Restaurant Roofing in Kenosha, WI

Exhaust Fans and the Grease Record

The kitchen exhaust is the dominant feature of a restaurant roof. A fan, a duct and a grease containment tray stand over the cooking line, and the surface around them takes a continuous film of vapor that settles and cools. Some membranes tolerate that film. Others soften, blister or lose their reflective surface.

We log each fan with a number, a photograph of the tray, the condition of the membrane within a few feet and the state of the curb flashing. A full tray is a finding. A tray that overflows onto the sheet is a more serious one. The record tells the owner whether the problem is the routine or the roof, and it gives the kitchen manager a specific item to fix before the next inspection.

Cleaning is part of the record. Some grease can be removed with a membrane-safe cleaner, and the before and after frames show whether the surface recovered. Where the sheet has blistered or lost thickness, cleaning will not help, and the entry says so. A walk pad between the access hatch and the fan keeps staff from tracking grease across the rest of the roof, and the report marks where one belongs.

Other Penetrations on a Small Roof

A restaurant roof is small, so its penetrations stand close together. Beside the exhaust fan sit make-up air units, a walk-in cooler condenser, restroom vents, plumbing stacks and rooftop air conditioners. Each has a flashing, and each flashing ages differently.

The inventory numbers each one and rates it. Pitch pans with dried sealant, cracked boots, curbs that have shifted and condensate lines that discharge onto bare membrane are the most common entries. Flashing failures at those spots allow water into a roof assembly that is only a few feet above the dining room ceiling, so a small opening shows up inside quickly, and the date of the first stain goes into the log.

Condensate lines from coolers and rooftop air conditioners deserve a mention here. A line that drips onto bare membrane wears a pale ring, the same way grease leaves a dark one. We photograph both, and the report lists the fix: a splash pad, a rerouted line or a sleeve to a drain. These are small items on the work order and they remove two of the most repeated findings on restaurant roofs.

What a Kenosha Winter Does to a Restaurant Roof

A Kenosha winter delivers about 36.2 inches of snow and has gone as low as minus 31 degrees, in January 1985. A low roof next to tall neighbors collects drifted snow, and warm air from kitchen exhaust melts the snow around the fans while the rest stays frozen. The meltwater refreezes at the edge, so ice forms on scuppers and gutters.

The spring walk records the results: ice scars, split seams near the fan, wet insulation under the melt zone and bent edge metal. Snow and ice damage entries are compared with last year's photographs, which shows whether a spot is getting worse. Heat from the kitchen and cold from the sky meet at the roof, and the record shows where. In Racine, where snowfall averages about 41 inches a year, the same entries apply, and the log notes the difference when we compare two buildings.

Membrane Choice and Survey Findings

When a restaurant roof reaches replacement, the membrane should suit the grease exposure. PVC resists oils and grease better than most single-ply sheets, and it is often the choice near a heavy kitchen exhaust. Other membranes can work where exhaust is well managed. The report states which one the evidence supports.

Before choosing, we recommend a moisture survey and core cuts. Grease can mask surface symptoms, and a roof that looks tired may be dry underneath. The cores record the layers and the moisture, and they show whether a coating, a repair or a replacement is justified. The owner holds the proof, not only the recommendation. A restaurant that rents its space can give the landlord the same file, which makes the conversation about who pays for the roof a conversation about photographs and cores.

Dense Downtown Roofs and Shared Walls

Downtown Kenosha holds more than 50 restaurants, bars, breweries and shops, and the HarborMarket farmers' market runs on 2nd Avenue. A two-mile streetcar line serves downtown and HarborPark, and HarborPark itself stands on the former AMC lakefront plant site. In a downtown block, neighboring buildings can share walls and roof edges, and a restaurant roof may meet a neighbor's at a parapet.

Shared walls add records: which side of the party wall a leak entered, which roof the parapet belongs to, and who maintains the flashing at the joint. We photograph those joints and mark them on both roof plans where we have access. The downtown Kenosha and HarborPark area adds access questions, such as where to stage material and how to protect the sidewalk, and the work plan answers both before the first day.

Scheduling Around Service and the Close-Out File

Restaurants run lunch and dinner services with a quiet window in between. Cuts are made and closed within that window, and the exhaust runs whenever safe. Welded and cold-applied systems avoid open flame over a kitchen, and the crew keeps vent intakes in mind when staging materials, so no odor reaches the dining room. The schedule is part of the report, and it lists noise hours, the deliveries to avoid and the person on site who can stop the work if service changes. At the end of each day the crew walks the finished area and shoots a fresh photograph set.

The close-out file collects the before and after photographs, as-built plan, product data and warranty papers. A hotel with a kitchen and a grocery store with a deli use the same file, because grease and exhaust affect them in the same way.