Large warehouse with a white TPO roof and rooftop units in a North Texas business park

Commercial Roofing in Dallas

Leaks over a tenant, ponding behind a parapet, hail on a membrane, or a roof that has run out of life. One free call connects a building owner or manager with an independent DFW roofing company that handles commercial work.

Call (469) 649-7066 Compare roof systems

Business roofs across Dallas are a separate trade

Drive any stretch of Stemmons Freeway, LBJ or Interstate 20 and nearly every roof you pass is close to flat: distribution warehouses, strip centers, office buildings, schools, churches and garden apartment complexes. Commercial roofing in Dallas is mostly low-slope roofing, where a continuous membrane or layered asphalt system keeps water out instead of overlapping shingles.

Those roofs need different skills. Seams are welded or adhered rather than nailed, water leaves through drains and scuppers rather than running off an eave, and much of the risk sits around air conditioning curbs, exhaust fans and parapet walls. A company that mostly re-shingles houses may not be the right call for a 60,000 square foot tilt-wall building.

DFW Expert Roofers does not do commercial roofing or any other roof work. The free number is answered by an automated assistant that takes down the building type, the city and the trouble you are seeing, then hands the call to an independent, locally owned roofing company that takes commercial jobs in your part of the metro. That company inspects, bids and contracts with you directly.

Single-story strip center with a white low-slope roof and rooftop air conditioning units

Low-slope roof systems compared

Most commercial bids in DFW will propose one of the systems below, or a coating over the existing roof. The right one depends on the deck, the drainage, what sits on the roof, how long the owner plans to hold the building and what the budget allows. Use the last column to press each bidder for specifics.

System	What it is	How seams are made	Ask the bidder
TPO	Thermoplastic single-ply sheet, usually white, mechanically fastened or fully adhered over insulation boards.	Heat-welded with hot air.	Membrane thickness, how the seams will be probed after welding, and the attachment pattern at corners and edges.
PVC	Thermoplastic single-ply made flexible with plasticizers, often chosen where grease or chemicals reach the roof, such as over restaurants.	Heat-welded.	Why PVC over TPO for this building, and how kitchen exhaust areas will be detailed.
EPDM	Synthetic rubber single-ply, typically black, adhered, fastened or held down with ballast.	Adhesives or seam tape.	Seam method, whether a black surface meets the cool roof rule, and how the edges will be secured.
Modified bitumen	Asphalt modified with SBS or APP polymers and reinforced with fiberglass or polyester, laid in two or more plies.	Torched, hot-mopped, cold-adhered or self-adhered laps.	Application method (open flame on an occupied building needs a fire watch plan), cap sheet surface and reflectivity.
Built-up (BUR)	Several plies of asphalt and reinforcing felts, often finished with gravel.	Plies overlap in hot or cold asphalt.	Number of plies, surfacing, and whether the deck can carry the weight of a gravel finish.
Metal	Standing seam or structural panels, common on pre-engineered metal buildings.	Mechanically seamed or lapped panels.	Panel profile and gauge, fastener plan, and how rooftop units are curbed. See metal roofing.
Coating	Fluid-applied silicone, acrylic or similar layer over an existing roof that is still sound.	Applied as one continuous film.	Proof the existing insulation is dry (a moisture survey), and what the coating's warranty actually covers.

The military's roofing criteria (UFC 3-110-03, published on the Whole Building Design Guide) give a plain description of these families, including the SBS and APP types of modified bitumen and the plasticizers that make PVC usable as a membrane. Brand names in a bid are fine as product information; ask for the product data sheet for whatever is named.

What North Texas weather does to a flat roof

Hail on exposed membranes

A low-slope roof has nothing shading it from a hail core. Hard hits can fracture brittle membranes, crush insulation boards underneath and crack the flashing on rooftop units. The damage often does not leak right away, which is why a post-storm walk by someone who knows the system matters.

Heat and sun

Long summers of strong sun and triple-digit afternoons bake the surface, age sealants and work seams back and forth as the roof expands by day and shrinks at night. Reflective membranes and coatings reduce that load and the cooling bill below.

Water that does not leave

Clogged drains, sagging decks and missing crickets behind units leave ponds that outlast the storm. Standing water adds weight, wears the surface and finds any weak seam. Gutters and scuppers full of debris after a windstorm make it worse.

Wind at the edges

Straight-line thunderstorm winds pull hardest at roof corners and perimeters. Loose edge metal or coping lets air under the membrane, and a sheet that starts to flutter can peel back across a large area.

The cool roof rule in the energy code

Energy code requirements reach the roof. Section C402.3 of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code covers low-sloped roofs directly above cooled conditioned space in climate zones 0 through 3. Those roofs must meet one of two targets: a three-year aged solar reflectance of 0.55 together with a three-year aged thermal emittance of 0.75, or a three-year aged solar reflectance index of 64. Parts of a roof under solar panels, rooftop equipment, vegetative roofing, decks or stone or paver ballast are among the exemptions, as are roofs shaded at summer peak sun.

North Texas falls in those zones: the North Central Texas Council of Governments' regional amendments to the 2021 code describe the region as climate zones 2 and 3, and Dallas Building Inspection staff recommended adopting the 2021 code with those regional amendments. Each city adopts its own version, so the permit office has the final word.

Ask the bidder which code edition the city is enforcing and whether the proposed membrane meets C402.3 as amended there.
Ask for the product's listing in the Cool Roof Rating Council directory. ENERGY STAR stopped labeling roof products on June 1, 2022, so an ENERGY STAR claim on a roof product is out of date.
If a dark membrane or coating is proposed, ask which exemption makes it allowable.

Permits for a commercial roof in Dallas

Inside the City of Dallas, minor roof repairs do not need a permit, but replacing large areas of a roof or an entire roof does. A roofing permit can be obtained over the counter or online; the city's permit guide sends commercial applications to the Permit Center in the Oak Cliff Municipal Center, 320 E. Jefferson Blvd., Room 118, and building permit applications are now filed through the city's DallasNow portal. The application must name a contractor registered with the city.

Dallas adds a step many owners do not expect. Its 2015 amendments to the construction code administration chapter require a re-roof permit application to list where tear-off debris will be dumped, and the final inspection is not approved until proof of disposal at a City of Dallas landfill or transfer station is turned in. Ask the roofer who handles that paperwork.

Structural work, such as replacing damaged joists or deck, can require a building permit rather than a roofing permit. Suburbs run their own offices with their own rules; Plano, for example, requires a permit for every re-roof.

Water standing on a low-slope roof section over a brick wall after rain

On the call, give the city, the use of the building (warehouse, retail, office, church, apartments), an idea of the roof area and the symptom, such as water in a suite, ponds that never dry or a membrane torn by hail. The roofing company you reach handles the inspection and bid.

Call (469) 649-7066

Six things to settle with every commercial bidder

What is under the membrane? Ask for core cuts or a moisture survey before anyone proposes a coating or a recover over the old roof.
Why this system? Have the bidder explain the choice in terms of your deck, drainage, rooftop equipment and how long you plan to own the building.
How will water leave the roof? Drains, scuppers, overflow paths and any tapered insulation or crickets should be on the drawing.
Which warranty, from whom? Separate the manufacturer's system warranty from the contractor's workmanship warranty, and read what each excludes, including hail.
Who pulls the permit and registers with the city? Get the permit number and the inspection dates.
How will tenants and customers be protected? Work hours, odors, noise, crane days, parking and fire safety for any torch work belong in the schedule.

Insist on proof of liability coverage that comes straight from the roofer's insurance agent, listing your company as the certificate holder.

Keeping a business roof working between projects

NRCA's guidance for building owners is to schedule inspections at least two times a year, with spring and fall the usual seasons, and to add one after severe weather such as hail or a tornado. NRCA also cautions that owners and property staff should not walk a roof without the experience and equipment to do it safely, and that repairs found on an inspection should go to a roofing contractor promptly. In practice, the roof's to-do list looks like this:

Keep drains, strainers and scuppers clear, especially after windstorms and in fall.
Log every roof access: HVAC techs and other trades are a common source of punctures.
Keep photo records from each inspection to support any future hail or wind claim.
Fix small problems at seams, curbs and edges before they wet the insulation.

Dial the lineAn automated assistant picks up (469) 649-7066 any time and asks what you need. The same number also takes air conditioning, heating and pressure washing calls, so say "roof".
Tell it about the roofHail, a drip in the ceiling, shingles in the yard, a tree limb, or an aging roof you want checked, plus your town and how soon you need someone.
Get transferredThe call goes to an independent roofing company that is locally owned and works in Dallas-Fort Worth. It hears a quick summary of your call before it answers.
Work with that companyIt inspects, prices and does the job, and you pay it (or your insurer does, as you arrange). If it cannot pick up, it gets your name, number, town and need so it can call you back.

No state license for roofers. Texas does not license roofing contractors. A 2025 bill that would have had the state license re-roofers (HB 3344) cleared a House committee but never got a floor vote, and it died when the session ended. That puts the checking on you: ask for a certificate of liability insurance sent to you by the roofer's insurance agent or insurer, a written contract that lists the full scope, the permit or contractor registration your city requires, addresses of nearby jobs, and proof the shingle warranty was registered. The line does none of this checking for you. How to check a roofer in Texas.

Your deductible is yours to pay. The Texas Department of Insurance warns that a contractor may not waive your deductible, rebate it, or pad the estimate to cover it, and that a contract of $1,000 or more paid with insurance money must include a notice that you owe the deductible. Your insurer may ask for proof you paid it. A contractor also may not act as a public adjuster on a property it works on or may work on. If a roofer offers to "take care of" the deductible, hire someone else.

About this line: DFW Expert Roofers is a free phone line, not a roofing contractor. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local roofing company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. Calling the line costs you nothing. See how a call is handled.

More pages that may help

Commercial roofing calls across DFW

Questions Dallas owners and property managers ask

How often should a commercial roof be inspected?

The National Roofing Contractors Association advises scheduled inspections at least two times each year, with spring and fall the usual seasons, plus an extra look after any hailstorm, tornado or other severe weather. In Dallas-Fort Worth that often means a spring visit that lands right after hail season starts. Request a written report that pictures every drain, seam run, perimeter and rooftop unit, so each visit can be compared with the last.

How often do commercial roofs need to be replaced?

No calendar answers it. The membrane type, how well the roof drains, how much foot traffic it gets, hail history and how faithfully it was maintained all matter. Replacement usually makes sense when leaks keep returning after repairs, when a moisture survey finds wet insulation spread across large areas, or when the cost of patching outruns the value of the roof left. Ask the roofer to show you the evidence, not just a recommendation.

Does a commercial re-roof in Dallas need a city permit?

Yes, for anything beyond a minor repair. The City of Dallas says replacing large areas of a roof or the whole roof requires a re-roof permit, and its permit guide routes commercial applications to the Permit Center at 320 E. Jefferson Blvd., where a registered contractor must be named on the application. Dallas also ties the final roof inspection to proof that tear-off debris went to a city landfill or transfer station. Other DFW cities differ; check the town pages.

Does a new commercial roof in Dallas have to be white?

Not necessarily white, but reflective. The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code requires low-slope roofs over cooled space in climate zones 0 to 3, which takes in North Texas, to meet aged solar reflectance and emittance targets or a solar reflectance index of 64, with exemptions such as areas under solar panels or ballasted with stone. Cities adopt the code with their own amendments, so ask the roofer and the permit office which version applies.

Who will look at my building if I call?

An independent, locally owned roofing company that takes commercial jobs near your property. DFW Expert Roofers runs nothing but the phone number; its automated assistant gathers the basics and passes your call along. That company inspects, bids and does the work, and you contract with it directly. Texas does not license roofers, so use the roofer checking guide before you sign.

Responsible for a building with a roof problem? Call the line

Say what the roof is doing and which town you are in. The automated assistant passes you to an independent roofing company that is locally owned and works in DFW. That company comes out, looks at the roof and prices the job itself.

Call (469) 649-7066

Picks up day or nightStorms here often hit in the evening. The assistant answers at 2 a.m. the same as at noon.
Costs you nothingThe line sends no bill. Any price you hear comes from the roofer, and you can ask for it on paper.
Check before you hireTexas issues no roofing license, so ask for an insurance certificate, a written contract and the permit your city requires.
Your call to makeListen to what the roofer found, read the estimate, and say yes only when it adds up.