Auto dealership roof repair in Berkeley, CA: leaking HVAC curbs, rotted curb framing and wet insulation fixed with vehicles and service bays protected.
Property Types We Roof | Berkeley, CA
Dealership roofs carry a lot of equipment. Showrooms need big rooftop HVAC units, service departments have exhaust fans and make-up air units, and every one of them sits on a curb that has to be flashed into the roof. On a dealership in Berkeley, CA, a leak at one of those curbs usually means the flashing has pulled away or the wood curb underneath has rotted. The water then runs along the deck and drips into a service bay or onto a customer's car. Because the drip point and the actual entry point can be far apart, guessing from inside the building often sends a repair crew to the wrong unit.
We start on the roof at the curb nearest the leak and check the flashing, the curb framing, nearby seams and drains. It is common to find a second unit or pipe boot that is also contributing. If water is coming in now, we can install temporary protection the same day, including nights and weekends. Your service or facilities manager arranges access and tells us where vehicles are parked. HVAC work goes to your mechanical contractor, and wet electrical goes to an electrician. You get photos of what we found before anyone talks about price.
Curb flashing can look intact from a few feet away while the wood curb behind it is soft. Our rooftop curb and equipment support repair starts by opening the flashing to check the framing. If the unit has to be lifted or shifted to reach the curb, your HVAC contractor handles that. Rotted wood gets replaced, and if the curb is too short for a proper flashing height, we raise it. Recaulking the old flashing will not fix a curb that has nothing solid left to hold a fastener.
A curb that has leaked for a while usually leaves wet insulation around it. We confirm the wet area with a few core cuts and replace that material through our insulation and cover board replacement work, patching every core the same day and keeping debris out of the bays below. If the wet area extends past the curb, we show you on a roof plan exactly how far before any extra work goes ahead. That way the estimate reflects measured damage, not an allowance padded for surprises.
The flashing at a rooftop unit cannot be done right if the unit is in the way. Our penetration and curb flashing work is scheduled around your HVAC contractor, who disconnects or lifts the unit if needed and reconnects it afterward. We keep service panels clear so technicians can still open them once the roof work is done. If new insulation raises the roof surface, we check that the curb is still tall enough and that water still drains away from it.
The flashing method depends on the roof. A PVC or TPO roof gets heat-welded flashing; a modified bitumen or built-up roof gets compatible bitumen flashing. If the membrane around the curb is too brittle to tie into, a larger section is replaced. A coating can extend the life of a sound field, but it does not repair rotted curb framing, so the curbs get fixed first and the coating, if you want one, comes after. We also check that the unit's condensate line drains onto the roof properly instead of puddling against the curb, which is a common cause of early flashing failure.
Roof work over a showroom or service drive has to work around cars, customers and technicians. Our occupied building reroofing plan shows which bays and parking rows sit under each day's work area, where the crane sets up, and how debris comes down. Your managers decide which vehicles move and when; we keep lifts and deliveries away from customer entrances during open hours whenever possible. Material stays on the roof or in a fenced staging area, not in your lot where customers park.
If we open the roof and the damage runs over another bay, we stop, show your manager what we found, and agree on the new area before cutting further. Every open section is sealed before the crew leaves, so an overnight rain does not reach the inventory. Our daily notes say what is permanent, what is temporary and what is waiting on the HVAC contractor. If the schedule slips because a unit cannot be disconnected, you hear about it that day.
Dealership roofs around Berkeley and Oakland cover showrooms, service bays and parts rooms, often added in phases over the years, so one building can have two or three different roof types. For properties near downtown Berkeley, we schedule visits around business hours and need to know which bays have leaks and where the rooftop units are. Any mechanical drawings help us plan before we arrive, and past repair invoices tell us which curbs have already been patched more than once.
In West Berkeley and Emeryville, dealerships often sit along busy commercial corridors near older industrial buildings. Wind off the bay and the switch from a long dry season to heavy winter rain are hard on curb flashing and sealants. We walk the whole roof, check every unit, photograph what we find and write a repair plan for your building. Your roof gets priced on what is actually up there.
Dealerships share a lot with manufacturing plant roofs: heavy equipment on curbs, exhaust fans and plenty of penetrations that need regular attention. At closeout, you get photos of each rebuilt curb, the new flashing and any replaced insulation, plus a roof plan marking them. Temporary repairs are labeled, and anything that belongs to the HVAC contractor or another trade is listed separately.
Flex industrial roofs have similar mixes of office and shop space, but every building's curbs and hidden damage differ. The roof plan gives your service manager a simple reference. If a bay leaks next winter, they can see whether it is under a curb we rebuilt or somewhere else and send us photos so we can sort it out quickly. A short walk of the roof each spring and fall, focused on curbs and drains, catches most problems before they reach a car.
Tell us which bays are leaking and send any mechanical drawings you have. We will inspect every curb, photograph what we find and give you a plain repair plan.
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