Commercial Roof Replacement — Mandeville, the Northshore & Greater South Louisiana
Full tear-off and re-roof for end-of-service-life commercial roofs — TPO, EPDM, modified bitumen, BUR, metal. Engineered wind-uplift, manufacturer NDL warranty matrix, tenant-operations-respecting sequencing. LA CL69991 · 5-year transferable workmanship warranty.
By the time a commercial roof is being scoped for replacement, the math has usually been obvious for a couple of years. Repeated repairs at the same locations. Wet insulation that doesn't dry. Manufacturer warranty about to expire on a membrane that's already past its warranted service life. The question is rarely whether to replace — it's which system, what warranty, what schedule, and how to keep the building running through the work.
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We built Epic Roofing's commercial replacement practice around the answer to those four questions. Joey Noto spent the decade before founding Epic running full tear-off and re-roof scopes across Baton Rouge commercial. Every Epic replacement gets engineered wind-uplift calculations where the building or insurer requires them, a manufacturer NDL warranty matrix on competing system options, and a written sequencing plan that keeps tenants and operations running.
Why Epic for Commercial Replacement
System selection that matches the building, not the sales pitch
Commercial replacement bid packets usually present a single recommended system. We present two or three competing options — TPO vs. EPDM vs. coating-restoration on substrates that still qualify — with the cost delta, warranty delta, expected service life, and maintenance requirements on each. The building's roof geometry, tenant profile, HVAC layout, and budget drive the recommendation. We tell you which system we'd put on our own building, and why.
Engineered wind-uplift to South Louisiana exposure
South Louisiana commercial sits in wind exposure categories that drive most of the cost of a single-ply system — fastener spacing, edge-metal attachment, perimeter sheet thickness, and field membrane attachment all scale with the wind-uplift requirement. We engineer the system to the building's exposure category and code-required wind-uplift rating. If your property insurer requires FM Global ratings, those are coordinated through our manufacturer partners and included in the bid documentation.
Tenant operations stay running
Most commercial replacements happen on operating buildings — strip retail with active tenants, office with daily occupancy, medical with patient flow, restaurant with lunch and dinner shifts. We sequence the work in zones, stage materials away from the entry, schedule loud deck work outside business hours where the lease requires it, and notify tenants of daily zone schedules.
NDL manufacturer warranty enrollment
Most commercial single-ply NDL (no-dollar-limit) warranty programs require manufacturer inspection of the install, manufacturer-approved fastener spacing, and manufacturer-approved edge-metal detail. We coordinate the manufacturer's inspection during install — not after — so the warranty enrolls correctly the first time. The warranty registration confirmation goes into your owner packet at close.
Photo-doc the install for future facility decisions
Every layer of the install gets photographed — deck condition, vapor retarder where required, insulation layout, membrane field, edge metal, penetration flashings, drain transitions. The photo log goes in your owner packet. Twelve years from now, when the next facility director is making a maintenance-vs-recover decision, the photo log tells them what's under the membrane.
Crews and supervision in-house
Epic self-performs commercial replacement with our own crews. The site supervisor walks the bid, sequences the install, and signs off on close-out. No layered subcontracting — the person you talked to during the bid is on the roof during the work.
The Epic Commercial Replacement Process
Site walk, drone scope, deck condition assessment
We schedule the bid walk inside five business days. The walk includes drone imagery of the full roof, deck-level inspection of edge metal, drains, penetrations, and HVAC curbs, and a non-invasive moisture probe of the existing insulation where access allows. If destructive deck testing is needed — cutting a 12×12 test patch to confirm structural deck condition — we coordinate with the facility contact before doing it.
System options, warranty matrix, cost comparison
You receive a written bid that compares two or three system options. Each option includes manufacturer part numbers, insulation R-value target, wind-uplift design rating, manufacturer NDL warranty term and conditions, our 5-year transferable workmanship warranty, and total installed cost. If a coating restoration would buy meaningful service life at lower cost, the bid includes that option too.
Schedule, tenant notification, mobilization
Once you select the system and approve the bid, we lock the schedule. Tenant notifications go out 2–4 weeks before mobilization. Materials stage on the site or at our yard, depending on access logistics. HVAC and electrical coordination happens before we tear-off — curb extensions, new penetrations, or condensing-unit relocations are sequenced into the install schedule.
Tear-off, deck repair, dry-in, system install
Tear-off proceeds in zones — never a full roof exposed at one time on a building that needs to stay dry through afternoon rain. Each zone is torn off, deck-inspected, repaired as needed, dried-in with manufacturer-spec underlayment or vapor retarder, and re-roofed before the next zone opens. Daily photo logs go to CompanyCam. If deck conditions force a scope change, the change order is written and approved before the work proceeds.
Edge metal, penetrations, manufacturer inspection
Once the field membrane is installed, edge metal, drip edge, and gravel-stop terminations go in per the manufacturer's NDL detail. Penetration boots, HVAC curb flashings, and drain transitions complete. The manufacturer's NDL inspector walks the roof before close-out and confirms warranty enrollment.
Punch-list walk, magnetic sweep, owner packet
Close-out includes a punch-list walk with the facility contact, magnetic nail sweep of the perimeter ground and parking, manufacturer warranty registration confirmation, photo log delivery, and the printed and digital owner packet — everything the next facility director or building owner needs to maintain the warranty and the roof.
Replacement Systems We Install
TPO single-ply
Most common for strip retail, office, medical. Mechanically attached or fully adhered, 60-mil to 80-mil thickness depending on traffic load and warranty target. 20–30 year manufacturer warranty available, NDL upgrade available. White reflective membrane meets energy-code reflectivity requirements where applicable.
TPO Roofing →EPDM single-ply
Industrial and low-traffic commercial. Black or white reflective rubber, fully adhered or mechanically attached, 90-mil typical thickness. 20–30 year manufacturer warranty. A better choice than TPO where degreaser fumes, vehicle exhaust, or chemical exposure would attack TPO.
EPDM Roofing →Modified bitumen / BUR
Multi-ply asphalt systems for older commercial, churches with complex geometry, industrial where puncture resistance matters more than reflectivity. Self-adhered or torch-down modified bitumen, or traditional BUR with multiple felt plies.
BUR Systems →Standing seam metal commercial
Mechanically seamed or snap-lock metal panels for schools, agricultural, hospitality, and architectural commercial. McElroy Metal partner — full panel and finish warranty available. The longest service life of any commercial system, at the highest initial cost.
Standing Seam Metal →Re-roof vs. recover decision math
On qualifying substrate, a recover scope (new membrane installed over the existing) can save 30–40% versus full tear-off and re-roof. Recover qualifies when the existing insulation is dry across the field, the existing membrane is sound enough to provide a stable substrate, and code allows the additional roof weight. Most South Louisiana commercial buildings qualify for one recover before tear-off becomes mandatory. We qualify the substrate during the bid walk and quote both options when recover is available.
Cost Context
Commercial replacement quotes that come in at a single per-square-foot number leave out the variables that actually move the cost: insulation R-value target, wind-uplift design rating, deck condition, edge-metal complexity, penetration count, manufacturer NDL warranty term, and access logistics. A 20,000 sq ft TPO replacement on clean deck with standard penetrations prices very differently from a 20,000 sq ft mod-bit tear-off on a 1970s building with wet insulation and zero parking-lot staging.
Capex framing for facility budgets
Most commercial replacement projects sit on facility capex budgets two or three fiscal years out. The bid we deliver includes a budget projection (high-low range), expected service life by system, annual maintenance cost over service life, and total cost-of-ownership math. Property managers and building owners use that math to compare against the run-the-current-roof-with-repairs scenario.
Coating-vs-replacement decision math
Where the substrate has 5+ years of serviceable life and the only failure mode is UV degradation or minor seam separation, a silicone or acrylic coating restoration can extend service life 10–15 years at 30–50% of full-replacement cost. Wet insulation, structural deck deterioration, or major edge-metal failure are replacement triggers, not coating candidates. We tell you which path the roof qualifies for, with photo evidence.
End-of-warranty decisions before they're emergencies
A roof at year 18 of a 20-year warranty is approaching a window where small failures become uncovered. The best time to scope replacement is year 16–17, when the building has 3–4 years of budget runway before the warranty expires. We can scope a 3-year capex projection at any point in the warranty cycle, so facility budgets stay ahead of the curve.
Commercial Roof Replacement FAQs
How long does a commercial roof replacement take?
A 10,000 sq ft single-ply replacement typically runs 5–8 working days from mobilization to close-out on clean-deck conditions. A 30,000 sq ft mod-bit tear-off with deck repair can run 3–4 weeks. We project a working-day count and an outside-weather-window completion date in the bid, both based on the system selected and the expected deck condition.
Can the building stay open during replacement?
Yes — most commercial replacements happen on operating buildings. We sequence the work in zones so the building stays dry through afternoon storms, stage materials away from the entry, schedule loud deck work outside business hours where the lease requires it, and notify tenants of the daily zone schedule. We've completed replacements on operating medical, retail, and restaurant tenants without business interruption.
What kind of warranty do I get?
Our 5-year transferable workmanship warranty auto-transfers to the next building owner with no paperwork and no conditions. Manufacturer material warranties run 20–30 years on TPO and EPDM, longer with NDL upgrade. NDL warranties require manufacturer inspection during install, which we coordinate as part of every NDL-enrolled scope.
Do you handle the tear-off, or do I need a demo contractor?
Epic handles tear-off as part of the replacement scope. The tear-off is sequenced into the install schedule so the building stays dry through the work, and the existing membrane and insulation are hauled off the site by our crews.
What if the deck is rotted under the existing roof?
We do non-invasive moisture probes during the bid walk and quote for the expected deck-repair scope based on what we find. If the actual deck condition during tear-off is worse than the bid scope, you get a written change order with photo evidence before we touch it. Nothing scope-adjusts without your signature.
Can you coordinate with insurance for a wind-event replacement?
Yes — we document the scope per Louisiana RS 22:1684 boundaries, present scope and photo evidence to your carrier's adjuster on the site visit, and adjust the replacement scope based on the adjuster's approval. We've worked claims with most major commercial carriers.
Do you offer financing for commercial replacement?
Commercial replacement is typically financed through capex budgets or building loans rather than third-party consumer-finance programs. We can refer you to commercial lenders we've worked with on previous projects.
Will an NDL warranty cost a lot more than the standard manufacturer warranty?
Typically a 10–20% cost premium on the system, depending on the manufacturer's program. The NDL warranty covers labor and materials on warranty claims through the warranty term — the standard warranty covers materials only. For larger commercial scopes, the NDL math usually favors the upgrade.
Request Your Commercial Replacement Bid
End-of-service-life or planning a capex replacement two years out — we scope the system options, project the schedule, and quote line-itemized inside 5–10 business days.
Epic Roofing, LLC · 137 Girod Street, Suite 3, Mandeville, LA 70448 · jnoto@builtbyepic.com
LA Commercial CL69991 (exp. 4/30/2027) · LA Residential RL886377 · Fully Insured · More on commercial roofing and commercial repairs