5 Ways Maxwell Roofing Shines in the Huntsville Market

Northern Alabama industries are growing fast, but its commercial roofing market still lacks options. Most Huntsville-area companies make their money from roofing or re-roofing after major storms. But, for companies in Northern Alabama looking for more than a quick patch job on their roofs, Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. has a proven and trusted reputation for quality service. Here are just a few of the many ways Maxwell Roofing stands out in the Huntsville market.

1. High Quality

Maxwell is committed to providing every client with a high-quality roof that will last. We stay up-to-date on the latest products and roofing technologies to ensure that every roof we work on is in the best possible condition. Because Maxwell Roofing only employs full-time, specially-trained roofers, you can be sure that the craftsmanship on your roof is of the highest quality and will hold up under tough conditions.

2. Superior Service

Many companies see roofing as a product-oriented business, but Maxwell Roofing understands the importance of service in every aspect of the job. The Maxwell team doesn’t just find a problem and fix it, but we use industry-leading reporting techniques to make sure you understand what your roof needs and why. We also maintain an entire service center to make sure that you get the personal attention you need—every time. In the Huntsville area, it has been this emphasis on service that has helped Maxwell Roofing stand out from our competitors. One client, John Blue Realty, says: “ What made our experience so much better with Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. versus other companies is their excellent photo reports of problems they find and fix. If larger repairs are necessary, they also prepare a detailed photo report, along with their recommended solutions and quotes. For us, that is perfection.”

3. Extensive Experience

With nearly 70 years of history, the Maxwell team has grown and evolved along with the industry. Maxwell Roofing isn’t some short-term outfit with inexperienced roofers. Instead, we’re a quality, family-run business that knows the industry inside and out. Throughout the years, we have developed a stellar reputation and a backlog of excellent client testimonials, so you know what you’re getting when you hire the Maxwell Roofing team.

4. Professionalism

All of Maxwell Roofing’s technicians are full-time employees with specialized training in both roofing and customer care. You can expect our roofing crew to be responsive, on time, and considerate while on the job. One client, SVN | Avat Realty, says they prefer Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. because: “Maxwell lets us know when they are on the way, when they are on site, and what the issue is before a repair is done. All this is done in a timely fashion, and the invoice is accompanied by photos of the repair area and description of work performed.”

5. Full-Service Care

Maxwell Roofing doesn’t just construct roofs and re-roofs. We provide everything from regular maintenance checks to custom sheet metal fabrication in-house. This full-service approach enables us to offer a higher quality product in the construction and customization phase, and then to extend the life of your roof through our proactive maintenance management program, MAXCare. Using a company with a full-service approach can save you time and money and stave off worries about unwanted roofing emergencies.

You can find our experts in preventative maintenance, service repairs, and emergency repair in the Huntsville area. Our team is equipped and ready to help!

Guidelines for Commercial Rooftop Safety Compliance & Fall Protection

As a building owner or property manager, your roof can be one of the most dangerous aspects of your property. In fact, Forbes magazine recently listed roofing as the sixth most dangerous job in America. Fall protection is also the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) top-listed citation annually. It goes without saying that you can’t underestimate the importance of rooftop safety compliance. Having a proactive approach to fall protection is one of the best ways to ensure on-site safety during a new roofing project and prevent injury or liability for your commercial roof.

The Importance of Rooftop Safety Compliance & Fall Protection

The reality is that there will likely be a lot of people to walk on your roof over its lifetime—roofers, HVAC workers, building inspectors, etc. So, how do you go about preventing a major incident?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set new guidelines for the safety measures that are required for commercial roofs. These regulations require that all commercial roofs (new or old) need top-ridge anchors installed that inspectors and contractors can attach safety cords to so they can walk and inspect roofs and perform repairs or replacements of roofing materials.

If you allow people to walk on a roof without these precautions in place, you will be out of compliance with OSHA regulations and subject to fines. You could also face insurance issues for not following regulations.

Maxwell’s Commitment to Rooftop Safety Compliance & Fall Protection

Throughout the lifecycle and maintenance of your roof, those who work on the roof can face many different threats. The Maxwell Roofing team wants to provide customers with the greatest peace-of-mind possible when it comes to rooftop safety compliance and fall protection.

Here are a few specific ways we prioritize rooftop safety on our projects:

1. Conducting a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) to Identify Potential Hazards

Before any new roofing project, our team works to conduct a JHA that identifies all the potential hazards for the roofing crew, people inside the building, visitors, and passers-by. This includes specific analysis of fall protection and rooftop safety concerns.

2. Providing Specific Protection Services for Skylights

OSHA considers a rooftop skylight to be a hole in the roof surface. If skylights are in the vicinity of any work area or walking surface, they must be protected with the appropriate fall protection screens or guardrails. Maxwell Roofing works with our customers to address specific skylight issues by putting handrails around it or installing a skylight screen with a wire mesh framework.

3. Equipping Roofs with Hatch Railing Systems and Roof Davits

In order to meet the specific OSHA regulations, we provide engineering and installation services for Hatch Railing Systems and Roof Davits. These railing systems allow individuals to access the roof from a ladder inside the building with a grab bar for a climber, ensuring a safe transition to and from the ladder. Roof Davits (or Roof Anchors) are attached at various points across the roof so that people can hook up to them with a safety harness and conduct their work without falling. For buildings that don’t have walls around the edge of the roof, we recommend at least 4-12 davits laid out strategically across your roof.

4. Protecting HVAC Workers with RTU HVAC Mechanical Unit Railing

For rooftops with HVAC units within six feet of a roof’s edge, it’s wise to have some sort of guardrail between the side of the unit and the edge of the roof. These rail barriers are intended to protect HVAC workers in the event that someone trips, leans back, or loses balance.

When it comes to your roof, safety should be your first priority. If you are concerned about potential safety compliance of fall protection issue, our team at Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. is here to help. Contact our team to discuss your specific needs and identify the best approach for your project.

How Drones are Revolutionizing the Commercial Roofing Industry

For a commercial building owner, leaks and other roof damage can be an absolute nightmare to locate and repair. To access hard-to-reach parts of a building, roofers often have to use expensive lifts or cranes, and it can take days to fully analyze a large commercial roof.

However, roofing has come a long way through the years with new technology and equipment. Drones are the latest tool to land in the roofer’s equipment arsenal, and they’re revolutionizing the way commercial roofs get repaired.

Drones Work Fast

With a traditional roof assessment, roofers must climb atop the roof and manually search for damage. This process is time-consuming and requires hours of planning to secure the appropriate equipment to keep roofers safe. If the roof has multiple points of damage, roofers must examine each problem area individually.

While traditional roof assessments can take several days, an aerial drone can easily fly over any type of roof and take photos within hours or minutes. In just that short amount of time, drones can conduct an entire building envelope survey without the disruption caused by having a crew on the roof.

Drones Work Cheap

High-end drones are expensive pieces of equipment and learning to pilot one is a specialized skill. But, even a well-trained pilot and a nice drone cost less money than a roofing team and the equipment needed to get them safely atop a roof. Using drones frees up qualified roofers to focus on other parts of their job, making assessments cheaper for the company and the customer.

Drones Are Accurate

Using a drone for roofing measurements and other simple tasks eliminates human error. When paired with special imaging equipment, like infrared cameras, drones can also detect damage that would be difficult for the human eye to spot. Roofing companies can even use machine-learning software to analyze drone images and identify the types of damage, eliminating the guesswork in traditional inspections.

Drones Don’t Get Hurt on the Job

To get their jobs done, roofers often have to climb, balance, or dangle in precarious positions. While good roofing companies always have the best safety equipment to keep their employees safe, falls and other injuries are always a risk with traditional roof surveys. While drones are not immune to damage, a broken propeller is certainly preferable to a broken arm.

Drones Open Up New Possibilities

While drones are becoming more prevalent in the roofing industry, their use hasn’t yet spread into the mainstream. More widespread use of drones could allow roofers to offer cheaper and more frequent inspections. In the future, drones will be equipped with better cameras, opening up even more opportunities for drone roofing.

Having the best technology can give roofers a cutting edge, but expertise and experience still matter. Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. has been around for nearly 70 years and has maintained its reputation and quality of service through many shifts in technology.

Learn more about Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc.’s drone services and contact us today.

5 Ways to Avoid Unwanted Surprises through a Roofing Forecast Assessment

Even the best commercial roofs don’t last forever, and keeping tabs on the health of a building’s roof is one of the most important jobs for any facility manager. Leaks and other serious damages may be easy to spot, but what about hidden damages that lead to big problems down the line?

Because they are such complicated systems, commercial roofs can have plenty of problems that build slowly and aren’t apparent to an inexperienced eye. Concealed moisture, bad weld jobs, loose seams, and other seemingly small problems can lead to a big and costly surprise down the road. Here are five tips for avoiding unwanted surprises with your commercial roof:

1. Get regular roof assessments.

Don’t wait until after a hail storm to get your roof assessed. Trouble with a roof isn’t always weather-related, and catching little problems before they become big problems is the best way to save on costly repairs.

2. Only trust professionals with roof inspections.

A facility manager may be involved with everything going on inside a commercial building, but there are some types of damage that only a professional roofer can recognize. Roof inspectors are specially-trained to spot damage as it happens, not once the roof starts to leak.

3. Prepare your budget for an emergency.

Even carefully monitoring your roof can’t prepare you for an unexpected accident or weather event. Don’t get caught off guard—keep a budget for roofing repairs. A good rule is planning to save $750 for each simple repair. Roofs with patios and roofs that support heavy equipment will need more repairs than roof tops that rarely see traffic.

4. Find a roofer with forecasting assessments.

When looking for a roofing company, find one that does forecasting as part of their traditional damage assessment. Forecasting allows you to see into your roof’s future and plan for big expenses down the line. Good reporting is critical to forecasting, and the best roofers will offer comprehensive reports with the roof’s current condition and future recommendations.

5. Prevent disasters with a maintenance plan.

With regular roof forecasting assessments, you can make a long-term maintenance plan to extend the life of your roof. Addressing small problems on your roof through preventative maintenance and weatherproofing is the surest way to avoid a costly roofing emergency.

Get All the Prevention Tools You Need in One Place

Our team at Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. prides ourselves on the quality of our roof management program. Through our MAXCare program, customers get regular roof assessments with forecasting. Each assessment in this long-term monitoring program comes with one of our industry-leading reports that includes details on a roof’s condition and projections for future maintenance and costs. For unplanned emergencies, MAXCare also gives customers access to roofers 24 hours a day.

Visit us today to learn more about MAXCare and how it can help extend the life of your commercial roof.

Professional Development: CERTA Train-the-Trainer Certification

Commercial roofing can be a hazardous business. In addition to working from dangerous heights while installing complicated equipment, many of the tools used during a project should be handled carefully. Torch-down systems are one of the most potentially-hazardous aspects of the job. For this reason, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) developed the Certified Roofing Torch Applicator (CERTA) program to train installers on the safe use of roofing torches. As the need for CERTA training increased, the NRCA was looking for a way to scale their training program.

Investing in Our Employees Through CERTA Train-the-Trainer Certification

Earlier this year, Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. was selected by the NRCA to host its regional Train-the-Trainer Authorization program, which allows roofing contractors (and others) to lead the CERTA class without NRCA’s assistance.

The training was held in advance of NRCA’s International Roofing Expo. More than 40 attendees, including Maxwell Roofing employees and other roofing professionals, spent an entire Sunday learning the ins-and-outs of CERTA Training. As the host, Maxwell was honored to partner with the NRCA, as they provided the knowledge and training for proper roof torching.

“I was fortunate enough to be a part of this event and earned my CERTA Train-the-Trainer certificate,” said David Daniel, Project Manager for Maxwell Roofing. “I got to meet others in the industry and trade best practices,” he adds.

Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc.’s Commitment to Employee Development

For the Maxwell Roofing leadership team, employees are family. Whether it’s hosting an employee appreciation event or offering specific professional development opportunities for commercial roofers, we believe that investing in our employees is an important priority.

“Safety and training are key to the future of the industry. Being able to participate in something like this makes me proud to be a part of the team here at Maxwell Roofing,” Daniel affirms.

If you’re looking for a commercial roofing partner in Nashville or Huntsville who values training and continuing education and skills, we invite you to learn more about our services or read how we’ve partnered with businesses like yours.