5 Reasons You’re Experiencing Roofing Project Delays

As licensed roofing contractors, we do our best to provide accurate estimates – both in terms of cost and timeline. Sometimes, however, unanticipated events cause delays that are out of our control.  

We’ll do our best to communicate with you and provide you with a revised estimate, but we also understand the frustration this can cause for homeowners.  

5 Common Causes Of Roofing Project Delays 

Here are five of the most common reasons roofing projects are delayed or take longer than initially anticipated. 

Weather, weather, and more weather

Any exterior construction work is dependent on the weather. If we have a clear calendar and you schedule a roofing repair in the next week or two following our inspection, odds are the project will move forward as planned because we can check the weather forecast. If, however, you call us back weeks later, the timeline may have to shift. 

Rain and high winds are common in the Bay Area, especially during the winter and early spring months. If the weather forecast compromises the safety of our employees or might introduce moisture into your home/roofing system, we’ll have to reschedule for a fairweather day. The roof deck must be 100% dry before we install additional layers.  

In addition to compromising the integrity of your roofing system, working in rainy or wet weather means our adhesives can’t dry like they’re supposed to, which causes further delays and potential issues. 

Undetected issues in the roofing system

We do our best to detect any underlying issues during our inspection. However, we don’t have laser vision. Significant problems may reveal themselves once we begin tearing out a section of the roof to repair it. Once we’ve removed the old roofing, we perform a thorough inspection of the roof deck. This may reveal more concerns that need to be addressed.  

Moisture damage is relatively common and must be corrected before installing the new top layer. This requires tearing the damaged roof deck out or replacing the entire roof deck before we can install the new shingles or tiles. Ordering new materials plus the extra labor required adds up to an extended construction time. 

Building permit roofing project delays

Every county in the Bay Area requires building permits to be pulled and approved before a roofing repair or replacement project can begin. It’s essential that this paperwork is completed and granted before the project starts to avoid penalties and fines.  

Once in a while, there can be a longer delay between the requesting and issuing of the building permit. We have to wait until those are in place before we can begin or risk losing our license. 

Issues with materials supply or delayed delivery

Contractors are the final stop on the materials supply and delivery chain. We’re forced to wait whenever issues with materials production or supplies are unavailable. Roofing projects are also at the mercy of delayed delivery schedules.  

Our roofing company has long-standing relationships with suppliers in the area, and we always schedule materials delivery in advance of a project to minimize the potential for delays. Even so, an issue at the manufacturing plant or with a particular delivery fleet is out of our control and will create roofing project delays. 

Change orders or remodeling/addition delays

Sometimes a roof replacement or new roofing project is part of a home remodel or addition. As with the materials and delivery chain, our roofing company is part of the full-project picture. A roofing project is delayed If any of the general construction phases get behind schedule or experience delays.  

Similarly, we mentioned the unforeseen issues in #2. If one of those issues is a significant leak, your home may need structural repairs in the attic that must be completed before we can continue finishing the roof. Sometimes, our roofing project delays are a trickle-down effect from issues that started with other contractors or their suppliers. It’s a connected system. 

Central Bay Roofing & Restoration is a licensed roofing contractor serving Alameda and the surrounding communities. We do our very best to provide accurate estimates and timelines, and we immediately communicate with clients when anything shifts in the plan. Our honesty and integrity are how we’ve built our reputation as one of the go-to roofing contractors in the Bay Area. Contact us to get a free estimate for your upcoming roofing project.