what to do with tenants during roof replacement

July 17, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.

By Western Colloid.

Advice for minimizing disruptions and avoiding complaints during roof tear-offs.

Maintaining your edifice requires maintaining the roof and ensuring it is in good repair. Roofs protect edifice inhabitants from current of air, rain, snow, hail and damaging UV rays, for decades. Due to their level of exposure to the elements, roofs somewhen need to be replaced. Completing a roof tear-off and re-roofing a building is a complex project that requires a significant corporeality of time, especially if y'all own or manage a multi-residential or commercial building.

One of the most complex aspects of roof work is working with your tenants. They pay expert money to live or work in a home or role, not a construction site. But when a roof tear-off becomes necessary, finding the balance betwixt your tenants and contractors takes diligence. Here are some important considerations when information technology comes to roof work in an occupied building.

Communication is key

If you learn nothing else hither, call back that good communication volition assistance your project succeed better than almost annihilation else.

Your lease will most likely have specific requirements regarding communicating planned construction and renovation with your tenants. Make sure you familiarize yourself with your specific tenants' rights during construction. Once you lot have a contractor selected and a project scheduled, communicate that data to your tenants as quickly as possible.

Amidst the important details to relay to tenants, consider including the following:

• The date work will start and the expected duration of the projection.

• The calibration of the roof work: Is information technology a consummate roof tear-off or only a partial replacement?

• Why the work is existence done. They may not empathize jargon simply they'll feel meliorate if they understand that you are investing in a better solution.

• How contractors volition access the roof, especially if they volition be using common stairways or elevators too used by tenants.

• If areas of the parking lot, the building or whatsoever entrances will exist off-limits during the piece of work.

• Whatever expected noise, odors or dust that might enter the building and what measures are existence taken to limit this.

• If the HVAC systems will be turned off at any indicate during the work and for how long.

• Any equipment such as satellite dishes that the tenant may need to have disconnected.

Many landlords will post this information in print in common areas similar elevator lobbies and security offices. Consider whether electronic mail advice will be useful likewise. Information technology's piece of cake for people to only browse over posted notices instead of reading them in detail, so communicating by every bit many channels as possible is the near effective way to get tenants the information they demand.

To help go along your tenants upwardly-to-speed on the projection, remember to ship out or post reminders the day before work starts and as pregnant project elements are reached. For instance, if only ane area of the building will be impacted by racket at a time, brand sure to continue other tenants informed virtually when they volition be afflicted.

Also, in any notices or emails yous send to tenants, make sure you identify a specific private they can contact with any questions or concerns. This volition help put your tenants' minds at ease during what can be a disruptive process.

Contractor admission and storage

Speaking of disruptions, where possible, work with contractors to establish procedures for accessing the roof and storing materials in a way that won't disrupt your tenant'southward mean solar day-to-twenty-four hour period routine. While your charter identifies your landlord responsibilities for repair, keeping the procedure out of your tenants' direct line of sight will help things run more smoothly.

Depending on your edifice, y'all may exist able to direct contractors to a service elevator or to roof access through a mechanical room. If the building is not too tall, materials can be taken to the roof on a hydraulic elevator or fifty-fifty a crane for taller sites.

Similarly, while it's easy to block off a few parking spots in an indoor or outdoor lot as a designated storage expanse for materials, keep in mind that even in a lot with unassigned parking, many employees and residents will have a place they consider to exist 'their' spot. And even if you choose an unclaimed spot, parking next to an unsightly stack of roofing materials is not ideal for your tenants and may effect in scratches or dings in their car if the materials shift or autumn, opening you lot up to litigation in extreme cases.

Managing tenant complaints

We've already talked almost how advice is a tenant right during construction, and why yous should have a designated contact person to manage questions, only even with the best communication plan in place, be prepared to deal with complaints.

Most oft, complaints will be around noise and odor. Olfactory property, in detail, can exist tough to bargain with, considering while information technology is unpleasant, tenants tin also become concerned for their wellness even when there is no run a risk. Managing odor and related indoor air quality during roof work is a cardinal step in reducing tenant complaints.

Here are a few steps to help manage odors during roof piece of work:

• Select low-aroma covering materials, such as Western Colloid'southward asphalt emulsion roof coating system, which requires no tear off of your existing roof.

• Have contractors keep roof kettles downwind of air intakes and kept at the lowest possible temperature.

• If kettles can't be moved downwind, close air intakes and windows.

• If weather permits, shut off the HVAC system, keeping in mind that keeping it off besides long can have other negative impacts on indoor air quality.

• Schedule work with higher-odor fabric outside of normal business hours or when occupancy is low.

If you lot do receive complaints, be equally responsive and proactive as possible. Non all noises and odors can be avoided, but tenants will be more tolerant if they know y'all're working in good faith. Y'all should also stress that you lot are choosing a long-term solution that ensures y'all are trying to limit disruption to tenants in future years.

Learn more than about Western Colloid in their RoofersCoffeeShop directory.

Original commodity source: Western Colloid

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