Close-up of a corrugated metal roof showcasing diagonal layering and texture.

Commercial Roofing Services for Condos and HOAs (Podcast)

In this episode, John Maher talks with Brett Rogenski, General Manager of Master Roofers, about the unique roofing challenges faced by condos and homeowners associations. Rogenski explains the importance of clear communication between residents, boards, and roofing contractors, especially when dealing with shared structures and approvals. He outlines the most common issues—including aging roofs, skylight replacements, and material choices—and recommends durable systems like GAF shingles and TPO for flat roofs. Brett also emphasizes the value of regular roof inspections, small repairs, and proactive budgeting to extend roof life and avoid costly surprises. The episode highlights how Master Roofers collaborates with HOAs and property managers to deliver tailored, long-lasting roofing solutions.

John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher and I'm here today with Brett Rogenski, General Manager of Master Roofers, the most trusted roofing company in New Hampshire for over 80 years. Today our topic is commercial roofing services for condos and homeowners associations. Welcome, Brett.

Brett Rogenski: Thanks for having me today, John. I appreciate it.

Common Roofing Challenges with Condos and HOAs

Maher: Sure. Brett, what are some of the most common roofing challenges that are faced by condos and homeowners associations, and how do you address those?

Rogenski: Sure. Well, one challenge that I'd like to bring up early about working with condo associations and HOAs is there's a lot of clear rules. And if you're a condo owner or part of an HOA, a lot of times there are some pretty clear rules on what you can do as the property owner and what you need either permission to do, or what is the responsibility of the condo association.

So, for instance, all condos and that sort of thing require roofs, right? And more often than not, they're a shingle roof. That's usually the responsibility of the condo association or the HOA to maintain that.

Now, the problem with that is if you have a leak in your space, John, there may be four other families under that same roof. And it's not just your call that we go re-roof this, the condo association, that's actually typically part of the association fees you do. So now, it goes to the board and they have to approve it and that sort of thing.

So, I guess I would tell you one of the challenges for condo owners and condo associations and homeowners is communication and getting that consensus and what am I allowed to do? What is my responsibility? Versus, what is the responsibility of the HOA or condo association? And we work with folks on that all the time. We know what's pretty typical and we'd like to help give guidance where we can.

But typical problems that we run into are around re-roofing. A roof is finally run its lifespan or is having leaks, or maybe, I hope not, but maybe it wasn't properly done originally. And also, we do a lot where it's skylights, either the addition of skylights or more frequently skylights having lived out their lifetime and needing replacement. So, those are probably the two most common things that we're dealing with in condos and with HOAs.

Roofing Materials for Multifamily Dwellings

Maher: What roofing materials or systems do you typically recommend for multifamily dwellings and why?

Rogenski: Sure. Most of the multifamily dwellings that we see in our area are shingled roofs. And we're big fans of the GAF product line, their Timberline HDZ and their Timberline UHDZ. The big reasons being, number one, it's a great product. Number two, the GAF system is a really great system as far as giving your roof protection and longevity.

So, it's a great investment as well as the fact that because we're a master elite certified installer with GAF, we can back that with a warranty depending on what the consumers choose of up to even 50 years. So if you think about it, if you're a condo association or a homeowner's association, if you choose to work with us and you choose a certain system, that roof can now be warranted by GAF and Master Roofers for up to 50 years. So pretty much, that roof's not your problem for half a century.

So, which materials do we see most typically? We're typically seeing shingle. There are definitely, and especially in some converted buildings, flat roofs there. A lot of flat roofs that we find, especially with older technology, are EPDM "rubber roofs". And flat roofing takes a beating in New England. Okay? So, those rubber roofs have a definite lifespan.

And in New England, because we have all four seasons, roofs and building materials expand and contract. It's hot, it's cold, it's 60 out one day, it's negative 10 a different day. And eventually they all break down and fail, no matter how great a job you did installing them. But it's usually, hopefully decades down the line.

So, the two things that we see typically and that we recommend typically, depending on the situation, are re-roofing with EPDM rubber on flat roofs, if you already have EPDM rubber. Or potentially looking at TPO, Thermoplastic Olefin, which is a newer technology than EPDM. A little more cost-effective and comes with a lot of advantages as well in our minds. So again, it really depends. Each roof is a little different, how it's built, is it a historic building, is it not? And how we can approach it from there.

Logistical Aspects of Roofing a Multi-Unit Dwelling

Maher: And how do you handle the logistics of working on a roof in a multi-unit environment in order to minimize the disruption for different families or residents of the building?

Rogenski: Sure. A lot of that is us working, and that's why we mentioned earlier that we have a lot of existing relationships with HOAs and condo associations. And we know how to work with them. A lot of that's about communication, and they may have their own guidelines as well. So, for instance, on a replacement of a roof on a multi-family condo, they may require 30 days' notice or whatever, for all members of that unit before we can do it. So, it's high communication.

We also respect the fact that there's multiple people's families here. These folks here might be retired, the next folks are getting up and going to work the next day, the folks after that have a baby at home. And you know what, two of the three people don't want us there banging on the roof at seven A.M. So, it's about communication, working around working hours, and also if there are any special needs.

We also respect that there are in typically multiple entries and exits to these homes, protecting those so that people can come and go appropriately throughout the day with us minimizing any impact on that. So, a lot of it's about communication, giving proper notice, setting proper expectations, and us of course, being respectful of this isn't just one person's house even, it's 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 people's homes.

Preventative Maintenance for Roofing on Condos and HOAs

Maher: And what kind of preventive maintenance strategies do you recommend for condos and HOAs in terms of implementing in order to extend the roof's lifespan?

Rogenski: Sure. First thing that we recommend is regularly scheduled roof inspections. So, for a small fixed fee, we'll come and do an annual or even biannual, whatever they choose, roof inspection where we physically get up and inspect that roof and provide them a written roofing report. It involves not only words, but we're also including pictures of what we found. So, looking for any deficiencies and being able to point those out to the HOA or condo association, and recommend any necessary repairs or solutions to whatever the challenges are. So, that's the best way.

And again, it's a lot like maintaining your car. It's finding the little things and not letting them grow into big things. So, if we find little soft spots in the roof, we find displaced shingles, not letting that turn into a leak. Which then turns into rotten plywood, which then turns into having to replace an entire section of a roof if we just keep kicking the can down the line. So, roof inspections are great.

And also executing on those little repairs. When someone starts having a leak around a chimney, number one, notifying their condo association or HOA about an ASAP. And then B, the condo association or HOA allowing us to come make that repair as fast as we possibly can. Either through our service team or if it's a larger project through our installation team.

Working with Property Managers and Condo Associations for Roofing

Maher: And then finally, how do you work with property managers and boards and condo associations to plan and budget and communicate roofing projects effectively? Do you have to show up at homeowners association meeting and give them a proposal for what you're looking to do, that sort of thing?

Rogenski: Sure. So, that's a great question. So, usually what the HOAs, condo associations, et cetera do initially is they have us come perform whatever the appropriate assessment is, develop a proposal. And they usually have a point person, maybe a maintenance director that we're working with, a board member.

A lot of times it's a couple team members there. So, maybe a maintenance director and a board member become our point people. And they say, "Okay, here's..." We come back to them and tell them what we found. They come back and tell us what they would like for a proposal in terms of scope of work based on our findings. And then we present them with written options that they can present and start building either into a budget or present to the board.

I had mentioned earlier that we recommend regular roof inspections. When we do that, you can start to really get a much better idea of how the roof is aging. And you can start... You mentioned an important thing, budgeting, because again, with an HOA or a condo association, they're accumulating money to plan for projects and improvements.

So, if you make a small investment in regular roof assessments that are written roof assessments, involve pictures, all that, take care of your maintenance, you can start seeing, Hey, you know what? We're about 10 years away from this roof approaching end of life. They can then start accruing money to be ready for that re-roof when it comes. Instead of, quite frankly, 10 years from now, we come in and we're like, "There's no solutions left except for a re-roof.", and they haven't properly budgeted for that.

Then they have to start talking about either special assessments or taking out loans. So, we'd much rather do these little incremental things where they can see the re-roof coming and budget for it appropriately and plan appropriately.

Maher: All right. Well, that's really great information, Brett. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Rogenski: Thank you for having me.

Maher: And for more information about Master Roofers, you can visit the website at masterroofers.com or call 603-623-4973.