Restaurant owners and property managers throughout Atlanta know just what I'm talking about with kitchen exhaust systems.
First, you'll see some yellow stains around the exhaust fans, and before long, those areas will get soft and spongy. A technician walks up there for routine maintenance, and suddenly their foot goes right through. TPO and EPDM membranes can't handle grease at all because they're petroleum-based, and the grease melts them away. Atlanta's humid weather makes everything worse, and then those afternoon thunderstorms come along and wash all that contaminated water straight into every weak area.
Commercial roof replacement in metro Atlanta costs tens of thousands of dollars at a minimum. You'll lose money every day since your business has to shut down during the repairs. Most general roofers don't know how to work with the grease damage properly - they'll try to patch it without actually cleaning the grease off first, and then you're paying twice when the repair fails.
Here are some practical ways to fix the grease damage on your commercial roof!
Grease is one problem that commercial property owners don't think about much until it's too late. Once grease makes contact with your roof membrane, it immediately begins to eat away at the materials on a chemical level. Animal fats and cooking oils actually have the ability to dissolve petroleum-based roofing materials, and that's what most commercial membranes are made of. The membrane slowly softens up over time, and then you'll start to see bubbles showing up across the surface. Give it enough time, and the entire section of your roof is going to fail.
Every type of commercial roofing material responds to grease exposure in its own way, and none of them handle it well. EPDM rubber roofs are especially vulnerable because they usually swell up and lose their elasticity once grease has had the time to soak into the material. TPO membranes have their own problems with grease - the material itself gets soft and pliable, and then the edges start to curl up and pull away from the seams.
Any experienced roofing contractor will be able to find grease damage almost immediately during a standard inspection. The damaged areas have a noticeably spongy feeling as you walk across them. During those brutal Atlanta summers, the heat makes everything worse, and you'll usually detect an acrid chemical smell wafting up from the affected areas. Another telltale sign is water pooling in these areas after a rain, because the weakened membrane has sagged down and has created depressions in what should be a flat surface.
What makes grease damage especially expensive is the cascade of failures that it triggers across your entire roofing system. After the membrane itself has been compromised, the adhesives beneath it lose their grip as well. Seams that were once watertight start to separate, and small gaps turn into significant openings. Water inevitably finds these weak points, and before long, you have moisture infiltrating your building's interior.
A standard 10,000 square foot roof could very well set you back $150,000 or more. Commercial roof replacement costs in metro Atlanta usually fall somewhere between $15 and $20 per square foot. The damage progresses slowly in the beginning - you might not even see it for months. Once water enters the equation, though, the deterioration speeds up dramatically. I've seen roofs go from minor damage to total failure in just a few months, and that's why catching and addressing grease problems early can save you a tremendous amount of money.
The early warning signs are easy to miss - just some light yellow staining near the exhaust area that you probably wouldn't even worry about. These patches look like they're no big deal. But they're just the very beginning of what turns into a much bigger problem. As the months go by, that innocent yellow color gets progressively darker and starts to spread outward in all directions. After enough time passes, you're left with these dark brown patches that actually mean your roofing material has already started deteriorating underneath.
Kitchen exhaust fans are the most common source of grease damage. But there are actually a few other problem areas that need attention. HVAC condensate lines can sometimes pull greasy kitchen air into the system and then drip it onto the roof in unexpected locations. Grease traps can overflow during busy periods, and then the kitchen staff accidentally track that mess to the roof access points when they head up to check on equipment or do maintenance tasks.
The best strategy is to document all the damage before you start any repairs whatsoever. Walk every square foot of the roof and mark each stain, every soft or spongy area and any area that seems even slightly compromised. Photos from multiple angles will be very helpful to track how far the damage extends from each source point - I always recommend you take many more photos than you need.
This level of documentation matters a lot because partial fixes never work with grease damage. Only fixing the visible problem areas means that you inevitably miss all the grease that has already seeped beneath the flashings or accumulated in low-lying areas where water tends to pool. That hidden damage continues to spread beneath whatever repairs you make, and within just a few months, you're right back where you started with the same problems all over again!
A standard pressure washer just won't work if you have grease buildup. The problem is that the grease actually forms chemical bonds with the roofing materials themselves, and plain water just can't break through those connections, no matter how hard you spray.
The only way to fix this problem is with alkaline degreasers that have specific surfactants designed to dissolve those stubborn chemical bonds. Professional roofing crews have a whole process that they follow for this type of work, and though it takes some time, the results are worth the wait. First, they'll use metal scrapers to remove the worst of the buildup - the thick, crusty deposits that have been accumulating for years. Then they apply commercial-grade degreasing agents and let those chemicals sit there and do their work for a while.
After the degreaser has had time to penetrate, the crew comes back with soft-bristle brushes to really work the cleaning solution deep into the surface of the roof. This part of the process takes plenty of patience because you need to be careful not to damage the underlying material. Once that scrubbing is done, they'll rinse everything with heated water to completely flush away the dissolved grease and any leftover cleaning chemicals.
Atlanta's climate brings another layer of challenges to this whole operation. During the summer months, roof surfaces routinely hit temperatures above 150 degrees F. Those extreme temperatures change how the degreasers perform and create serious safety concerns for the workers up there. OSHA has established strict guidelines for when the crews can work on roofs during Georgia's peak heat hours, and it's why most contractors in the area schedule these jobs for early morning when it's still fairly cool.
The most common and expensive mistake I see contractors make is trying to rush through the cleaning phase. Any grease residue left on that surface is going to stop the patches from adhering properly and cause the coatings to start peeling within just a few months. That surface needs to be completely spotless and completely dry before anyone even thinks about starting repairs. This part sets the foundation for everything else, so it really pays to take the extra time and do it right!
After you have the damaged area ready and prepped for repair, the next step depends on the type of roofing material that your building has. Commercial properties in Atlanta usually have one of a few standard roofing types, and the repair strategy for grease damage changes quite a bit between them.
EPDM roofing is extremely common on those older office buildings throughout Midtown. Get a small damaged area or two if you want to try peel-and-stick patches. The process is fairly simple - you clean the area really well, apply your primer just as the manufacturer specifies it, then press that patch down with strong, firm pressure. But when grease damage has spread across a much bigger section of the roof, liquid EPDM coatings become the better choice. These coatings create a continuous, smooth and unbroken barrier that does a much better job of keeping water out than if you try to overlap multiple separate patches.
TPO and PVC roofs are a different animal altogether because they need heat welding to create a proper seal. Your hot-air welder needs to run somewhere between 950 degrees F and 1050 degrees F for the best results. Atlanta's humidity levels actually play a part in this process - most contractors don't realize it. The moisture content in our air makes these materials somewhat less flexible and harder to work with, so on really humid days, you'll probably have to bump your temperature settings up a bit to compensate.
Modified bitumen repairs use torch work and require extreme caution. Fulton County has implemented some pretty strict fire safety regulations around this type of work, and there's a good reason for that. You have to have fire extinguishers positioned nearby, and you need someone dedicated to watching for any stray sparks or embers. The torch-down technique gives you a strong bond between your new material and the existing roof surface. But it works only if you apply heat evenly across the entire area without going overboard and damaging either layer.
Most repair failures I see stem from two main mistakes that contractors make over and over - either they try to push through and work during Atlanta's notorious afternoon thunderstorms, or they skip the primer application because they want to save themselves 20 minutes. These two shortcuts practically guarantee that you'll be looking at leaks in just a few months.
Commercial roof repairs in Atlanta are tough enough already, and grease damage creates a whole extra layer of complications to the timing equation. Most contractors around here will tell you that September through November is an optimal window for this type of work, and they actually have some good reasons for that recommendation. The humidity finally starts to drop during these months, and adhesives can cure the way they're supposed to. Also, the temperature stays moderate enough that your new materials won't experience thermal shock right after installation. Weather patterns in Atlanta demand careful planning for any multi-day repair project. The city receives more than 50 inches of rain annually, and those afternoon thunderstorms can develop very fast during certain times of the year.
North Georgia's freeze-thaw cycles add another dimension to the repair challenge. The region experiences somewhere between 20 and 30 of these temperature swings each year, and they put serious stress on repair materials in ways that more stable climates just don't have to worry about. Any patch or sealant has to accommodate this serious expansion and contraction, or new gaps will form right where you just finished the repairs.
Contractors who've worked in Atlanta for years have picked up on an interesting trend with repair life spans. Summer installations, especially those completed during the most humid months, always underperform compared to fall work. A repair job done in July might hold up for 2 years if you're lucky. But that exact same repair completed in October could last 5 years or more. The difference in lifespan builds up if you calculate the total cost of ownership for your roof system.
Geographic variations across the metro area create different microclimates that affect repair success, too. Buildings in the tree-heavy areas like Marietta or Decatur face very different conditions than properties in downtown Atlanta. All that shade creates a cooler, damper environment where moisture hangs around much longer than it would in more open areas. The materials need more time to dry and bond correctly in these locations, and that extends your repair timeline considerably.
After the grease damage on your Atlanta commercial roof has been repaired, prevention is the next step. The right equipment around your exhaust fans makes all the difference in the world.
A grease containment box is the most helpful type of equipment you can install for protection. The size of the box that you'll need changes dramatically based on the type of restaurant you run. A BBQ joint in Virginia-Highland is going to produce way more grease than a sushi restaurant over in Dunwoody - that's just the nature of different cuisines. Your installer will calculate the precise dimensions based on your kitchen's output volume and the particular items on your menu. These boxes do what their name says - they capture that grease before it gets a chance to touch your roof membrane.
A steady maintenance schedule really matters for long-term success. Most Atlanta restaurants benefit from quarterly cleanups, though some need them more frequently to get the grease buildup under control. Summer months matter even more because restaurant traffic peaks during tourist season and when locals are out enjoying the weather. Those extra customers translate directly into more grease accumulation on your roof.
Hydrophobic coatings are worth your attention and work especially well in the areas around exhaust fans. These coatings create a protective barrier that stops the grease before it ever touches your roof membrane. The investment runs high, but these coatings can last a few years.
Property managers are increasingly turning to automated sensor systems that monitor grease accumulation levels in real-time. These systems send immediate alerts when the buildup gets close to dangerous thresholds and problems get fixed long before they escalate into big repair projects. Atlanta's local fire codes already mandate specific containment requirements for commercial kitchens anyway, so compliance alone justifies most of the expense. Running the numbers shows $5,000 spent on prevention measures now could save you from a $50,000 roof replacement later - and that's a conservative estimate!
The difference between just a temporary fix for a few months and solving the problem for years to come depends on how well you understand Atlanta's particular weather patterns and environmental conditions. Atlanta has this very humid air during the summer months that feels almost oppressive at times, and then the afternoon thunderstorms roll in regularly. Add in the fact that the city has a high concentration of restaurants, and the grease exposure turns into something that every building owner has to deal with eventually.
Looking into your roof warranty paperwork (and yes, I know that paperwork is probably buried in a filing cabinet somewhere), you'll find all sorts of fine print about the importance of regular maintenance and correctly documented grease management systems. Insurance companies have become much stricter about what kinds of damage they're willing to cover when that damage could have been prevented with the right maintenance - it's why it makes sense to work with the local roofing contractors who actually know these challenges inside and out, as opposed to calling some big national chain that uses the same methods in Atlanta as they do in Arizona or Alaska.
Colony Roofers works on commercial and residential roofs across our locations in Georgia, Florida and Texas. We know that your property is a big investment and the roof is what protects everyone inside and makes them safe and comfortable - it's why we bring genuine expertise to every repair job we take on. Contact us for a free inspection, and we'll give your roof the professional attention and local experience and knowledge it needs.
A trusted roofing company like Colony Roofers delivers expert advice and repairs that actually hold up over time. Get in touch with us and we'll show you the difference!