Don’t Let Water Damage In Your Building Damage Your Business

Water damage in your commercial building can have a serious and costly impact on your business. From interrupting your company’s daily operations, extensive building repairs and skyrocketing insurance costs to the potential health and safety risks to employees, water damage is no joke. The best way to combat water damage to your building AND your business is to prevent it entirely. At  Design Components, we understand the value of preventing water damage before it starts with our industry-leading steel building accessories.

Did You Know?

Mold growths, or colonies, can start to grow on a damp surface within 24 to 48 hours.

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Time is Your Enemy When There’s Water Damage to Your Commercial Building

Water damage to your commercial building can have catastrophic consequences, expensive repair costs, loss of equipment and office furnishings, even putting a halt to production and daily operations. But most importantly, water damage poses a serious health and safety risk with the toxic elements found in mold. Within 24 to 48 hours of even the smallest water leak, mold growth can begin and quickly spread. If you spot signs of water damage, it’s important to act immediately before the problem gets any worse resulting in the need for large-scale mold remediation. In more cases than not, mold damage to commercial steel buildings can be sourced back to water damage from roof leaks. 

Roof Leaks

Roof leaks are one of the most common causes of water damage to commercial buildings. A leaky roof can be the source of mold and mildew issues, compromise your building’s structural integrity, and be a fire hazard due to damaged electrical wiring. Faulty roof curbs and hatches, as well as defective or degrading skylights can greatly increase the potential for rooftop water leaks to commercial steel buildings.

Risk mitigation is the best tool to combat water damage, it is important for facility managers and repair technicians to have safe access your building’s roof to perform inspections and repairs. In addition, meeting OSHA regulations for ladders, fall protection and rooftop walkways is critical for the safety of everyone above and below your roof.

The gold standard for safe rooftop access of any commercial building is the METALWALK rooftop walkway system. The METALWALK rooftop walkway system allows for safe access by repair technicians to your building’s roof, greatly decreasing the potential of water damage. Common building features and components such as skylights, smoke vents, power systems, HVAC systems and roof fans, can be accessed quickly and replaced even during inclement weather. 

HVAC Issues

HVAC systems are by far the #1 culprit for rooftop water damage. HVAC systems’ components often wear out causing small leaks leading to hefty water damage over time. HVAC condensation line leaks can be hard to detect since they usually run through the walls, so prevention is extremely important.

HVAC systems need regular maintenance, including regular inspections, removing excess water from the condensation reservoir, and changing the filter.  Simple, regular maintenance of a commercial steel building’s rooftop HVAC system can save building owners thousands in building repair costs. 

Inclement Weather

Bad weather can be one of the biggest, unforeseen causes of water damage to any commercial building, no matter how diligent you are in facility upkeep.  Storms carrying torrential rains,  damaging hail, heavy snow and high winds that can cause havoc on your roof and any systems housed there. Having steel building accessories that are manufactured to stand up against any threats Mother Nature can throw at your building can save you money, stress and most importantly critical production time. 

Doors and Windows

While some water damage issues can be hidden behind walls or on your roof,  many can be sourced at commonly used areas. Doors and windows can become sources of water damage as their seals naturally wear down over time, allowing moisture from the elements and humidity to seep in. Moisture entering from your doors and windows can cause mold and mildew; warped wood and drywall, and lead to even more water damage if not dealt with immediately.

Regularly inspect the seals around your doors and windows, reapplying necessary caulking as needed as a part of your regular maintenance. In some instances it may be more economical to replace the doors and windows of your steel building.  A steel canopy can also prevent excess water from coming in through frequently used entrances and loading docks by reducing the amount of water pooling around entry points of your building.

A Word About Snow

Depending on your region, snow can either be a minor episode or a part of everyday life in the winter.  While snow around entrances can normally be easily contained, heavy snow build-up on your building’s roof is a whole other ballgame. Heavy snow buildup on a roof can be hazardous to rooftop drainage systems, the building below and the roof itself. Having rooftop access equipment that meets OSHA standards is critical at all times, but especially during snow and ice season. 

While, often the potential dangers of snow on the roof of a commercial building is in forefront of any facility manager’s mind, the potential risks to people and property below and outside of the building from falling built-up snow can be overlooked. Snow Retention Systems are necessary to keep rooftop snow built-up from becoming a hazard to employees and staff entering and exiting your building. 

Design Components – Your Top Supplier for Steel Building Accessories

The best tool to fight against water damage is prevention. Design Components has 43 years’ experience in the engineering and manufacturing high-quality steel building accessories that meet or exceed OSHA regulations. Our reputation is built on products that stand up to anything Mother Nature can throw at us. 

At Design Components, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality steel building accessories that enhance both functionality and safety of your commercial building. Our team of visionaries and engineers, work together to bring safe, economical, durable, and practical accessories that will protect your building, but most importantly your staff, from the harshest outdoor elements and help mitigate water damage risks. To learn more about our steel building accessories, call us today at (800) 868-9910 or contact us by email at sales@designcomponents.com. Request a quote here.