Klausmair Construction has been in business for 29-Years. Along our journey, we came across the HOA & Multi-Family side of our industry, and immediately found a passion for it!
In 2008, many contractors were unable to sustain business in the Residential Market due to the economy, and because of that, the commercial world was flooded with residential contractors, creating a highly competitive atmosphere. Klausmair Construction was heavily involved in commercial construction and residential construction prior to the 2007-2008 recession, but because of the flood of contractors, through chance we found the niche Multi-Family market.
Through our 15-Years of Multi-Family experience, we have come across thousands of issues, resolved countless maintenance questions and problems, and worked with over 200+ Multi-Family Association.
Let us help you plan, budget & advise you for your Roof Replacement Project!
Now that we have given you some background on KC and our expertise, let us provide you with some insight from the Contractor’s perspective!
#1: How Often Should I Have My Roofs Inspected?
#2: Preventative Maintenance On Roofs.
#1: How Often Should I Have My Roofs Inspected?
While roof inspections may not provide immediate return on investment, it‘s extremely crucial that you have a roofing contractor you trust, regularly document and perform inspections. Every time they set foot on the roof, is another opportunity to track the progression, so even servicing a roof leak can help the community plan better in the long run.
We advise inspecting at least once every 5-years. After all, roofs last between 20-30 years generally. Once inspections are completed, being able to take that information and project timelines is going to be key to budgeting and planning. Knowing how long you have left before the roofs need to be replaced will give you the opportunity to analyze your community’s income vs expenses, and determine if you need to increase dues or if you are on track.
Klausmair Construction’s Service Team is trained to always inspect for other issues during every service call. The reason behind this is to be able to bring not only solutions to the currently assigned concern, but preventing further issues from becoming more costly in the long run!
We also developed a one of a kind maintenance program which includes bi-annual roof inspections and general maintenance to the commonly troublesome components and areas of a roof.
#2: Preventative Maintenance On Roofs.
Maintaining roofs can seem to be counter-productive from a financial standpoint. Currently, it’s unlikely your community pays a contractor to routinely come out and inspect your roofs or service them. So, great! That’s money you‘re saving to put towards a replacement project later, right?
Well, the short answer is no, but let us break it down further:
Currently, we are 3 short months into 2023. Klausmair Construction has to date, addressed 12 projects among five HOA’s we work in that were totally unexpected and required $10,000.00 or more to fully repair. The issues were unavoidable with regular maintenance. So for a few dollars a month per unit, we could have very likely prevented this outcome which resulted in a set back of 8 months schedule for one of the communities in particular on their on-going roof replacement project.
#3: When Should I Plan For Roof Replacements?
Budgets for new roofs should be planned for and tracked every year or two to coordinate with changes in the market. Don’t assume that just because you budgeted 5-years ago that you’re on track still. Many communities we work in struggle to have a roofing budget ready to use towards full community wide roof replacement when the time comes. This usually comes down to lost time and mismanagement in the earliest years of the community‘s lifetime. We get it. None of the board members want to be the bad guy, raising the due’s every few years on a community full of people who have a hard enough time paying the due’s as is. Though the reality is the roofing industry, like everything else, is impacted by inflation. So even if you planned 15-years ago with a target budget in mind, you may come up hundreds of thousands of dollars short on your budget.
So what can you do?
In our experience, it’s common for communities to do one of two things:
A) Take Out A Loan
To cover the difference in funds, a bank loan may be best to complete the full scope of work. This method is often times the best approach, as roofing contractors are able to receive bulk discounts from the product manufacturers, saving you thousands of dollars on the full project. Though there is a required amount of product that must be ordered to even qualify for discounts, and not every community can qualify if the volume isn’t there.
B) Phase It Out.
This is the most common method in our experience, and unfortunately it is often times a more costly option in the long run. Again, inflation impacts the roofing industry just like anything else. Generally the roofing industry experiences increases between 5%-10%. However during global events such as wars, or Covid-19, prices are greatly impacted as they‘re asphalt (petroleum) based. Whenever you see the price of gasoline heavily increase, it‘s likely the shingle manufacturers are increasing their prices as well.
So let’s say for a moment that the economy is doing well, you are looking at a 5-year timeline to replace all of the roofs, you have a contractor selected, and the project is underway. Your community is still going to face inflation and a difference in price of between 25%-50% on the products on a number of roofs from day one, until the last roof is complete.