To the board member who drew the roof project
Somebody on the board always ends up owning the roof. You didn’t sign up to learn membrane chemistry, but the top-floor units are reporting stains, the manager forwarded three wildly different bids, and the reserve study says the roof line item was supposed to be four years away. This page is for you.
We install and replace flat roofs on condominium buildings, apartment buildings, and townhome associations across Chicagoland. That includes the vintage brick walk-ups and courtyard buildings that fill towns like Cicero and Berwyn, mid-century elevator buildings, and newer townhome communities with flat or low-slope sections. We don’t do repairs, we don’t sell coatings, and we don’t cold-call boards. Installations and replacements, with paperwork built for how associations actually decide.
Why association roofs fail the way they do
Multifamily flat roofs in Chicagoland share a failure pattern. The buildings are older than most commercial stock, many pre-war, so the roof is generation four or five, often two layers deep, over decks and parapets that have been through a century of freeze-thaw. Masonry parapets move and crack, and their flashings and copings are the number one leak path we find. Scuppers and internal drains clog and back water up under snow. And because heat from the units below melts snow unevenly, association roofs take winter ice damage hard: ice at drains, ice under flashings, freeze-thaw prying open every seam that was marginal in October. Meanwhile the leak shows up in one owner’s unit, gets patched, moves, and shows up in another owner’s unit the following spring. Boards can spend years funding patches on a roof that ended its life quietly some time ago.
What we install on multifamily buildings
Association roofs are usually smaller and more cut up than warehouse decks, with penthouses, vents, chimneys, and decks in the way. That changes the calculus. EPDM is often the front-runner: decades of freeze-thaw track record and comfortable on complicated, penetration-heavy roofs. Modified bitumen brings two-ply redundancy and stands up to the foot traffic that rooftop decks and mechanicals invite, with self-adhered options where open flame near an occupied residential building is off the table. TPO makes sense on larger, simpler roof fields. We install Carlisle, GAF, and GenFlex systems, and we spec manufacturer system warranties: the transferable, in-writing kind a future board can actually find in the files.
The board process, respected
We know how this actually goes. Illinois associations generally need multiple bids for a project this size, the decision happens at a board meeting, the money comes from reserves or a special assessment nobody wants, and every step needs to survive owner scrutiny. Our process was built for that. The itemized scope arrives by email as a document: measurements, photos, core sample findings, system options at different price tiers, insulation plan, schedule, and warranty terms. It reads clearly enough to attach to meeting minutes. There are no sales calls, so no one is pressuring your board between meetings, and the scope is built to be compared line by line against other bids. If the honest finding is that your roof has years left, the assessment says that too, which is worth a lot the next time an owner asks why the board is or isn’t spending.
How to compare the three bids you’ll collect
Since your board will be holding multiple bids, here’s what to compare, line by line. First, is it a tear-off or a recover, and did the contractor pull core samples before deciding? A bid without cores is a guess wearing a number. Second, the insulation: what R-value is being installed, and does it meet current code? Two bids can differ substantially just because one is quietly reusing old insulation. Third, the flashing count: parapets, chimneys, vents, and deck posts are where association roofs leak, and a bid that doesn’t itemize them is planning to argue about them later. Fourth, the warranty: a manufacturer system warranty covering membrane and workmanship is a different animal from a contractor’s own promise, and your successors on the board will care which one is in the file. A one-page bid with a single number fails all four tests. Treat it accordingly.
Living under the work
Reroofing an occupied residential building means people are home. We schedule tear-off noise for mid-morning hours, keep courtyards and entrances clear and protected, stage material lifts away from parking, and close every section watertight every day. Owners get a plain-language notice of what to expect through your manager before work starts.
Start with the document
Submit the form. An estimator walks your roof within 48 hours, cores it if the insulation is suspect, and emails the itemized scope. Bring it to your next meeting. If you’re budgeting rather than buying, our guide to planning a roof replacement in a reserve study is a good place to send the treasurer.
Free Association Roof Assessment
On-site roof assessment within 48 hours. Itemized scope by email.
Licensed • Insured • 20+ Years of Commercial Roofing
Frequently Asked Questions
Our association needs three bids. Will your quote work for that process?
It's designed for it. You get an itemized scope by email: measurements, photos, core findings, system options, insulation plan, and warranty terms, broken out line by line so it can be compared directly against other bids. No sales calls between meetings, no expiration pressure. Boards tell us it's the bid the other bids get measured against.
The reserve study says the roof has six years left, but units are leaking now. Who's right?
The core samples are right. Reserve studies estimate from age and roof type; they don't see wet insulation or failed flashings. Our assessment gives you a physical answer: if the roof genuinely has years left, we'll document that and your board patches with confidence. If it's done, you'll have the evidence owners need to see before an assessment vote.
Do owners have to leave their units during the work?
No. The work happens from the roof. Owners will hear tear-off for a few days over their section and see a crane on delivery days, and top-floor residents should expect some noise. We schedule the loud phases for reasonable hours, protect entrances and courtyards, and send a what-to-expect notice through your manager before we start.