The roofing line is where a Coeur d'Alene schedule goes sideways, and the cause is almost always the same: the snow-load number was not in the bid. Four numbers on the city sheet move the roof scope: 60 psf of snow, 115 mph of wind, a 24 inch frost line and required ice barrier underlayment. Every one of them changes the roof scope, and every one can show up as a change order if the bid skipped it. Send us the plans and the sheet. What you get back is a base scope, alternates and change-order triggers on their own lines, plus a dry-in date for the interior trades to schedule against.
The call: the dry-in date is the deliverable
You do not need a roof. You need a dry building by a date, so the drywall, the electrical and the mechanical trades can start. We write the schedule backward from that date: tear-off or deck, insulation, membrane, flashing, dry-in. Each step has a duration, a weather condition and a hold point.
If the date slips, you see it the day it slips, not at the end. We send a daily note with photographs, the percent dried in and tomorrow's plan. If weather will cost a day, we say so by mid-afternoon, so you can move a trade. A roofer who reports once a week is a roofer who will surprise you.
Float matters. We build two or three weather days into any roof schedule and tell you where they sit. A schedule with no float is a schedule that fails on the first wet Tuesday. If you need a tighter date, we price the extra crew or the temporary protection that buys it, and you decide whether the saved days are worth the cost.
What it costs: the lines that become change orders
Six items turn into change orders on a North Idaho roof. Wet insulation found at tear-off. Deck repair. Added curbs from a late mechanical change. Ice barrier at eaves and valleys. Heavier perimeter fastening for wind. Drift framing beside tall walls. We put every one in the bid as a unit price or an allowance with a cap.
That way the owner sees the cost of the unknown before award, and you see a bid that already holds the numbers. A low bid that leaves them out is a bid you will rewrite in July. We would rather lose a number on price and win it on schedule.
Allowances need a cap and an end date. An allowance with no cap is an invitation, and one with no end date is a loose end at closeout. We write both into the bid, name who approves a draw and give you the running total in the daily note. You can pass that to the owner without rewriting it.
What the code sheet says: one sheet, checked at submittal
Every commercial roof submittal in the city is reviewed against one published sheet of adopted codes and design criteria. It adds Seismic Design Category C and a severe weathering rating to the snow, wind and frost values, and the statewide 2018 building and energy codes sit underneath it.
Read it before the roof is drawn. The energy code sets insulation thickness. The snow load sets framing and drift pockets. The wind speed sets the fastener pattern and edge metal. Wet snow twenty inches deep on a flat roof is a real load. Get the submittal right once and the inspector signs off without a reroute. A submittal that arrives with the snow-load assumption stated, the drift locations marked and the ice barrier called out on the eave detail clears review faster than one the inspector has to send back with questions, and the day saved lands in front of your interior trades. We prepare the roof package to match the sheet: assembly, fastener pattern, edge details, ice barrier locations and the snow-load assumption, with product data attached.
Where it fails first: tie-ins, curbs and the dry-in sequence
On new construction, roofs fail at the tie-in between the new roof and the old, at curbs set late by the mechanical trade and at wall flashings installed before the wall finish was settled. Out-of-order work is the source. When the mechanical contractor sets a unit after the membrane is down, someone cuts the roof.
Fix it with sequence. Curbs and sleepers go in before the membrane. Penetrations are scheduled, not improvised. Wall flashings wait for the wall to be final. Our commercial roof replacement work uses the same order on reroofs, and the roof diagram names the trade responsible for each item. A pre-roof meeting with the mechanical, electrical and framing leads settles who sets what and when, and it takes thirty minutes. Skipping it is how a curb ends up in the wrong place.
Alternates: the options that win or lose the owner
Give the owner choices with prices. Tapered insulation to cure ponds. A cover board for hail and foot traffic, specified through roof insulation and cover board. A heavier edge for 115 mph. Walkway pads from the hatch to each unit. A longer manufacturer program term, where offered. Each is a bid alternate, and the owner picks.
The same list works on tilt-up flex industrial buildings and for public owners such as public agencies and school districts. On a claim-driven job for insurance restoration, the adjuster's scope sets the base.
Schedule and snow window: when to lock the roofer
Dry weeks are scarce on the Prairie, and Post Falls gets about 59 inches of snow in a year. Lock the roofer before the permit, not after it, because a crew and a material order take weeks. Projects in Riverbend Commerce Park and Post Falls run on tilt-up schedules that put the roof early, and a late roofer holds up every trade behind.
A half-open roof over a framed building is a loss waiting for a gust, so we tie down every edge at the end of each shift. Temporary protection is priced in the base, and you see it as a line, not as a surprise in October.
Winter handoffs are a planning item. If the roof cannot finish before snow, we dry in what is open with temporary membrane, protect the deck and give you a written start date for the spring. That keeps the interior trades working under a closed shell, and it keeps the permanent roof from being laid in freezing weather.
Closeout: the punch list you can close in one visit
The closeout set you receive holds seam, flashing and drain photographs, a roof diagram, product data, inspection sign-offs and a dated punch list. We close the list in one visit when we can. The owner gets a maintenance calendar, a fall drain check on the schedule, and the file you need for your own closeout.
Commercial Roofing Questions
What dry-in date can you commit to?
We commit once we see the plans, the material lead time and the snow window. The date goes in the schedule with hold points.
How do you handle late curb changes from the mechanical trade?
As a unit price per curb, with a cutoff date. After the cutoff, a curb costs more because it means cutting the new roof.
What if we find wet insulation at tear-off?
It is a unit price per square foot, written into the bid, with a cap.
Can you work through the winter?
Not for permanent roofing. We dry in with temporary protection and schedule the permanent roof for the next dry window.
What do you report during the job?
A daily note with photographs, the percent dried in and tomorrow's plan.