Roof Check-Up Before the Cold: Make Sure Your Rooftop Equipment Is Operating Properly Before Winter Arrives

It seems like the cold weather always arrives with a bang in New York City. One day it’s balmy and you’re watching the last of the leaves fall. The next day, it’s time to turn on the radiators and prepare for snow. Don’t get caught with heating season arriving before you’ve had a chance for a roof check-up. Here’s why fall maintenance is essential for condo and co-op buildings, along with some expert tips about protecting your rooftop equipment through all four seasons.

Why Fall Check-Ups Are As Important as Spring Cleaning

Extending the lifespan of rooftop equipment

Rooftop exhaust fans are a key component of your wintertime ventilation system. However, equipment up on the roof tends to be out of sight, out of mind. Forgoing routine assessment and repairs because you forget can make your fans break down faster than they should.

If the damage is too serious, the entire unit must be replaced, which causes headaches and expense for you as a property owner or manager. You can lengthen the useful life of your rooftop equipment by doing yearly fall check-ups.

Preparing for heating season

Once it’s time to turn on the boiler and get the heat going inside your building, you want to be ready. You don’t want occupants complaining about poor ventilation. Nor do you want to wait until the temperatures drop to take care of a task that’s easier in nice autumn weather.

Remember too that specialists like Antler Pumps tend to get booked up once winter begins in earnest, so it’s easier to schedule convenient maintenance appointments now than wait until the calendar is full. Even worse, you could face an exhaust fan malfunction and be saddled with an emergency service call.

The benefits of good ventilation

Recent public health issues in New York and around the globe have underscored the importance of proper ventilation inside public and multi-unit buildings. Not only does better air quality prevent the spread of illness, but it also reduces problems due to allergens, smoke odors, carbon monoxide buildup, soot accumulation, and mold. Failure to provide adequate ventilation can result in unhappy building occupants or even citations from the city.

Signs Your Rooftop Equipment Is Overdue for a Check-Up

Poor ventilation

If you haven’t had your rooftop equipment – especially rooftop exhaust fans – checked in over a year, your building may be showing signs of poor ventilation:

• Stale musty air
• Prevalence of unpleasant odors
• Buildup of mildew and mold due to dampness
• Occupant complaints about allergies, asthma, and respiratory disorders
• Carbon monoxide detectors being triggered
• High radon readings
• Increase in colds, flu, and other illnesses
• Worse air quality on lower floors
• Occupants using open windows for ventilation, which wastes heat
• Noisy fans
• Exhaust and ventilation elements that don’t work or only work intermittently
• Operation of exhaust fans triggers circuit breaker

Exhaust fan degradation

Your rooftop exhaust fans may also show visible signs of neglect and aging. Like interior ventilation components, they may be noisy or run unreliably. You may see rust or encrustation with undesirable materials. Electrical parts may be frayed or broken.

Often, we find rooftop equipment clogged with leaves, especially at the end of autumn. Like gutters, they should be cleaned of debris once the last of the trees have shed their leaves. This is also a good opportunity to remove any trash in the vicinity (another potential clog) and for Antler Pumps to check over all the fan components to make sure they’re operating properly.

Other Things You Can Do to Protect Rooftop Equipment

Prevent ice and snow damage

Once we’ve completed a rooftop check-up for your building, you can help keep your exhaust fans operating smoothly by ensuring they’re not blocked or damaged by snow and ice. Clear a path around them and check the equipment after major storms.

You may also wish to invest in rooftop barriers for around your exhaust fans. These function as another form of defense, in addition to the shields that most fans have to keep out animals, branches, and the like. They serve multiple purposes:

• Block blowing snow, plant matter, and trash from the fan area
• Make the rooftop more aesthetically pleasing
• Reduce noise from rooftop equipment
• Separate fans and other equipment from tenant areas if there are rooftop decks

Springtime cleanup

After winter, it’s the ideal time to perform another roof check-up. You will probably use your exhaust fans in summer too, so you want to make sure they’re still in good shape. And you can see if there’s any winter damage that you want to take care of right away, versus waiting for the fall.

Summer maintenance checks

We recommend that our clients do routine rooftop checks throughout the year to supplement professional maintenance by Antler Pumps. You can check over your cooling towers and evaluate any other rooftop equipment, such as water storage tanks, at the same time. Once rooftop check-ups become a habit, you’ll find your equipment runs better and you catch little problems before they become larger, more expensive ones.

Have you scheduled your building’s roof check-up yet to make sure your equipment is ready for proper winter interior ventilation? Don’t wait until a cold snap catches you by surprise! Call Antler Pumps today at 212-534-2500 to schedule your appointment, and you can relax knowing that’s one more thing that’s been taken care of when winter arrives.