Annual roof maintenance contract

What the contract includes

• A scheduled inspection every two to three months by our engineers, including one before the monsoon and one after it, walking every zone and re-scoring the roof against the last passport.
• A visit after any storm that lifts sheets, blocks gutters or takes out a skylight, to make the roof safe and record the damage for your insurer.
• Gutters and downpipes cleared before the monsoon, with the silt and growth removed and the outlets checked under a hose.
• Fastener checks on every visit, with backed-out or rusted screws replaced as we go. On a typical visit that is about 5 per cent of the fasteners.
• Sealant and flashing checks at laps, penetrations and ridges, with minor resealing done on the spot.
• The inspection log in the Roof Health Passport, updated after every visit with the scores, the photographs and what was done, so the roof has a history that survives a change of plant head.
• Priority response on a leak call. We respond within 48 hours and agree a site date.

Repairs beyond the fastener and sealant allowance are quoted separately from the passport, at the rates in the contract, so a leak in month seven does not become a negotiation.

The Roof Rule Book: nine rules for your staff and your vendors

Most of the damage we repair was done by people who were not roofers: the solar installer, the HVAC fitter, the electrician running a cable, the storeman who put pallets up there. Every contract comes with a one-page rule book you can hand to your own staff and to every vendor who asks for roof access. These are the rules.

1. Nobody cuts a hole in the roof or drills through a sheet without our approval and a flashing detail for it.
2. Access to the roof is controlled. One person at the plant issues the permission, and every person who goes up is logged.
3. Walk only along the purlin lines, which we mark on the roof plan, and never on a skylight.
4. Nothing is stored on the roof, and that includes pallets, drums and the old sheets from the last repair.
5. Gutters are cleared at least twice a year, and always before the monsoon, by someone who knows how to walk the roof.
6. Chemicals, exhaust and process fumes are kept off the sheet. If a new vent or stack is planned, the roof is checked for the coating's tolerance to it first.
7. The roof is inspected every two to three months and after every storm, and the findings go in the passport.
8. When a leak appears, staff follow the emergency protocol below rather than sending the nearest person up with a tube of silicone.
9. Solar, HVAC, electrical and telecom contractors sign the rule book before they get access, and their penetrations are inspected before they leave site.

The emergency leak protocol

When water is on the floor during production, the first hour matters more than the repair. The protocol in the contract says: isolate the power to anything under the drip, move or cover the stock and the machine, put a tray under it, photograph where the water is coming through from the floor, and call us. We talk your maintenance team through a temporary measure on the phone, and we respond within 48 hours and agree a site date, sooner if the leak is over a panel board or a clean room. Nobody goes onto a wet roof without a harness and a lifeline, and nobody applies sealant to a wet sheet, because it will not hold and it hides the leak path when we arrive.

Term, price and renewal

The contract runs for twelve months from the contract date or from the paid inspection, and can be renewed each year. As a guide, a roof of about 1,000 sq m costs ₹6,000 to ₹9,000 a month, depending on the area and the scope of work, so from about ₹70,000 a year. The contract states the fastener and sealant allowance. A roof that has not been audited gets an audit first, and the audit sets the baseline score the contract is measured against.

What the contract does not cover

The contract does not cover storm damage, fire or a contractor who ignored the rule book, and it does not replace a roof that was at the end of its life when the contract started. It makes sure those things are found and recorded within days, and that the small repairs which prevent the big ones get done.

How the contract year runs

1. Audit and baselineThe roof is scored and the Roof Health Passport opened. If it needs work before it can be maintained, we say so.
2. Contract and rule bookTwelve months, priced on the roof area, with the rule book issued to your plant and your vendors.
3. Pre-monsoon visitGutters cleared, fasteners and sealant checked, the roof re-scored, and anything urgent reported the same day.
4. Post-monsoon visitThe roof checked for what the rain found, the passport updated, and repairs for the next dry season quoted.
5. Storm calls and renewalA visit after any storm that damages the roof, and a renewal offer with the year's scores before the contract ends.