Commercial roofs in a growing city
As Airdrie’s population has grown, so has the space serving it. Retail and services are spread across the city: the older storefronts along Main Street downtown, the big-box and retail centres around Sierra Springs, the Yankee Valley Crossing plaza on Yankee Valley Boulevard SE, Cooper’s Town Promenade in the southwest, the Kingsview Market centre near King’s Heights, plus offices, medical and dental clinics, and light-industrial and warehouse buildings.
Almost all of them share one thing: a low-slope roof. Commercial buildings are usually too wide for a pitched roof to make sense, so they rely on a continuous membrane, a planned drainage system and careful flashing around everything that passes through the roof.
That makes commercial roofing a different discipline from residential. The materials, the details and the scheduling are all different — and so is the cost of getting it wrong, because a leak can shut down a store, ruin inventory or disrupt a tenant.
Commercial roofing systems
TPO
A single-ply thermoplastic membrane, usually white or light grey, with heat-welded seams that fuse into one continuous sheet. The reflective surface keeps the roof cooler in summer, which helps with cooling costs in retail and office space. A common choice for new commercial roofs.
EPDM
A synthetic rubber membrane with a long track record in cold climates. It stays flexible in extreme cold and handles temperature swings well. Seams are joined with tape and adhesive. See rubber roofing for more on EPDM.
Built-up roofing (BUR)
The traditional multi-layer system: alternating layers of bitumen and reinforcing felts, usually finished with gravel. Heavy, tough and good under foot traffic, and still found on many older commercial buildings.
Modified bitumen
Factory-made sheets of polymer-modified asphalt, applied in layers. Durable and forgiving, often used where a roof sees regular foot traffic to rooftop equipment.
Metal
Standing seam metal roofs appear on some commercial and light-industrial buildings with enough slope. See metal roofing.
What goes wrong on commercial roofs in Airdrie
Rooftop units and curbs. HVAC units, exhaust fans and their curbs put a lot of penetrations in a membrane, and technicians walking to them wear it down. Flashing around curbs is one of the most common leak points.
Parapet walls. Where the membrane turns up a parapet, the flashing and cap take the brunt of wind, sun and freeze-thaw.
Drainage. Internal drains and scuppers that are undersized, blocked with debris or ice, or sitting slightly high leave water ponding on the roof.
Snow drifting. Snow drifts against parapets, rooftop units and higher walls. When a chinook arrives, that snow melts quickly and tests every seam and drain at once.
Hail. Hail punctures and bruises membranes and dents metal flashing and rooftop equipment. After a major storm along the QEII corridor, commercial roofs should be checked along with everything else. See hail damage roofing.
Age. Older built-up and modified bitumen roofs dry out, crack and blister over time.
Our commercial roofing services
Inspections and condition reports. A walk of the whole roof with photos, a list of issues by priority and budget ranges — useful for owners, property managers and condo boards planning ahead.
Leak repairs. Finding and fixing leaks at seams, curbs, parapets, drains and penetrations with materials compatible with your existing system. See flat roof repair.
Re-roofing. Full tear-off and replacement, or a recover over a sound existing roof where it makes sense.
Drainage corrections. Tapered insulation, crickets around rooftop units, and new or relocated drains to eliminate ponding.
Preventive maintenance. Scheduled inspections, drain clearing and small repairs that extend a roof’s life and keep surprises out of your budget.
Planning a commercial re-roof
A commercial re-roof goes smoothly when it’s planned well ahead of the day the crew arrives:
- Budget it early. A condition report a year or two ahead lets owners and boards plan the cost rather than react to it.
- Choose the season. Membrane installations need dry weather, and adhesives have temperature limits. Late spring through early fall is the usual window in Airdrie.
- Coordinate rooftop equipment. HVAC units often need to be disconnected, raised on new curbs or temporarily moved. We coordinate with your mechanical contractor so the building isn’t without heating or cooling longer than necessary.
- Tell your tenants. Noise, deliveries and access changes are easier to live with when tenants know the schedule in advance.
- Keep the paperwork. Product data, installation records and photos matter for insurance and for future work on the roof.
Hail and commercial roofs
A large, flat commercial roof is a big target in a hail corridor. After a storm, damage to a membrane isn’t always obvious from a walk across it: hail can bruise the membrane and crush the insulation underneath without leaving a clear hole. Dented metal flashing, cracked skylights and damaged rooftop units are easier to spot. A documented inspection soon after a storm gives owners and property managers the evidence an insurer needs, and catches small punctures before the spring melt finds them.
Working around your business
A commercial roofing job has to fit around the people using the building. We plan:
- Staging and deliveries away from customer entrances and parking where possible
- The noisiest work around your trading hours or tenants’ schedules
- Daily weather protection, so the building is watertight at the end of every day
- Protection for sensitive areas such as food service, medical offices and server rooms
- Clear communication with owners, managers and tenants before and during the job
What commercial roofing costs in Airdrie
| System | Typical per sq ft | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Large, simple TPO roofs | $8–$11 / sq ft | Per sq ft — size spreads the fixed costs. |
| Small units with rooftop equipment | $12–$16 / sq ft | Per sq ft — curbs, parapets and drains. |
Get an exact quote for your roof
Tear-off, insulation, rooftop units, curbs and penetrations, parapets, drainage and access decide where a building falls in the range. The flat roof cost guide compares TPO, BUR, EPDM and modified bitumen side by side.
Commercial roofing across Airdrie
We work on commercial buildings throughout the city — downtown storefronts near Old Town, retail and service buildings near Cooper’s Crossing and King’s Heights, and light-industrial buildings — as well as in Crossfield and Balzac. For residential low-slope roofs, see flat roofing; for a one-off assessment, book a roof inspection.