Restaurant roof repair and replacement in McKinney, TX, covering grease-soaked membranes, exhaust curbs, patio edges and work timed between meal services.
Tell us about the building and what you are seeing. We reply with the next practical step.
The membrane around a kitchen exhaust fan tells the story before anyone opens the ceiling: dark, slick, softened, sometimes blistered where grease has soaked in for seasons. Drips in a dining room often start there, at a fan curb or a hood duct, and they land on a table during service. We begin at the stain, then follow the wet path up to the nearest exhaust, vent or drain, and mark the repair boundary before the lunch rush. In McKinney, TX, a restaurant roof has two jobs, keeping weather out and standing up to what the kitchen sends upward.
Kitchen exhaust throws fat onto the roof. It settles around the fan, runs along the surface and breaks down membranes that were never meant to sit in it. Some single-ply sheets swell or soften when oil gets into the polymer, and seams near the fan open first. A roof near a fryer line deserves a membrane chosen for that exposure, such as KEE roofing, which resists fats and oils better than many standard sheets.
Grease also hides damage. A dark film can cover a split seam, and fat can wick under flashing and loosen it from the curb. We degrease the area we are working on, probe the seams, and check whether the grease containment tray under the fan is working. When the tray is full or missing, no membrane will last, and the fix includes the tray.
Most restaurant leaks begin at a curb. A fan sits on a box that was flashed with a base sheet and a cap, and heat from the duct, vibration from the motor and age all work on that joint. Make-up air units, walk-in cooler condensers and grease pumps add more curbs on the same roof.
We check each equipment curb for loose counterflashing, open laps and rusted fasteners, then trace the duct penetration where the hood breaks through the deck. Hood work requires the kitchen contractor and the roofer to coordinate, because a fan lifted for service can leave a curb exposed for hours. We agree on the sequence so the opening is dry before the cook line fires up.
Cooler condensers need their own look. They discharge warm air and drip condensate, and the pipes that feed them cross the membrane on supports that may be loose. A condensate line that drains onto the roof instead of into a pipe will stain, then soften, the surface, and the fix is a proper drain connection plus a repaired patch.
A restaurant does not close for a roof, but it has quiet hours. Most kitchens go slack between the lunch clean-up and the dinner prep, and that gap is usually the best production window for a repair above the dining room. Larger jobs run on a closed day if the owner will accept.
We ask the kitchen manager when the hood runs hardest, when deliveries arrive and where the staff parks. The staging area goes in the back of the lot, the lift plan clears the dumpster corral, and smoke or odor from heat welding is kept away from the patio and the air intakes. If the work cannot finish before service, the open area is sealed and the roof is left watertight.
Grease, flame and roofing materials do not mix. We avoid open flame near an exhaust fan, prefer hot-air welded or adhered systems, and keep a fire watch for at least an hour after any heat source. We ask the kitchen to hold fryer cleaning on the day we work, since a grease fire on the roof is possible when a fan discharges onto hot material.
The City of McKinney lists its 2024 fire and existing-building codes among its adopted editions, so any scope that touches an exhaust system or a fire-rated assembly gets confirmed with the building official first. A restaurant in a strip center shares a roof with its neighbors, which means the fire watch and the permit cover those bays too.
Gas lines and rooftop heaters add more constraints. We locate shutoffs before the crew steps up, keep tools and materials away from vent terminations, and confirm with the kitchen when the hood is cold.
Restaurants in McKinney sit in very different buildings. A kitchen in Historic Downtown McKinney works inside an older storefront, and the city notes that older storefronts call for different roof access and phasing than larger retail properties.
A restaurant in the 121 District or along US 75 may have more room for a lift, though a patio, a drive-through lane or a loading area can still limit where the crane stands, so we walk the lot before fixing the lift plan. In Addison, 19 miles away, the town reports more than 3,000 businesses including office, retail and hospitality, and its restaurants face the same grease and curb questions as any other. A restaurant in Addison gets the same walk, with the exhaust fans and grease paths checked first.
The regional normals put July at 95.6°F and August at 95.8°F, and a black grease film on a dark roof surface absorbs more of that heat. Add a kitchen exhaust running below, and the membrane around the fan ages fast. Spring then brings the hail, wind and flooding that the National Weather Service associates with the Metroplex's stormiest months.
Patio covers, canopies and entry awnings catch hail first. We check their fasteners and seams, along with the main roof, after a storm. A lightweight canopy can lift in a gust, and a hole in its cover lets water onto a seating area. For an urgent leak above a dining room, emergency roof repair is available at any hour, and a permanent scope follows once the area is dry.
Grease management is a maintenance routine. A preventive maintenance visit cleans around the fans, empties and checks containment trays, clears the drains and walks the seams. For a restaurant group with several locations, the record format is the same at each site, which helps when a restaurant chain compares roof condition across its stores.
A hotel with a kitchen on site and a shopping center with several food tenants face a related set of curb and grease details, and each gets a written closeout record with photographs, curb checks and materials used.
Send the dining room spot, the hours your kitchen is slow and the roof ladder location. We will plan the inspection around service and the fan schedule.
Short answers to what owners and facility managers ask before a roof visit.
Grease soaks into many single-ply sheets and softens them, and heat from the duct adds to it. A grease-resistant membrane and a working containment tray stop the cycle.
A small repair away from the patio and intakes can. Anything with heat or odor waits for the slack hours between lunch and dinner or a closed day.
It catches fat that drips from the fan so it does not reach the membrane. A full or missing tray lets grease pool on the roof.
Often more so. Canopies are lighter and their fasteners are exposed. We check them after every large hail event.
We place ceiling protection under the work zone, set a fire watch and close the area if odor reaches the seating. The kitchen manager gets a call before and after each shift.
Send a question about the building and we will reply. Or call 555-555-5555.
