When it comes to protecting your commercial property from serious damage, conducting regular inspections of the roofing can be critical. A faulty roof could lead to significant water damage, which could compromise the overall structural integrity of your building. The roof deck acts as a waterproof barrier, so any problems that arise pertaining to the quality and function of your roof decking have the potential to be serious.

Here are three things to watch for as you inspect your commercial roof decking in the future.

1. Open Joints

In order to effectively prevent water from leaking into your commercial property, sheets of roof decking overlap one another to create a waterproof seal. Over time, these sheets can move and shift. When the roof decking is no longer overlapping, open joints become visible.

These open joints could potentially become big problems in the future, so it's best to survey your commercial roof on a regular basis to identify any open joints that exist. Additional sheets of roof decking can be added over the top of open joints to maintain the waterproof seal on your building's roof.

2. Cracking

Most commercial roof decks are made from lightweight plywood materials. While plywood prevents your building's roof from becoming too heavy, it is prone to deterioration over time. The waterproof sheeting applied over the top of plywood roof decking can crack over time, leaving the plywood exposed to moisture from rain and snow.

Cracks in roof decking need to be addressed as quickly as possible to prevent serious leaks from compromising the structural integrity of your commercial building. You can easily remove any cracked sections of roof decking and replace them with new sheets of plywood for maximum protection.

3. Sagging

When you conduct a visual inspection of your commercial roof, you should see a straight pitch or slope. Any areas that appear to be sagging or buckling could be areas where the roof decking has sustained serious damage.

Sagging typically occurs in areas where the waterproof seal of the roof decking has been compromised. As water seeps into the plywood below, the wood becomes soft and buckles under the weight of the roof's shingles. Be sure to replace sagging sections of roof decking as quickly as possible to prevent the water damage from spreading.

Routine commercial roof inspections can be a great way to identify potential roof decking problems before they wreak havoc on the usability of your commercial space.