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Metal Building Roof Repairs

Ridge cap along a brown standing-seam roof, with bare steel frames beyond, near Mullen, Nebraska

For owners of steel buildings

Roof checks for existing steel buildings

If you own a steel building, including one GDL put up, call us about leaks, loose panels or storm damage and we’ll set up a time to look at the roof.

Call (719) 820-5298

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Leaks

Where steel building roofs leak

Leaks on a steel building roof tend to start in the same few places. On screw-down roofs, fasteners loosen over years of heating and cooling, and their rubber sealing washers dry out and crack. Sealant along the panel laps can fail and let water in at the seams.

Flashing and trim at the ridge, eaves and walls, and around vents, pipes and skylight panels, can pull away. Hail and wind can dent, puncture or lift panels. Water that shows up inside isn’t always below the leak, because it can run along a purlin before it drips.

After a storm

Checking a steel roof after a storm or a winter

You can learn a lot about a steel roof without climbing onto it, and a wet or frosty steel roof is slippery, so stay off it. From the ground, look for trim that has lifted, panels out of line and dents after hail.

From inside, look for daylight at the ridge and eaves, stained or sagging insulation, and rust along the purlins. Note where drips show up and what the weather was doing at the time, because that helps tell a leak from condensation. For walls, doors and framing, see signs a steel building needs attention.

Inside a steel shop during erection: dark frames and galvanized purlins open to the sky, white-lined walls and rolls of insulation on the slab, near Byers, Colorado

Options

Repair, re-seal or re-roof

A few leaks at fasteners, seams or flashing can usually be fixed where they are. When fasteners and sealant are failing across the whole roof, re-fastening and re-sealing it in one job can make more sense than chasing leaks one at a time. Some roofers also offer coatings for panels that are still sound.

Questions

Questions about steel building roofs

Is it a leak or condensation?

Not all water under a steel roof comes through it. Condensation forms when warm, damp air inside meets cold roof panels, so drips that appear on cold mornings, spread across the roof and show up without rain point to condensation rather than a leak. Insulation that is missing, torn or wet makes condensation worse (see insulating a steel shop or garage), and a leak can wet insulation too, so check both.

Does a screw-down or standing seam roof change the repair?

Yes. On a screw-down roof the fasteners go through the panels, so repairs often mean replacing or re-seating fasteners and their washers and re-sealing laps. A standing seam roof hides its fasteners in clips under raised seams, so leaks there tend to come from seams, sealant, trim or penetrations instead. Knowing which kind you have helps before anyone goes up.

What does hail do to a steel roof?

Large hail can dent steel panels, crack translucent skylight panels and bend trim. Dents alone don’t always leak, but a panel that has been punctured, or whose seams or fasteners have been disturbed, can. After a big hailstorm, look first at skylight panels, trim and any panel that looks punctured.

Should I call a roofer or a steel building crew?

For a house or a building with a conventional roof, a roofer is the usual call. On a steel building, the roof panels are fastened to purlins that are part of the building’s frame, so work on bent purlins, eave trim or whole runs of panels involves the steel building itself. A crew that erects steel buildings installs those same parts on every new building (see what erection covers).

Can the skylight panels in a steel roof be replaced?

Usually. Translucent skylight panels are made to match a roof panel’s rib profile, and older ones can yellow, turn brittle and crack. A replacement has to match that profile and be sealed at its laps with the panels around it.

Services

Other steel building services

GDL Steel

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GDL Steel erects pre-engineered steel buildings for commercial and residential projects in Colorado Springs and along the Front Range, and travels farther for larger jobs. Licensed and insured.

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Contact us

(719) 820-5298
sales@gdlsteelllc.com
Mon–Fri, 9 am–7 pm
Colorado Springs and the Front Range, and we travel for larger jobs (service areas).
General contractors: send a bid invitation.

Recent jobs: Byers, Glade Park, Golden, Hotchkiss, Littleton, Longmont and Westcliffe, CO; Delta, UT; Pahrump, NV; Mullen, NE

Metal Building Roof Repairs, Colorado Springs | GDL Steel