Deferred Maintenance: Roofing, HVAC, Building Envelopes Primary Areas of Concerntest

By Dave Lubach, Associate Editor

June 2015

Three building areas or systems are most affected by deferred maintenance, according to managers responding to the survey. HVAC systems led the way with almost 24 percent, followed by roofing systems at 20.5 percent and building envelopes at 19 percent.

“They are systems that are operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long, and they’re dynamic,” Harvey says. “You might not think of a roof as a dynamic system, but it’s constantly being exposed to heating, cooling, and moisture, and high wind. It’s always being tested, and it’s decaying from the day it’s installed.

“HVAC systems need a lot of preventive maintenance to keep them running well. There was a trend for a while, about 10-15 years ago, for people to shut off the outside-air intakes to buildings to save the energy, (but) that caused negative building issues — bad smells and mold growth. I think everyone has kind of learned their lessons, and they’re trying to be better about it.”

HVAC systems, roofs and building envelope systems are often out of sight and out of mind to building occupants, visitors and owners, unlike lighting systems, which usually receive more immediate attention because “something that owners don’t want to see when walking around their building is the lights burned out,” Harvey says.

Many respondents shared that opinion. Lighting was clearly the area or system least affected by deferred maintenance issues among respondents. More than 21 percent of managers responding said it was the area or system least affected by deferred maintenance in their facilities.