Condo Building Roof Cleaning
Moorings Bay

Moorings Bay is a saltwater bay one block from the Gulf, inside The Moorings, with unrestricted Gulf access through Doctors Pass. The condominiums around it are small, older buildings, each run by its own association.

Moorings Bay Apartments at 322 Harbour Drive is typical: a three-story, 24-unit building finished in 1967–68, with units of about 1,100 to 1,680 square feet, a bayfront pool with a cabana, screened patios and covered and open assigned parking.

Its neighbors on the bay side include Yacht Harbor Manor and Gulf Bay Apartments from 1969, Jennifer Shores from 1971, the Commodore Club on Harbour Drive from the early 1970s and Admiralty Point from 1982.

Moorings Bay is a saltwater bay inside The Moorings with Gulf access through Doctor’s Pass. Buildings along Harbour Dr and the bay side of Gulf Shore Blvd N sit in humid bay air with salt carried over from the Gulf. That combination leaves salt crust and algae on roof surfaces, parapets and the edges where water sits.

Roof systems on buildings of this age vary, and many have been replaced or recoated over the years. Some are flat or low-slope; covered parking and pool cabanas have roofs of their own. We confirm the system with the manager or roofer before quoting, because the right cleaner and pressure depend on it.

For a flat or TPO membrane, we follow the membrane maker’s cleaning guidance and the association roofer’s direction. Where that is not available, we keep to low pressure and a mild solution, and test a small section before treating the rest.

Built-up and modified-bitumen roofs are asphalt-based. The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association warns that high pressure is likely to damage asphalt roofing and that brushing or scrubbing loosens its surface, so neither is used.

If a cabana or parking roof is pitched concrete tile, Eagle Roofing Products, a tile maker, recommends water only at no more than 1,200 psi and warns that higher pressure can affect the tile’s pH and discolor it. A cleaner is used on heavily soiled tile only in the most diluted, concrete-compatible form.

What does not vary is the risk of high pressure. On an older building, it can lift coatings, open seams and push water where it should not go. A low-pressure wash with a mild solution, rinsed toward the drains, cleans without stressing the roof.

The dark growth on many roofs here is Gloeocapsa magma, a cyanobacterium that ARMA says is most widespread in the Gulf States. Owens Corning notes it is carried through the air, so a cleaned roof will eventually be colonized again.

ARMA also states that cleaning results are temporary and the discoloration may recur. That is why we give the board a written record and photos after each visit rather than a promise of how long a roof will stay clean.

Drains and scuppers are cleared by hand before anything else. Sand, leaves and nesting material are bagged, not washed down the drain, and any drain that seems slow is noted for the roofer.

Rinse water goes to the roof drains and is kept away from the bay. At ground level, we wet and rinse the plantings and the pool deck under the cabana, and cover pool furniture where needed.

Covered parking roofs are low and close to cars. We ask the manager to have the spaces under them cleared for the day, and we rinse the cars’ side of the structure last.

The Moorings dates from 1957 and has about 4,000 homes and condos on streets shaded by mature trees. Buildings near those trees collect leaves on their roofs and in their drains, which is why we check drains during storm season too.

Boats on lifts and in slips are kept clear of overspray. Slips at Moorings Bay Apartments are leased to owners, so we ask the manager which boats will be in during the visit.

Leasing at Moorings Bay Apartments is limited, with no leasing in the first three years and then once a year for at least 60 days. We post notice through the manager so everyone knows when we will be on the roof.

Rooftop vents, air handlers and any satellite or antenna equipment are identified first and kept out of the spray.

Every visit ends with photos of anything the roofer should see and a written record with the date, surfaces, method and our Florida license number. The board can file it with the building’s maintenance history.

Pool cabana roofs start at $299, and complex or commercial roof work has a $499 floor. The main building roof and covered parking are quoted per building, since system, size and access vary.

We are licensed and insured and send a certificate of insurance before the first visit. Call 239-544-1165, or request a quote for your building.