Storm Damage on a Commercial Roof

Spring in Melbourne brings the kind of storms that test every commercial roof in the city. Wind lifts loose sheets, hail cracks skylights and the rain comes down faster than the box gutters can carry it away.

If a storm has damaged your warehouse, factory or office roof, what you do in the first 24 hours makes a big difference to how much damage you end up with and how smoothly any insurance claim goes. Here's what to do, in order.

How storms damage commercial roofs

Knowing what usually goes wrong helps you know what to look for:

• Wind uplift. Strong wind creates lift at the edges, corners and ridges of a roof. Sheets that were loosely fixed, or fixed with rusted screws, can peel back or tear off entirely.
• Hail. Metal sheets usually survive hail with dents. Polycarbonate and fibreglass skylights often don't, especially older sheets that have gone brittle.
• Gutter overload. Storms drop a lot of rain quickly. Box gutters and outlets that cope with normal rain overflow, and that water comes inside.
• Debris. Branches, leaves and anything loose nearby gets blown onto the roof and into the gutters, blocking them right when they're needed.
• Flashing failure. Wind lifts flashings around plant, walls and penetrations, opening a path for rain.

Often it's a combination. Wind lifts a flashing, debris blocks a sump and the rain does the rest.

First, keep people safe

Before anything else:

• Stay off the roof. A storm damaged roof is dangerous. Wet sheets are slippery, damaged sheets may not hold weight and skylights can give way under a person.
• Keep people away from water near power. If water is coming through near lights, switchboards, power points or machinery, keep everyone clear of that area until it's been checked.
• Watch for sagging ceilings. A ceiling holding water can come down without much warning. Keep people out from under it.
• Call 000 if anyone is in danger. A roofer and your insurer can sort the rest once everyone is safe.

Then, limit the damage inside

Once it's safe, protect what you can:

• Move stock, equipment, files and anything valuable away from leaks
• Put buckets or bins under drips and cover anything that can't be moved
• If you can do it safely from inside, isolate the power to wet areas
• Squeegee or mop standing water so it doesn't spread across the floor

Don't climb onto the roof to try a temporary fix yourself. That's the job for a roofer with the right access and safety gear.

Photograph everything

Before anything gets cleaned up or moved too far, take photos and videos of:

• Water coming through the ceiling or walls
• Damaged stock, equipment and fittings
• Stained or collapsed ceiling tiles
• Any damage you can see from the ground outside, like lifted sheets or debris on the roof
• The time and date, if your phone doesn't record it

These photos are what your insurer and property manager will ask for first. You can't take them again once the mess is cleaned up.

Get the roof made safe

Make safe is the temporary work that stops more water getting in. It's not the permanent repair. It usually involves:

• Securing lifted or loose roof sheets
• Covering broken skylights and damaged areas
• Clearing blocked box gutters, sumps and downpipes so the next rain drains away
• Coordinating electrical isolation where water has reached the services

Make safe comes first because every hour that water keeps coming in adds to the damage underneath. Most insurance policies also expect you to take reasonable steps to stop further damage, so keep a record of what was done and when.

What not to do

In the rush after a storm, these mistakes are common and expensive:

• Don't send staff onto the roof. Not to look, not to sweep debris, not to put a tarp down. Falls through roofs and skylights cause serious injuries.
• Don't throw damaged stock away yet. Your insurer may want to see it, or at least clear photos of it, before it goes.
• Don't start permanent repairs before the insurer is involved. Make safe work to stop more damage is expected. A full re-roof before anyone has assessed the claim can cause problems.
• Don't sign up with door knockers. After big storms, unlicensed operators turn up offering fast roof repairs. Use a licensed roof plumber and check them out.
• Don't let the photos be the only record. Write down what happened, when you noticed it and who you contacted.

What a good storm damage report looks like

Your insurer, loss adjuster and property manager will all ask for evidence. A good report from your roofer pulls it together in one place:

When the report is clear, the adjuster can approve the repair quickly. When it isn't, you get questions, revisits and delays while the building sits under a tarp.

Hail and skylights

Hail deserves its own mention, because it hits commercial roofs in a particular way. Metal roof sheets usually come through a hailstorm with dents but no holes. Skylights are a different story. Polycarbonate and fibreglass sheets that have been in the sun for years go brittle, and hail can punch straight through them.

After a hailstorm, check the skylights from inside first. Daylight showing through cracks, shards on the floor or water coming in under a skylight are all signs. Broken skylights need covering quickly, because every rain after that comes straight in. Replacement uses new polycarbonate sheets matched to the roof profile, and it's often worth replacing the whole run while the roofer is up there, since the undamaged sheets are likely just as brittle. Our polycarbonate roofing and skylights page covers what's involved.

Tell your insurer and your property manager

If you're a tenant, let your property manager or landlord know straight away. Roof damage often falls under the building owner's insurance, while stock and equipment usually fall under the tenant's own policy.

On a commercial claim, the insurer will often appoint a loss adjuster to inspect the damage. The adjuster decides what's covered, but they still need a contractor's report and quote to approve the repair. That's where good documentation from the roofer matters:

• Photos of the roof before, during and after the make safe
• A written report of the storm damage found
• An itemised repair scope that separates storm damage from existing wear and tear

That last point matters more than most people realise. A roof with old rust or tired skylights doesn't stop a claim, but the insurer will want to know which damage the storm caused. A clear scope saves a lot of back and forth.

Whether the damage is covered is always the insurer's decision. Check your policy and ask your broker if you're unsure.

Tenant or building owner: who handles what

In a leased building, both parties usually have a role. It depends on the lease and the policies, but generally:

The most important thing is that everyone knows what's happening. A tenant who arranges make safe on a building owner's roof should tell the property manager straight away and keep the records.

If the storm stops you trading, check whether your policy includes business interruption cover. It's a separate part of many business policies and has its own requirements for documenting lost income.

What the permanent repair usually involves

Once the weather clears and the scope is agreed, the permanent repairs start. On a commercial roof that might mean:

If the storm found an existing weakness, like a box gutter that was never big enough, it's worth fixing that properly while the roofer is there. Otherwise the same thing happens in the next storm.

Real situations we see

A distribution centre in the west lost a run of roof sheets along one edge in a spring storm. Staff had already climbed up with a tarp before anyone called a roofer, and one stepped through a skylight. Nobody was seriously hurt, but it was close. The make safe that followed took two hours with the right equipment.

A tenant in a south eastern industrial estate threw out two pallets of water damaged stock the morning after a storm to clear the floor. Their insurer later asked for photos of the damaged goods, and there weren't any. It made that part of the claim much harder.

An office building's box gutter overflowed during a storm and brought down a section of ceiling. The roof itself wasn't damaged at all. The gutter had simply been blocked for months. The insurer treated the gutter repair as maintenance, not storm damage, and only part of the ceiling was covered.

Getting ahead of the next storm

The best storm response is the damage that never happens. Before storm season:

• Clear the box gutters, sumps and downpipes. Blocked drainage turns heavy rain into an indoor flood.
• Check for loose sheets and rusted fixings, especially along edges and ridges where wind lift is strongest.
• Look at the skylights. Old, brittle skylights are the first thing hail breaks.
• Check the flashings around plant and walls. Lifted flashings let wind driven rain straight in.
• Trim overhanging trees. Branches and leaves end up in your gutters during the storm.
• Know who to call. Have a roofer's details ready before you need them.

Our roof inspections and maintenance service covers all of this on a schedule, so the roof is ready before the weather turns.

Don't forget what's under the roof

The roof is only half the job. Water that got inside can leave wet insulation, damaged ceilings and walls and, if left too long, mould. Our guide to commercial water damage and mould remediation covers what to do in the first 48 hours inside the building.

Storm damage questions we get asked

How quickly can a roofer get there? We'll have someone on site within one business day of your call. Tell us what's happening so we can bring what's needed to stop the water.

Will make safe be covered by insurance? Many policies cover reasonable steps to prevent further damage, but it depends on your policy. Keep invoices and photos of the make safe work and check with your insurer or broker.

Can we keep working in the building? Often, yes, away from the affected area. Keep people clear of wet areas near power and under sagging ceilings until they've been checked.

What if the roof was already in poor condition? It doesn't automatically stop a claim, but the insurer will want to separate storm damage from existing wear. An honest, itemised report helps everyone.

How long do permanent repairs take? It depends on the damage and on how long insurer approval takes. Small repairs can happen within days. Larger re-sheeting or skylight replacement may take a few weeks to schedule.

One contractor for the roof and the damage underneath

Storm damage usually needs a roofer, an electrician, a ceiling fixer and someone to sort the water damage, all coordinated around an insurer. That's a lot of phone calls in the middle of a crisis.

Our storm damage and make safe service handles the make safe, the photos and report for your insurer, the permanent roof repairs and the reinstatement inside. We'll have someone on site within one business day of your call, and we coordinate electrical make safe and water damage and mould remediation as part of the same job.

Send us the address, photos of the roof and the damage inside and tell us what's happening now. Get in touch.