Identifying roof restorations in lieu of replacements to avoid cost and optimize budget

The Challenge

This financial institution with a retail presence in over 25 large U.S. markets, and C&I banking nationwide, was presented with a 10-year, $135M (in 2019 dollars) roof capital project list by its previous roof consultant who happened to also be a roofing contractor.

With the proposed cost being difficult to stomach, the bank’s facilities management team reached out to Mantis Innovation to dive deeper into the assessment data collected by the other firm.

What we found was alarming. The ratio of replacements to restorations was extremely high, leading to what we believed to be an inflated construction amount.

The Goal

Uncover opportunities to restore roofs to extend service life in lieu of replacements.

The Solution

To find out for sure, Mantis Innovation collaborated with the client to identify around 300 priority sites that held the greatest opportunity for cost avoidance and visually re-assess their roofs based on three key factors:

Roof Condition: Roofs that were already suspected to be in the best shape or in the worst were omitted from the assessments. Roofs that were suspected to be in average condition were targeted for due diligence to ensure any replacement costs were required or if any could be restored for significantly lower cost with a slight compromise on life expectancy.

Leak History & Cost: As the field narrowed, the next sites up for consideration were those with frequent, repeat, and/or costly leaks. Shoring up this portion of the portfolio at nominal cost was important to the client.

Expected Capital Project Cost: Finally, roofs that were going to cost an exorbitant amount to replace were considered for due diligence to confirm whether they were truly in need of replacement or not.

The Result

With 302 sites evaluated, the results have been compelling.

A significant portion of the roofs slated for replacement could be restored for a fraction of that cost—one third the amount in some cases—with minimal impact on estimated remaining service life. This will allow the client to execute many more roofing projects with their limited budget than originally thought.

Project Benefits

Identified options for restoration

• Restoration, in lieu of reconstruction, is a high ROI impact activity when available

Cost avoidance

• Implementing a sound program can uncover opportunities to eliminate unecessary expense

Planning for the future

• The client has a better understanding of available options for their roofs

Reallocating funds

• By reducing cost, organizations are able to focus their budget on other priorities