Water coming in? We stabilize first and diagnose second — because the breach is rarely above the stain. Flat, low-slope, and metal systems for property managers and building owners across the northwest suburbs.
Almost every commercial leak we get called out to has been looked at before. Usually the previous repair failed for the same reason: someone fixed the roof directly above the ceiling stain. On a low-slope roof that is almost never where the water got in.
Water enters at a breach, then travels — across the vapor barrier, along a deck flute, down a purlin, through wet insulation — until it finds a fastener hole or a deck seam to drop through. On a metal deck, twenty to forty feet of horizontal travel is routine. Finding the breach, not the drip, is the entire job.
HVAC curbs, vents, conduit, and pitch pockets are responsible for the large majority of commercial leaks. Sealant at a pitch pocket has a service life measured in a few years, not the life of the roof, and almost nobody re-tops them on schedule.
Failed heat welds on TPO, seam-tape separation on EPDM, and lap failures on modified bitumen. These open gradually, which is why the leak often appears long after the seam actually went.
Wall flashings, counterflashing, coping, and edge metal. Where the roof stops being a roof and becomes a wall is where thermal movement concentrates — and where sealant-only details fail first.
Blocked drains, undersized scuppers, and ponding. Standing water doesn't cause the breach so much as it finds every one you already have, then adds structural load while it sits there.
Punctures from hail, wind-lifted membrane at the perimeter, and — very commonly — damage from HVAC contractors working on rooftop units without protecting the membrane underneath.
Once insulation is wet it stays wet, keeps leaking after the breach is sealed, and quietly destroys the deck below. Wet insulation has to come out; patching over it is how a repair "fails" a month later.
Four things worth doing in the first ten minutes. None of them require going on the roof — and please don't send staff up onto a wet low-slope roof to look for the source.
First visit stops the water — temporary patch, tarp, or sealed penetration. We are not trying to finish the repair on day one; we're trying to stop damage accumulating inside your building.
We work back from the interior location to the actual breach, checking penetrations, seams, terminations, and drainage along the likely travel path. We probe for saturated insulation while we're up there.
A line-item scope with what failed, what it takes to fix properly, and what it costs. If replacement or a coating restoration is the better economic call, that's in the same document.
Permanent repair, plus photographs and a condition note you can file for capital planning or hand to an insurer. We flag the other details we saw that are heading the same way.
Heat-welded thermoplastic membrane — the most common flat roof in the Chicagoland commercial stock. Seam re-welds, puncture repair, and curb flashing rebuilds.
Rubber membrane needs the right primer, adhesive, and seam tape — not a generic patch kit. We repair tears, seam separations, and perimeter edge conditions properly.
Torch-down, cold-applied, and built-up systems. Blisters, lap failures, and cracking at flashings. Full modified bitumen replacement →
Standing seam and exposed-fastener systems. Failed seams, backed-out fasteners and worn washers, panel replacement, and ridge and penetration reseals.
We'd rather sell you the repair you need than the replacement you don't. The deciding factor isn't the leak in front of you, it's how much service life the roof has left.
Isolated damage, sound membrane, ten-plus years of life remaining. Spending replacement money here is waste. Targeted repairs run $300 to $10,000 depending on scope.
Membrane broadly intact but aging, with a few years left and repair costs starting to add up. A silicone restoration can buy real time for well under replacement cost. Roof coatings →
Widespread membrane breakdown, multiple failing seams, or wet insulation across large areas. Repairs here are an annual subscription. Full replacement runs $25,000 to $75,000. Commercial replacement →
Once the leak is handled, the way to stop the next one is scheduled inspection rather than emergency response — most of what we find on a maintenance visit is a curb or pitch pocket that hasn't leaked yet. See our maintenance plans →
Active leaks get priority scheduling ahead of quoted work — call (708) 847-5418 and say the leak is active. Our first visit is about stabilization, not a finished repair: temporary patching, a tarp, or a sealed penetration to stop water entering the building. Permanent repair follows once we've found the actual source and you've seen a written scope. Honest caveat: during a widespread storm event every commercial roofer in Chicagoland is triaging at once, and we'd rather tell you a realistic window than promise an hour we can't hit.
Because that's how low-slope roofs behave. Water enters at a breach, then travels — across the top of the vapor barrier, along a deck flute, down a purlin, through insulation — until it finds a fastener hole, a deck seam, or a light fixture to drop through. On a metal deck it routinely surfaces 20 to 40 feet from the actual entry point, and on a multi-ply system it can wick further still. This is the single most common reason a commercial leak gets "repaired" three times and keeps coming back: somebody patched the ceiling stain's location instead of the breach. We trace it back to the source before we quote anything.
A targeted repair typically runs $300 to $10,000 depending on scope — a single failed pitch pocket or a reseal at one curb sits at the low end; multiple seam runs, saturated insulation removal, and deck repair sit at the top. If the membrane is past the point where repair is good money, full commercial replacement runs $25,000 to $75,000 depending on square footage, system, and access. We'll tell you which side of that line you're on before you spend anything, and the assessment itself is free.
The honest test is remaining service life, not the leak itself. A roof with isolated damage and ten-plus years left is a repair — spending replacement money on it is waste. A roof with widespread membrane breakdown, multiple failing seams, or wet insulation across large areas is throwing good money after bad on repairs, because you'll be back every season. The middle case is the one worth thinking about: if you're facing a repair that costs a meaningful fraction of replacement on a roof with five years left, a coating restoration may buy you the time instead. We'll lay out all three and tell you which we'd choose.
Yes to both, with one caution on the second. We repair TPO, EPDM, modified bitumen, BUR, and metal regardless of who installed them. But if your roof is under a manufacturer's system warranty, unauthorized repair work can void it — check the warranty terms or send them to us and we'll read them before we touch anything. Sometimes the right answer is to call the warranty holder rather than us, and we'll say so.
Four things. Move or cover inventory, equipment, and anything electrical under the drip. Put down containment — buckets, a drum, plastic sheeting — and empty it before it overflows into a second area. Photograph the interior water and note the time, because that documentation matters if this becomes an insurance claim. And mark the interior location precisely, since it gives us the starting point for tracing back to the breach. Don't send untrained staff onto a wet low-slope roof to look for it.
Yes — a significant share of our commercial work is for property managers and facility teams running portfolios rather than single buildings. We provide written condition reports you can put straight into a capital plan, consistent documentation across properties, and priority response on portfolios under a maintenance agreement. We hold Illinois Roofing Unlimited License #104.010248, which carries no project-size restriction, and certificates of insurance are available before any work starts.
Family-owned since 1996. We stabilize first, find the real source, and tell you honestly whether it's a repair or a replacement.