Transcription
Today I want to talk about our flat roof inspection process. We have a pretty standard process that we go through every time. We've spent almost five years perfecting it. We still tweak it and work on it uh every now and then. We're constantly learning from it. But I want to show you how we do it, how we start, some of the spreadsheets and tools we use and and and why we do it the way we do.
All right, Chicago. Welcome back to another edition of our YouTube channel. Today I'm Jim from Anchorpoint Roofing. Today I want to talk about our flat roof inspection process. We have a pretty standard process that we go through every time. We've spent almost 5 years perfecting it. We still tweak it and work on it uh every now and then. We're constantly learning from it. But I want to show you how we do it, how we start, some of the spreadsheets and tools we use and and and why we do it the way we do.
So, let's jump into it kind of quick today. Flat roof inspection process. How and why we do the things we do. We arrive and the first thing we do is we take exterior photos. So, we show up usually 5 10 minutes before we even notify the homeowner. We're checking things out. We're looking at the sides of the building. We're looking obviously up near the roof area. Do we see e fluorescents along the side of the masonry? We're thinking about cranes. We're thinking about debris removal. How's parking? Well, if you're in Chicago, you already know how parking is, but we're thinking about all the logistics and how we could get if we know this is going to be a potential replacement, how we can get it up there. What does the street look like? All the kind of things. Are we going to need a trash or debris shoot? So, these are some of the things we go through and we're taking pictures before we even actually go inside the home.
The logistics in Chicago of replacing a flat roof are can be hairy as you could probably imagine. So logistics, are there high wires up there? If there's high wires across or a tree, the crane guy is going to be like, "No way." Safety first here at Anchor Point. It would have to be pulled up, which can obviously add to the price a little bit. Parking, we touched on that. Debris removal. And then we're looking for clues. When you get out there and you see that there's a fluorescent about at the roof line on a on a flat roof, you know there's something going on. Water probably leeching out. could be a little bit more of a serious roof. These are just the clues that we start to look for.
Really helps to see the interior when possible. So, most of the time the homeowner is like, "Yes, come on in." We always put the booties on. I can't talk without those orange booties on my feet. It's something weird. We like to see the interior because again, we're getting clues. You know, what part of the home is it in? Is it near the bathroom? Is it near the kitchen? Is it near one of the parapit walls? These are all obviously clues that we look for on the inside of the home. Leak location, plumbing. There's plumbing stacks that go up from different toilets, vanities, and things like that that give us clues. So, we're constantly treating it like a doctor would or an investigator would and looking for clues before we've even got onto the roof.
Questions for the homeowner. So, these are kind of critical. It's something we've learned. Like, how long have you been in the home? Owners, homeowners like why does that matter? As you can imagine, here at Anchor Point, we're constantly watching the weather. We know when the last storm occurred, when we got the last heavy rain or snow, and this can just give us clues to what's been going on and how many storms and rain events this customer has been through. A lot of times we'll go in and the homeowner is like, "We've got a leak in the front, a leak in the back. How long have you been in the home?" Only four months. Well, that tells me maybe the previous homeowner didn't maintain it like they should and maybe they've just painted the walls. We take our flashlight and we look for drywall repairs. There's a lot of clues that can be gleaned just from a few questions and inspection of the interior of the home.
Was it a rain event? Was it a snow event? If it's a rain event, super heavy rain is the only time it comes in or it was a blowing rain or this only happened on very, very cold days. Was it when there was snow on the roof? All these are little clues to help us find. If it's a really really cold day, it could be condensation in a B vent and not a roof leak at all. If there's been snow on the roof for two weeks, it could be a condensation issue for because of lack of insulation. So, we haven't even got to the top of the roof yet and we're already collecting collecting clues like a good detective would. We are really roof consultants and not a salesperson. We're not there to sell you something. We're there to collect the clues, collect the pictures, and treat it like a doctor or a detective would.
Kind of every time we go through the same process. We want to start at the head wall when possible, which is like the head wall, the front of your house, and then we go from there. I like to go to the left and start working around that way. So, you do the inspection the same time, in the same orderly fashion, thinking about the same components. Rarely do we see a leak that's just like out in the middle of the open field. We call it the roof field. A lot of times it's around penetrations or parapit walls. So again, just looking for clues. Same inspection routine every time. And we've got a great checklist that I want to show you.
One of the other things is you're going to get 30 to 60, sometimes if it's a larger roof, up to 100 photos of everything that's good, everything that's bad. Again, we're looking at logistics from above. Could the crane possibly get us up in the back? Could we have a debris shoot in the back? Um, how are our guys going to get to the roof? All these clues. And then I want to show you the inspection Google sheet that we actually use. It's taken us a while to put this together and it's something that we continue to refine just a little bit. I think if you're a roofing contractor, you might find that this is kind of cool. If you're a homeowner, you might see that, wow, 130 point inspection is a lot. But we take this very serious. Let me show you what we've got here.
Being the roof nerd, I love uh Google Sheets and Excel. I'm not that good at the formula. My math skills are like 8th grade, but we have finally got this put together. So, we talk about some of the things that we're talking about. Exterior photos, how many stories is it from the street? Is it three? Okay, good. We're good there. How's parking? We already know what that answer is going to be. Crane access. Yes. Do we need crane access? Will it be craned up? it's not going to work, etc. Safety canopy. Sometimes if a debris shoot needs to come off the front, you need to obviously protect pedestrians on the sidewalk with a with a safety canopy. You'll see those in Chicago a lot if the debris shoots going to go over. All things that need to be factored into properly pricing that job is a trash shoot required. What's the deck type? This can be critical. You know, I don't need to show you all these, but it could be gypsum, plywood, concrete, etc.
And then we get into the inspection part actually. So again, like I was saying, we always start at the head wall. We've got codes for different parts. So when we go to the head wall, our inspector knows that we're looking for these. Is the membrane adhereed to the limestone? If if it has a limestone cap, general patching and sealing along there. So each section that we step through, we've got a breakdown so we don't forget any of them. And even if we go out to the homeowner's house and they're like, "We have a leak in this corner. We want that fixed. We go ahead and we give this 125 point inspection. We want to let you know of other potential maintenance items, anything else that needs to be patched up. Even if you decide not to do those, a lot of times we can put them as optional line items. Say here's this or think about this in the next year getting this done. We want to be proactive and we want our homeowners to be proactive too and understand everything that's going into that inspection. So you can see I don't think I need to go through all these but all the way from the drains you know what is the drain okay to the skylights pitch pants crickets counter flashing I mean we really we really nerd out on it and that's what we call ourselves here our roofing nerds so Colin Paul myself we go and we fill this entire thing out and once we've got it all filled out Sarah our estimator is able to see it so let's say everything's fine over here. We're all good. But when we get to the the gravel stop on the doghouse, it needs it. Sarah's able to see that. She knows what line item it is. So, in our job or software, we're able to put that together.
One thing you will almost always get from us, unless you're on the roof with this, is a video. And this is what homeowners really love, and it's really changed our business model. We look everything over. We get the nerdy Excel spreadsheet. We get that all completed. And then we take a video. Sometimes it's two, three minutes. Sometimes mine are even four. Company cam saying, "Wow, you're getting to the end." But that video gives the homeowner a view of what we're seeing, especially if it's a tall roof where they haven't been up there. We're taking the video and we're saying, "Okay, this needs to be fixed. You can see this open seam right here. You can see, you know, maybe this way stack needs something around it or needs to be reflashed." And this gives a lot of transparency to the homeowner, but it does other things for our company as well.
As soon as we're done making that video, our estimator Sarah, it's uploading on her machine. She watches it and she starts building the list of things that need to be corrected on that roof. She watches it, so it provides really great detail for her. She can see the logistics, how it's going to be priced, and how we're going to make the repair. Obviously, homeowners love it. Once it fully loads into Company Cam, we send it, text it typically to the homeowner. If you're in a multi-build uh unit building, let's say there's six units, it's so cool to watch the video, see what we're seeing, and then come back around and text it to the other six people in the unit who weren't able to attend or who are at work. And then everyone can see, wow, okay, I understand what needs to be done. I understand why the pricing is.
Third thing for this this video that we make, if we do get the job, we're coming out to do repairs. Let's say my guys, including my labors, the the roofers, the installers, then they watch the video. So when they see it, they come, they're at home 7:00 at night, they're taking a few minutes to prepare for the next day. Oh, I can see I'm going to need a roll of smooth modified. I can see I might need some Lucas 6000 for this. They're able to see where we're talking about. a ladder can go up here. So, it brings the whole team together. It brings the customer together, our estimator, and the videos have really been a huge gamecher for us.
If you're a roofing contractor out there that happens to be watching, try this. You know, everyone's a little comfortable in the beginning. I hate the way my voice sounds on camera or, you know, there's always some issue, but you get comfortable with it and you have to keep in mind that you're doing this for the homeowner and the entire team. So, the videos have been a gamecher for us. Homeowners love it. We're completely transparent and they can see what we're seeing. And then, like I said, it helps the estimator, helps the team, helps us all out.
That's pretty much it with our roof inspection. As you can see, we take it serious. Doctor roof inspector is what we call ourselves at times. Uh, but that's it. Chicago, thank you so much for watching our video today. really appreciate it on flat roofs inspections, the hows and wise and how we get it done. Check us out next time you have us out and uh see if we follow that process. Thank you so much for watching. Whether you're a homeowner looking for a great Chicago flat roof repair or a Chicago roof replacement or if you're just a contractor viewing these videos, let us know. Give us some feedback. Give us a call to come out and do this 125 point inspection. And thank you so much for watching. We'll see you on the next one.