Auto Dealership Roofing in Fayetteville, AR

A dealership has three roofs with three jobs. Over the showroom, a leak lands on a car with a window sticker and a customer in a chair. Over the service bays, it lands on a lift, a technician and a repair order. Over the parts department, it lands on a shelf of inventory that cannot be dried and resold. In Fayetteville, AR a dealer principal or a general manager who knows the age and condition of each roof can tell the owner what to spend and what to hold, before the spring storms test every one of them.

Hail hurts a dealership twice. It damages the cars on the lot, and it damages the roofs over the people and parts. NWS Tulsa's May 2020 report lists hail up to 3.00 inches roughly a mile east-northeast of Fayetteville, with 2.50 and 1.75 inch stones in the same area. A storm like that sends a dealer's first calls to the insurer about inventory, and the roof can wait a day or two.

It should not wait longer. A bruised membrane or a cracked skylight over a showroom can leak in the next rain, and the claim for the building is separate from the claim for the lot. We walk the roofs after the storm, photograph each mark and write a repair list, so the building claim is documented while the inventory claim is underway. Our hail damage repair work includes a map of damage per roof section.

A showroom often has a high ceiling, large windows and a roof that steps up from the service area. Those steps are where water gets in. A wall flashing that meets a glass curtain wall, a parapet cap that has opened and a drain that handles a large catch area are all common leak points. A leak above a showroom ceiling may run along a beam and appear at a light fixture far from the entry.

We check every transition, every drain and every expansion joint, and then trace the water from the stain back across the roof. If the ceiling is a decorative finish, interior protection goes up before we open anything. The repair is scheduled for hours when the showroom is quiet, and the sales manager gets a contact for the foreman. The planned commercial roof repair list is arranged so the showroom is fixed first. A temporary patch over the sales floor is a stopgap, and we say so on the estimate, with the date for the permanent fix. A glass wall that weeps at the sill is also checked, since the leak can be a window seal and not the roof, and finding that out early saves a roof repair that would not have helped.

Service buildings have taller walls, large overhead doors and a lot of mechanical equipment. Exhaust fans, make-up air units and compressor vents sit on the roof, and the membrane around each takes heat and sometimes oil mist. Summer adds heat: July highs run 88.7 F on average at Drake Field and the record is 111 F, so a dark roof over a service bay gets much hotter than the air.

We look at the sheet around every fan and vent, check flashings and walk the roof for ponding where water collects near the doors. Reflective membranes and coatings cut the heat load on the building, and a TPO sheet is a common choice on larger low-slope service roofs. Work is scheduled so the shop does not lose bays: we close a section, dry it in and move to the next. The service manager tells us which bays are busiest on which days, and we start over the quietest ones. Fumes from roofing adhesives are kept away from fresh-air intakes, and the shop foreman signs off on the air-intake plan before the first roll is opened.

A parts room holds electrical components, filters, tires, paper records and shelves of boxed parts. A small leak can ruin a pallet. We ask the parts manager which areas hold the most sensitive inventory and plan the dry-in with that in mind. A temporary cover goes over the deck when the roof is opened, and plastic goes up inside before work starts.

The location of rooftop equipment matters here. Units over a parts room should be checked for condensate lines, drain pans and flashing, since a condensate leak is as damaging as rain. We record each unit's location on the roof plan and note the lines that cross the membrane. If a unit needs service, the technician follows a marked walk path and the roof is checked afterward. This routine is what keeps small problems small. A body shop or detail building on the same lot gets the same walk, since paint booths and wash bays bring moisture and exhaust, and the roof over them is a close cousin of a flex industrial roof, with its own vents, curbs and drains. Each building gets its own page in the roof binder.

Most dealerships keep long sales hours, and the busiest times are often evenings and weekends. Roof crews and customers do not mix, so we plan work for weekday mornings and keep lifts and trucks off the front of the property. The hoist and staging go behind the service building, away from the lot and the front row. If a crane is needed, we pick a day when sales are slow and block the lane with cones and a flagger.

On a lot with frontage on the I-49 corridor, a truck blocking an entrance costs a sale. We confirm delivery routes with the manager, keep the lot clear of debris and sweep for fasteners at the end of every day. A single screw in a customer's tire is a bad conversation, and a magnetic sweep prevents it.

Capital planning: dealers who own and dealers who lease

Some dealerships own their buildings and some lease from a landlord, and the roof budget differs. Manufacturers also set facility standards that affect timing, and a planned image upgrade can include a new roof. We price a repair, a recover and a replacement for each building so the dealer principal can plan against the facility upgrade cycle. A dealer group with several stores in Rogers and Fayetteville can compare roofs across the group, and a big-box retail chain plans its roofs the same way.

Commercial Roofing Questions

Does the roof claim go with the inventory claim?

Usually they are separate. The building claim covers the roof and the structure. The inventory claim covers the vehicles. We document the roof side with dated photographs and a repair list, and the dealer coordinates with the insurer on both.

Can the showroom stay open during a reroof?

Yes. We phase the work, protect the interior ceiling and schedule loud work for early hours. The sales manager gets a daily update and a contact name for the foreman.

What is the best time of year to reroof a dealership?

Spring and early fall, outside the busiest sales weekends. A late winter quote gives time to order materials and schedule around the manufacturer's model-year changeover.

How do we handle a leak over the parts room?

Cover the inventory and call. We dry in the entry point the same day and check for condensate lines and drains that might be the source. The permanent repair follows once the roof is dry.

Does a reflective roof help a service building?

It lowers the roof surface temperature and eases the load on air handling, which matters in a Fayetteville July. We price it with the repair or replacement, since the savings are largest when the roof is already being redone.