Caulks are typically the least expensive material used on the project, but they account for most of the repair-related costs.

Your company has just completed removal and replacement of a 100,000-square-foot roof. The project consisted of a pitch tear-off in the heat of the summer, challenging working conditions, no room for material set-up and a demanding project manager working for the owner who was never satisfied with your progress. Despite all of these intolerable conditions, your company performed admirably and applied an exceptional roof system. The roof remained watertight through final inspection but just as the demanding project manager was about to give your company some semblance of a compliment for a job well done, a roof leak occurs.

The bottled up animosity resurfaces and your well-deserved compliment quickly turns into a threat of a lawsuit. The roof is deemed to be a failure. Your repairman is dispatched to the building and contacts you within an hour of his arrival stating that the roof leak is caused by open sealant at the counter flashing. Ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine square feet and nine inches of the roof is intact-three inches are open. This is the margin of failure.