Field tool · runs in your browser, no contact info required
Repair, restore, or replace?
Five questions, one honest answer. The same triage logic a good commercial consultant runs on a roof walk, minus the invoice.
Repair vs restore vs replace
How often does this roof leak?
Count service calls over the last 24 months, not just the ones you remember.
The result is a starting position based on your answers, not an inspection. Roofs earn their final verdict from a moisture survey and a specialist on the deck. Full disclaimer.
Why do owners get this decision wrong so often?
Because the failure modes are invisible from the ground and the sales incentives point in every direction. A roof that leaks in three places looks the same from the parking lot as one with saturated insulation across half the field, but they are different decisions with a six-figure gap between them. Owners who decide by gut, or by whichever contractor called back first, systematically overpay in one of two ways: replacing roofs that had a decade of restorable life, or pouring repair money into assemblies that were already dead underneath.
What evidence does the tree weigh?
Four things, in order: leak behavior (isolated versus chronic), membrane condition (sound, aging, or failing), moisture in the insulation (the decisive number on chronic leakers), and position in service life. That last one uses the same ranges as the lifecycle budget calculator: a membrane at 60 percent of its expected life justifies different money than the same symptoms at 95 percent. When the evidence is genuinely incomplete, the tree says so and sends you to a moisture survey instead of guessing.
What does each verdict actually commit you to?
- Repair: fix the isolated problems properly and start a documented maintenance program. Cheapest verdict by far, but only honest when the field of the roof is genuinely sound.
- Restore: a fluid-applied system over a verified-dry substrate, $2.50 to $6.00 per square foot, adding 10 to 20 years. Details on the coatings system sheet, including the cases where a coating is the wrong answer no matter what the salesperson says.
- Replace: full tear-off and a new assembly. Run the cost estimator for the budget range, then compare proposals on identical scope.
- Get a survey: when wet insulation is the unknown, buy the data first. A few cents per square foot for the number that swings the whole decision is the best money in commercial roofing.
How should you use the verdict?
As your opening position, not your final answer. Bring it to the contractor conversation and make every proposal argue against the evidence: if the tree says restore and a bidder says replace, the burden is on them to show you the wet cores. The system sheets tell you what a sound version of your membrane should look like, and an independent assessment settles what the tree and the sales pitch cannot. Decisions made in that order tend to survive both the budget review and the next hailstorm.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the rule of thumb for repair vs restore vs replace?
- Isolated problems on a roof under 75 percent of its service life: repair. Aging membrane, dry insulation, and a sound deck: restore with a coating. Chronic leaks with over 25 percent wet insulation, or a membrane at end of life: replace. The wet insulation percentage is the number that decides the hard cases.
- Why does wet insulation force replacement?
- Because it never dries in place. Wet polyiso loses most of its R-value, feeds corrosion on steel decks, and turns every future repair into a patch over a saturated sponge. Codes and manufacturers both bar recovering or coating over it, which is why moisture surveys exist.
- How much does each option cost?
- Planning ranges: repairs are usually four figures and immediate; restoration runs $2.50 to $6.00 per square foot; replacement runs $6.50 to $13.00+ per square foot with tear-off. That order of magnitude gap is exactly why the decision deserves ten honest minutes before anyone quotes anything.
- What is a moisture survey and do I really need one?
- An infrared or capacitance scan that maps wet insulation across the roof, typically costing a few cents per square foot. On any chronically leaking roof, yes: it is the only way to know whether you are buying a restoration or burying a problem, and it keeps every bidder honest about scope.
- Can I trust a contractor to make this call for me?
- A good one, yes, but incentives vary: some shops only sell replacements, some only sell coatings. Walk in knowing which answer the evidence points to and ask each bidder to justify a different one. This tree gives you that starting position in under a minute.