A row of attached shops under one long flat roof is a common retail setup, and the leak in the third unit is rarely caused by anything in the third unit. The property manager should check the report before the repair order, because a good report shows where the water entered, how far it traveled and which units are at risk. A condition report is the written record of a roof walk: what is there, what shape it is in, what to do about it and what it will cost. It is the document that turns a hunch into a decision.
What Goes in the Report
Every report opens with a summary a busy manager can read in two minutes: the overall rating, the top three problems and the recommended action. Behind the summary sits the detail. A roof description lists the area, the membrane, the insulation, the deck, the age and the penetrations. A findings section lists each defect with a photograph and a location on a sketch. A priority list ranks the work. A cost section prices each item.
Appendices hold the evidence: moisture maps, core logs, drain test results and the photograph set. A lender, a board or an insurer can go straight to the part they need.
Photographs carry more weight than adjectives. Each defect gets a wide shot that shows where it sits on the roof and a close shot that shows what it is. A reader who sees a split pipe boot in the close shot and the nearby drain in the wide shot understands the problem without a paragraph of description.
How the Walk Is Done
The walk is on foot, with a clipboard, a camera, a probe and a moisture meter. We start at the access point and work in a fixed order: drains, edges, field, penetrations, equipment. Every finding is photographed with a reference to the sketch. For tall or unsafe roofs, a drone survey supplements the walk.
Where the walk cannot answer a question, we add a test. An infrared moisture survey maps wet insulation. Core cuts show the layers. A ponding survey measures water depth after rain. The report says which method gave each finding, so the reader knows how firm it is.
Ratings and Priorities
The rating has to be useful. We use a five-step scale from good to failed, and each step is defined in the report in a sentence. Each finding gets a priority: fix now, fix this year, plan, or monitor. A fix-now item is one where water is entering or is about to. A monitor item is one we expect to hold, and the report says what change would move it up.
A manager reading the priority list should know what to approve today and what to put in next year's budget. The list is short on purpose. If everything is urgent, nothing is.
The cost for each item is a range, with the assumptions written beside it: square feet of membrane, linear feet of flashing, number of drains. If an assumption changes, say the wet area proves larger once opened, the manager can see how the range moves. Alternates are listed for the big items, such as a coating against a recover against a replacement.
Different Buildings, Different Reports
A report for a five story walk-up is brief and centered on the parapet, the drains and the hatch. The reports for the five and six story pre-war buildings of Longwood, Belmont, Tremont and Bedford Park share a pattern, though each roof stands on its own findings. A report for a Hunts Point cold-storage building spends more pages on the vapor retarder, the refrigeration penetrations and the insulation moisture.
A report for a retail corridor such as Fordham Road looks at shared walls, signs and rooftop units, and it assigns each unit a zone so that the cost of a repair can be split among tenants. A hospital report adds access and infection-control constraints. The format is steady. The emphasis moves with the building.
Who Uses the Report and How
Owners and managers use the report to set repairs. Boards use it to justify assessments. Lenders use it to size a reserve. Insurers use it, often with a claim, to see the roof before and after an event. Buyers use it to price an acquisition, and our due diligence surveys follow the same structure with a sale in mind.
The report is written to stand alone. Someone who has never seen the roof should be able to read it and understand the condition, so it avoids shorthand and defines each term the first time it appears.
Superintendents use the photographs and sketch as a map of the roof. The sketch shows each drain by number, each curb by size and each patch by date. A new super who has never been on the roof can find the problem spot in a minute instead of an hour.
From Report to Record
One report is a snapshot. A series of reports is a history. Each one carries forward the findings of the last, so the reader sees which items were fixed, which got worse and which are new. That history feeds a roof asset register and informs the capital plan. A roof whose rating dropped two steps in two years is a roof to plan around.
We date every report, name the weather on the day of the walk and note the limits of the inspection, such as areas that were covered or inaccessible. After a storm like Ida's record 3.15-inch hour in September 2021, a report written that week records ponding depths and overflow marks while they are fresh.
Turnaround, Price and Delivery
A single-roof report is normally delivered within a few business days of the walk. Larger sets take longer, since each roof is written separately. Price follows the number of roofs, size, access and the tests ordered. Reports are delivered as a PDF with photographs, plus a spreadsheet of findings. The Department of Buildings provides the 2022 NYC Construction Codes. Owners file there. The cover page lists the date, the weather and the person who walked the roof.
Commercial Roofing Questions
Do we need a report if we already know the roof leaks?
A leak tells you the roof has a problem, not what the problem is or how big. The report finds the entry points, measures wet insulation and prices the fix. It prevents paying for a patch on a roof that needs more.
How long does a report stay current?
A year for planning, less after a major storm. Roofs change with weather and tenants. We date every report and recommend a refresh after any significant event.
Can the report be used for a refinance or sale?
Yes. Lenders and buyers read it for the rating, remaining life and capital need. We structure it so those items are easy to find, and a due diligence version adds scope for the transaction.
What if I disagree with a finding?
Ask. Each finding has a photograph and a location, so we can go back to the spot and show what we saw. If new information changes the finding, we revise the report and date the revision.
Does the report include a repair proposal?
It includes cost ranges for each item. A formal repair proposal is a separate document with a fixed scope and price. The report is written so that any contractor, including us, can price from it.
Send the Address, Roof Age and Last Complaint
Send the building address, building type, roof age and the last tenant complaint, and ask for a flat-roof walk before anyone writes a scope. The report follows the walk.
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