Post by Dec 28, 2020 11:00:00 PM · 2 min read

Roof Repair For Museums

Regardless of the construction, roofs are key exterior features. However, these vital coverings are especially critical in reference to museums and historical buildings. Therefore, repair on such entities often present unique challenges and should be executed by a roofing company possessing experience performing such tasks.

Importance Of A Well-Maintained Roof

Roofs are far more than decorative building toppers. These structures protect a museum, historical building, and the precious material said locations house from detrimental elements like adverse weather, environmental pollution, and temperature extremes.

A failing or tiring roof may not only threaten a museum’s contents but precipitate other problems such as damage to internal and external constructions, the growth of potentially hazardous materials like mildew and mold, significantly increasing the destination’s utility costs, and fouling the site’s aesthetic appeal.

Any of the preceding issues could cost a museum visitors. Over time, such occurrences could lead to lost revenues, serious financial hardships, and possible even closure.

Roof Maintenance Challenges

When considering such facts, museum curators are urged to place significant emphasis on roof maintenance. That said, these enclosures are special entities and several key issues must often be taken into consideration prior to any remediation undertaking including:

Determining The Initial Construction Materials

Many experienced roofing professionals maintain that maintenance efforts on museums and other historic buildings cannot be approached like the prototypical residential or commercial project.

Historical structures or those containing important, rare, or expensive artifacts are thought of highly by the communities they reside in. Therefore, restorations are typically planned with designs on maintaining as much of the structure’s original quality as possible.

When strategizing roof remediation or replacement, this means determining the exact materials employed to build the original covering. In addition, the roof’s construction style should be considered. Buildings erected during different eras or architectural periods might be especially challenging to replicate.

Identifying Deterioration Cause

Before proceeding, the roofing company in question must also identify the deterioration cause. Occasionally, the specific problem will be easy to spot such as rotting or aged shingles.

Other times, however, this task will require further probing. Roof damage can be precipitated by several causes including malfunctioning gutters or improperly positioned or built roofing components such as flashing, fasteners, clips, trusses, decking, vents, edging, and membranes.

Finding Original Documentation

In many instances, repairs made to special or historically designated constructions like museums must be appropriately documented. Documentation often encompasses several stages.

During the first phase, the roof’s initial condition and construction must be clearly and concisely identified. Important information will include the initial materials used, the manner and style by which completion was executed, and roughly how old said structure is. Before remediation can commence, roofers will also need to notate if any additions were made.

Such information is collected to help ensure the museum’s original construction and quality is preserved and its historical quality can be kept intact.

Hiring The Right Roofing Contractor

Arguably, the most crucial aspect of museum roof remediation is hiring the right roofing contractors. Museums or historical sites in need of such services are urged to only use establishments possessing significant experience performing these types of projects. The team at Champion Roofing is ready to help.