How Much Does Commercial Flat Roofing Cost Per Square Foot in Metro Detroit?

How Much Does Commercial Flat Roofing Cost Per Square Foot in Metro Detroit?

Wondering what it is going to cost you for a new flat roof? You are not alone. This is a common concern for many commercial building owners here in Macomb County and across Metro Detroit. Well, the good news is that we have a team of experts at Four Seasons Kanga Roof to help shed some light on this topic and clarify commercial flat roof pricing.

The real question that commercial building owners should be asking before inquiring about the price for a new flat roof is: What type of commercial flat roof do I need? Most of the confusion building owners face is because they are comparing apples and oranges when looking at roofing proposals.

So, what are the common types of new commercial flat roofs available to a building owner? They are:

1. Silicone Coating
2. Recover with TPO, EPDM (Rubber), Modified Bitumen, or PVC
3. Full Tear Off and Replacement with TPO, EPDM (Rubber), Modified Bitumen, or PVC

Now, before we get into the actual breakdown of pricing, it is important to understand some critical factors that can have a dramatic impact on the actual cost of your new commercial roof. These include, but are not limited to:

1. How tall is your building? (safety and access requirements)
2. How much foot traffic comes in and out of your building? (durability considerations)
3. Is the current roofing saturated with moisture? (requiring costly tear-off/repair)
4. How the original roof was installed? (affecting complexity of removal)
5. Is there ballast (river rock) on the roof? (adding removal and disposal costs)
6. How many penetrations (HVAC, vents, pipes) are on the roof? (increasing detail work)
7. Does the roof have vertical walls (parapets) that need to be roofed? (adding labor and material)

Each of these factors can have a major impact on the final price for any of these systems. For example, if a building owner was considering a recover or a silicone coating, but 20% of the roof is saturated with water, the price will increase significantly. Why? Because trapping moisture into the system for a recover or replacement will cause the new roofing system to fail prematurely. Due to Metro Detroit’s natural freeze-thaw cycle and summer heat, the trapped moisture will eventually work to find an escape point—normally a rupture in the new system. To prevent this, we must remove and replace any existing saturated roofing and/or rotted decking. The cost for this necessary remediation is not included in the basic per square foot pricing listed below.

Another great example is the number of penetrations on the roof. While some penetrations for HVAC equipment or roof hatches are expected, we often find buildings with supports for signage, grease traps and exhausts for restaurants, and many other plumbing and electrical lines. More penetrations mean more detailed work, and more detail work means it will take longer to install the new commercial roofing system. This, in turn, drives up the investment a building owner will have to make.

The same can be said for all seven of the scenarios listed above. This is why it is important to have a professional commercial roofing expert inspect the current roofing system to determine which replacement system makes the most sense for your building, while ensuring the longest possible life expectancy.

So, with all of that out of the way, what the heck does new commercial flat roofing cost per square foot in the Metro Detroit area? The table below breaks down the typical budget ranges:

      Please note: These are not our exact pricing figures. We provide this range to account for the variances in contractors across Metro Detroit that a building owner may choose to use. We always recommend making sure the contractor you use is:

• Licensed and insured in Michigan
• A member of the NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association)
• An accredited member of the BBB (Better Business Bureau)

This vetting process will help weed out any bad actors you may come across.

If you are thinking about a replacement for your commercial flat roof, our team of experts at Four Seasons Kanga Roof would love to help! We will provide a full detailed inspection report, along with budgets and options for any of these replacement systems we think would be a great fit for you, while delivering the longest life expectancy possible.

Give our team a call at 586-566-0308 or go ahead and schedule your appointment directly online to get one of our award-winning roofing specialists out to you by CLICKING HERE.

I sincerely hope this article has helped give you some real information on what to expect when replacing a commercial flat roof in Metro Detroit. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Bill Burkhardt, Jr.

VP of Marketing – Four Seasons Kanga Roof