Commercial Roofing at Ignition Park, South Bend, IN

The tenant's fit-out crew wants to run a cable tray and a refrigerant line through the roof on Thursday, and the property manager asks one question before saying yes: who is going to flash the openings, and who will check them after the first rain? In a technology park, roof work can begin that way, not with a leak but with a request to cut a new hole. At Ignition Park, the 140 acres of city-owned land on the former Studebaker plant grounds in South Bend, IN, where the first phase brought a 43,000 square foot multi-tenant building and a Tier III data center called Data Realty, the roof is part of the equipment list. We start by walking the roof with the property manager, marking every existing opening, and photographing the flashing at each one, so that new work lands on a roof whose condition is written down.

Openings come first

On a roof that technology tenants keep changing, the penetrations tell the story. We count them, check how each one is flashed, and look at the curbs and rails under rooftop units for cracked sealant, open seams and membrane that has pulled away. Conduit, cooling lines, antennas and cable trays all start as small cuts and become leak paths when the sealant dries out or a tenant's contractor adds a second line beside the first.

We also look at where the roof is walked. A path from the hatch to the cooling equipment sees a service technician every month, and a membrane without walkway pads wears along that path first. We record bare spots, ponding near equipment and drains that sit under a pipe run, then hand the property manager a short plan: what to fix now, what to watch, and which tenant requests should come with a roofer on site. Where an infrared moisture survey is warranted, we schedule it after a wet week so the readings show the difference between dry and damp insulation.

Keeping water off the equipment

A leak over a data hall or an electrical room is not handled like a leak over a storage bay. When the call comes in, we ask where the water is falling in relation to racks, switchgear or cooling plant, and the response checks the nearest drain, traces the opening and identifies temporary protection that fits access and roof conditions. Inside, we ask the tenant's facilities lead to cover or move anything the water could reach and to keep access panels closed until the area is checked.

A Tier III designation rests on the idea that systems can be serviced without shutting down, and roof work in that kind of building follows the same habit: we plan so that no tear-off, cutting or hot work happens over live space without the tenant's written approval, and the work plan closes each exposed section before work pauses. Details at the equipment pads, such as raised curbs, sealed conduit boots and secondary drainage, get a closer look than the open field because that is where water meets the equipment the building exists to protect. A data center roof gets the same sequence.

One roof, several tenants

A multi-tenant building has a single roof over several leases, and tenants rarely agree on where a leak began. We trace the wet area from inside the affected suite, photograph the deck and insulation above it, and report where the water entered without taking a side. The property manager receives a record that shows the opening, its cause and the date, and tenants can see for themselves that the roof is being looked after.

Access is part of the record. Tenants bring their own contractors for mechanical, telecom and electrical work, and each visit to the roof is a chance for a dropped tool, a torn membrane or a missing cap on a conduit. A sign-in sheet at the hatch, a short orientation on where to walk and a post-visit check by us keep that traffic from costing the owner a roof. When a tenant leaves or another arrives, a fresh roof inspection sets the baseline for the next lease.

South Bend weather on a technology roof

Snow at South Bend totals 64.5 inches in a typical winter, yet one week can matter more than the total: when the lake-effect event of November 2022 hit, the airport collected 22.7 inches and Mishawaka collected 20.7. Snow packs against rooftop units and drifts to the high side of any roof step, and meltwater that cannot get to a frozen drain finds the weakest lap. The city also has about 148 days of measurable precipitation a year and a 24-hour rainfall record of 4.88 inches from August 1995, so drains, scuppers and overflow openings get tested in every season.

Temperature swings add to that. South Bend has ranged from minus 22 to 104 degrees, and a membrane that has to expand and contract that far wears at seams and flashings, especially around the metal curbs under equipment. Hail of 1 inch fell in South Bend on June 1, 2019, and EF0 tornadoes on October 12, 2016 caused straight-line wind damage in the city.

Planning the next ten years of the roof

For a roof that will carry more equipment, the useful question is what it can bear. A denser insulation and cover board layer under equipment pads resists crushing, walkway pads protect the service paths, and drainage that sits clear of pipe runs keeps water moving. Owners planning rooftop solar should match the membrane's remaining life to the array, which is the reasoning behind solar-ready roofing. The city pitched the park on the Studebaker corridor's location and power capacity for technology firms, and tenants who come for power tend to bring electrical and cooling gear that ends up on the roof.

Cost and timing follow how many penetrations there are, how much insulation is wet, how the work fits around live space and what the weather allows. Permits for roof work go through the local building department, so the scope, the insulation values and the schedule are settled with the owner before any membrane is ordered. The Renaissance District, a mixed-use technology campus being redeveloped on the southwest edge of downtown South Bend, raises the same two questions: what can the membrane carry, and where do the penetrations go. For facilities teams with another address in Mishawaka, the same photo log keeps each building's findings separate.

Commercial Roofing Questions

A tenant wants to add a rooftop cooling unit. What should the property manager do before the crane shows up?

Call us for a short walk of the roof first. We check the membrane where the unit will sit, the drains nearby and the route the crane and technicians will take, and we flash each new curb and line before the unit is set. Afterward we return to look at the flashings, since sealants and fasteners move once a unit starts running.

How do we protect a data hall when a leak shows up on a stormy night?

Make the water stop falling first. We check the drain nearest the leak, assess the opening and ask the tenant to protect equipment and keep panels closed. When access and conditions allow, temporary protection limits further water entry; permanent repair follows a safe inspection.

Who pays when a tenant's contractor damages the membrane?

That depends on the lease, and your counsel can answer it. What we supply is the evidence: a photo log of the roof before and after the visit, the location of the damage and a repair estimate.

Should we coat the roof or replace it before leasing the building to a technology tenant?

Coating makes sense over a dry, sound system with a worn surface, and replacement makes sense where insulation is wet or seams have failed. A moisture survey and a few core samples give the answer, and a written condition report lets the tenant see what they are leasing.

Will the roof handle heavy snow once we add equipment?

Added equipment changes where snow drifts and how much weight the structure carries in those spots. We report where drifts form against units and steps, and the owner's engineer decides whether the structure needs review.

Related Roof Work

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