Commercial Roofing in Parkchester, Bronx, NY

A brick building thirteen stories tall has a roof edge that nobody sees from the street, and the damage there goes unnoticed for years. A manager in Parkchester, Bronx, NY should check the parapet and the coping from above before reading any complaint log, because the leaks that reach apartments began at that edge months earlier. We repair, coat and replace roofs on large residential buildings and the commercial properties around them, and we survey the group as a whole before we recommend work on any single roof.

A Complex of Four-Sided Brick Buildings

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company built Parkchester's 171 four-sided brick buildings, eight or 13 stories each, between 1939 and 1942. About one-third of the complex became condominiums in 1974, and the remainder, Parkchester South, converted in 1986. A complex split into two ownership groups has two boards, two reserves and possibly two approaches to roof work.

On buildings of this size and style, we look for masonry parapets, low-slope roofs, rooftop equipment and roof access by stair or bulkhead. What any one roof is made of is known only once it is opened, so the first step is a survey that identifies the system, counts the layers and tests a sample of buildings for moisture.

Two ownership groups also mean two sets of records. A roof that one board replaced a decade ago may have a warranty, a specification and a contractor of record, while its neighbor in the other group has nothing on file. The survey notes which buildings have paper and which do not, and our warranty file work collects what exists.

Brick, Parapets and Coping

Masonry buildings keep their roof edge in brick. The parapet is a short brick wall around the roof, topped with coping stone or a metal cap. Mortar joints age, coping loosens and water gets into the wall. Efflorescence, the white salt deposit on brick, is the visible sign of water moving through masonry.

We repoint failed joints, reset loose coping and install new counterflashing before touching the membrane. On a tall building, much of that work is done from a swing stage or a rope-access system, and the schedule includes sidewalk protection. Work on coping and edge metal at that height is planned with the stage, the sidewalk and the residents in mind.

Parapet height is a safety item as well as a water item. A low parapet is a fall risk for crews and residents who use the roof, and code may require a guard where the wall is short. We measure parapet heights during the survey and flag any that fall below current requirements, so the roof job can address them with the repair.

Condominium Boards and Phased Plans

A board with 171 buildings, or a part of them, cannot replace every roof at once. A phased plan is the practical answer. We survey every building, rate each on one scale and group the roofs by urgency. The worst go first. The best are watched and maintained. The plan covers several years and shows the cost for each phase.

Our multi-site roof program holds the survey, the schedule and the records together. When the board changes, the program does not. A new treasurer can open the file and see which roofs were done, what they cost and what is next.

Each phase has a package: survey results, scope, price, schedule and a one-page summary for residents. Boards that publish the package ahead of the work hear fewer objections during it. We prepare the summary in plain language, with photographs of the worst conditions so shareholders can judge the need for themselves.

Retail on the Avenues

In October 1941 Parkchester got Macy's first branch store, which had about 175,000 square feet of selling space. Retail runs along Starling, McGraw, Metropolitan and Tremont Avenues, Unionport Road and White Plains Road, with the Cross Bronx Expressway service road on the southern edge. Commercial buildings on avenues like these have roofs of their own, and the owners of shops, offices and large stores face the same questions about drains, curbs and parapets.

For a shopping center roof or a row of storefronts, we map each tenant's zone and the equipment on it. A repair is then priced by zone, and the landlord can assign cost correctly under each lease.

A department store or supermarket roof has a different problem from a small shop roof. Large rooftop units and refrigeration lines mean many penetrations, and the roof is a working platform for service crews. Walk pads along service routes and protected curbs keep traffic off the open membrane.

Access, Hoisting and Residents

Roof work on eight and thirteen story buildings means hoists, swing stages or cranes. Residents live below, so noise, odor and debris need control. We schedule noisy tasks for reasonable hours, tell residents the dates, protect windows and keep walkways clear. A hoist bay and a swing-stage drop each need a permit and a sidewalk plan, so the schedule is built with those dates in hand.

Drone surveys help on tall buildings. A drone pass checks the parapet face, the coping and the roof surface without a rope team, and it provides photographs for a board report. Anything the drone flags gets a closer look on foot.

Weather and the Roof Plan

Central Park's weather record gives Parkchester a yearly snowfall near 29.8 inches, a 95.7 F July peak and a -15 F record low, a wide thermal range for any flat roof. After Ida delivered 3.15 inches in one hour in September 2021, drains and overflow are checked on every roof.

Brick walls take wind-driven rain on their faces, and rain that gets behind coping runs down the inside of the wall. The edge is the first place to look after any storm.

Repair, Coat or Replace

A roof with a few failed details is a candidate for a leak repair, while a sound, dry surface can take a coating and wet insulation or an aged membrane calls for replacement. Roof area, height, access, tear-off and the amount of masonry work set the price. The Department of Buildings provides the 2022 NYC Construction Codes. Code questions go there. Booking the walk takes the roof age and the last complaint, which is also how owners in Westchester Square and Castle Hill start.

Commercial Roofing Questions

What does white staining on the brick mean?

It is efflorescence, salt left behind as water moves through masonry and dries. It means water is entering the wall. We trace it to the coping, the flashing or a failed joint above and repair the source.

Can all the roofs be surveyed at once?

Yes, and the survey is cheaper per roof that way. Every building is rated on one scale, a sample is tested for moisture and the rest are walked, which produces a ranked list.

How do you schedule work across many buildings?

By group. We cluster roofs by location and system, plan the heavy work for the dry months and hold winter for repairs and emergencies.

Do repairs on a condominium roof need board approval?

That depends on the board's rules and the size of the work. We give a scope and a price in a form a board can vote on, with photographs.

What can residents expect during roof work?

Notice of the schedule, limited noise hours, protected windows and a contact number. Each section of roof is closed in the same day.