Commercial Re-Roofing in Metairie, LA

A recover installs a new membrane over the existing roof covering without removing it. A tear off strips everything back to the deck and starts again. Both are re-roofing. A recover is cheaper, quicker and less disruptive, but the building code only allows it under specific conditions, so the first job is establishing whether it is available on your building rather than deciding whether you want it.

Three hard stops. Where the existing roof or covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that it is no longer an adequate base for additional roofing. Where the existing covering is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos cement tile. And where the roof already carries two or more applications of any type of covering. Any one of those means a tear off.

A test cut, which takes minutes and is patched immediately. It is worth doing even when the building records look clear, because records are frequently wrong on this, particularly on buildings that changed hands or were re-roofed after a storm without a permit. Being wrong about the layer count is the difference between a compliant project and one an inspector stops.

Estimated ranges. A recover typically runs $4 to $12 per square foot depending on the system and how much insulation or cover board goes into the build up. A full tear off and replacement runs $5 to $20 per square foot on the system selected. Those are market estimates. The written scope on your building, after the survey, carries the real figure.

Two to six weeks on a typical Metairie commercial building, depending on the system, the size of the roof and how much of the existing assembly has to come off. A recover on a dry single layer roof sits at the shorter end. A full tear off with deck repair sits at the longer end, and weather moves both.

Yes. Commercial re-roofing requires a Jefferson Parish commercial building permit rather than the flat residential re-roof form, and the parish applies the 2021 International Building Code to commercial work. Jefferson Parish's published commercial submittal requirements call for a complete set of plans by a Louisiana registered architect or civil engineer, with a statement of supervision on the first sheet, and the parish publishes no roofing specific exemption from that. It also notes that circumstances particular to an application may dictate deviations from its standard requirements, so the scope is confirmed with the Building Permits Department before anything is filed. Big Easy Roofing runs that process as part of the project.

Almost always, and on retail, restaurant and medical buildings it is the normal expectation. The roof is worked in sections and left watertight at the end of each day, and noisy operations can be scheduled around trading hours or a delivery window. A tear off is more disruptive than a recover, which is one of the practical arguments for a recover where the code allows one.

A recover done to the manufacturer's specification over a compliant substrate can normally carry its own new warranty, including a no dollar limit warranty on qualifying systems. What manufacturers will not warrant is a recover over a substrate that does not meet their conditions, which in practice usually means trapped moisture. That is another reason the moisture survey comes before the quote.

Yes, and a re-roof is the natural moment to do it. On a recover, insulation or a cover board can be added into the new build up. On a tear off you get a clean start. Energy code requirements apply to the work, and the payback on the additional insulation is worth running as its own number on a large Metairie roof rather than treating it as an upgrade.

Then the quote is a guess. Whether a recover is even permitted depends on the layer count, the existing covering type and how much of the insulation is wet, and none of those can be established from the ground or from a satellite image. Ask any bidder how they established the layer count and the moisture condition, and treat a route recommended without a survey as an unpriced risk.