitoring and proper inspection of a polyurethane foam roofing system will provide a good roof initially; however, it is equally important to monitor the condition of the roofing system through proper inspection at frequent or schedule time intervals to discover damage to the roof or small imperfections that can be corrected with minimal maintenance. No roof covering system can or should be expected to give good long-term performance without some attention and maintenance. Too frequently, roofs are forgotten until a leak develops. Most problems begin in a small way, and if left undetected, develop into a more extensive and expensive need for repairs, or in the extreme, replacement of the roof.

An important advantage of spray-applied Polyurethane Foam Roof Systems (SPF) is the minimal maintenance required to keep the roof in good condition over a long period of time, resulting from the excellent aging characteristics of SPF Roofing.

Inspections should be performed at least twice a year and immediately following severe weather, extraordinary maintenance or work on roof-mounted equipment. A historical record of inspections and maintenance should be kept with notations as to the conditions found, repairs required and whether repairs were covered by warranty. Failure to report repairs or faults covered by a manufacturer's warranty or to correct non-warranted damage may lead to cancellation of the warranty.

Items that should be checked, noted and scheduled for correction during an inspection of the roof system include the following:

All roof drains and through-wall scuppers should be checked to see that they are open and free of debris.
The complete roof should be checked for accumulated debris, such as leaves, tree branches and foreign objects thrown or left on the roof. Any such items should be removed.
A walk-over of the roof should be made to examine for cracks, punctures, penetrations, coating blisters, foam blisters or delamination of either foam or coating. The roof surface should also be carefully examined for any unusual signs of wear or erosion.
Flashings around drains, equipment, roof vents, stacks and hatches, along roof edges and parapet walls should be examined for cracks or loss of adhesion of either foam or coating.
Expansion joints should be inspected along curbing details to ensure that no structural movement has taken place outside the expansion joint area, resulting in cracks in the foam and the coating system.
Peripheral items not directly part of the foam and coating system that should be checked during an inspection include the integrity of metal cap flashings on parapet walls, the masonry parapet walls to see that they are free from structural cracks that might permit water entry into the building or behind the applied polyurethane foam roof system, and seals or caulk joints on skylight units.