THE PAST ROOFING BUSINESS MODEL VS THE PRESENT DAY of ROOFING BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Roofing has changed over the years in many ways. Growing up in the industry I have seen many changes in the roofing industry. Much of the business structure of the majority of your average roofing company has changed through the years.
IT HAS BECOME MUCH EASIER WITH MORE FOCUS ON SAFETY
Many insurance companies who provide roofing contractors with Workman's comp require companies to organize safety meetings. Safty education has greatly increased in the construction industry even though many roofing companies have been organizing safety meetings for many years. Insurance rates are now much more costly and insurance claims are very difficult for a contractor to go through so many roofing contractors go out of their way more to avoid them.
Hand Nailing vs Gun Nailing
In the old days, roof shingles were pretty much all nailed by hand. Hand-nailing does provide a quality roofing job with nails always being driven straight and flush with the shingles. On the other hand, roofing nails are common smooth nails with virtually no threads to help grip the wood decking. This will cause nails to back up and sometimes make puncture holes over time. This happens mainly on a roof with weak framing, thin plywood or hot and cold temperatures causing the plywood to expand and contract.
Hand nailing was much harder and requires good physical stamina. The shingles go on much slower even with a fast hand nailer that has years of experience under his belt hand nailing shingle roofs.
When roofers use an air nailer to install a roof there are installation mistakes on almost every roof. Nails are driven at an angle rather than being driven in straight. Nails are often shot through the shingles due to many circumstances but mainly because of poor workmanship. The air pressure is sometimes not checked and regulated. Roofers now are more focused on the money they make instead of the quality of installation. Nails are sunk too far through the shingles by many roofers using airguns. This became even more common because many new construction homes only provide a one-year service warranty on the home so the liability has greatly decreased for most builders. An improperly fasten shingle roofing system will not last long in a strong storm with high winds.
The great thing about coil roofing nails is that they can not back up through and often roofing nails that are made for a coil roof nailer are very difficult to pull back out. This is because the nails are connected with a wire and when they are driven into the wood the wire grabs into the wood like tiger teeth. The wire becomes kind of like a back washer that prevents the nails from moving and keeps the nail much more stable than a common roofing nail.
Installing a shingle roofing system with an airgun provides a roofing contractor with the benefit of having the roof installed much faster with less physical labor. Using a pneumatic air nailer also puts less stress on the human body.
Roofing Materials Costs
The cost of roofing materials has skyrocketed compared to the prices on the market twenty years ago. The material cost is so high now that if a roofing contractor makes a mistake in his estimation it could very well put the contractor out of business and get the contractor stuck with a large debt. It is now of great importance for a contractor to watch his waste factor and inventory leftover roofing materials.
ROOFER SHORTAGE AND MODERN LABOR COSTS
The labor cost for roofers is much higher than it was twenty years ago. Roofer got paid very little compared to the roof pay of today. The availability of hiring roofers twenty years ago was much higher. You could fire five roofers and her ten roofers the next day. Twenty years ago roofers were a dime a dozen and it was much easier to find roofers that could get the work done.
Nowadays there is a shortage of roofers and it can be much more difficult to get the jobs done as it is hard to find good roofers and much of the newer young generation are after jobs that are far from doing any manual hard labor.
DRONES, TABLETS, SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS, AND INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY IN THE ROOFING INDUSTRY
The roofing industry has become much more advanced with integrated technology as a tool to help run and manage a roofing company that carries out large operations. Technology tools now help with the sales, management, bookkeeping, and payroll process of the daily roofing business operation.
Satellite measurements are one of the most useful tools in the roof sales industry. You now do not always have to drive to the property and climb on the roof to get your take-off measurements. You can now measure a roof from the comfort of your office. Many large insurance companies can now measure a roof located just about anywhere in the world. Even if you need to go onsite taking measurements from satellite images kind of give the roofing contractor a heads up on the project that they are dealing with.
Drones are now also becoming common to help take up close photos of roofing problems and to get accurate measurements of a roof without having a roofing contractor to climb up on a roof. Using drone technology can also strengthen your sales by impressing the homeowner. Drones can give you accurate roofing measurements so that you can have the exact amount of roofing materials. This is especially helpful on unwalkable roofs that are very steep and high up.
Tablets are now often used to take photos of bad roofing problems and greatly improve your sales presentation with a photo slideshow. Using a Tablet in your sales presentation also builds trust between the contractor and the homeowner because photos do not lie. Many homeowners will not get up on a roof and they love to see the roofing problems that are causing them grief.
THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA
Some roofing contractors now use thermal imaging camera to track down roof leaks or to locate hidden moisture.
PROFIT vs PRIDE
There are many companies now that are more focused on profit than taking pride in the provided roofing services. They will put much more effort into the sales process more than they will into the installation process. Many of these companies have very little actual roofing knowledge and sell roofs for outrageous prices. They try to separate themselves by selling high dollar roofing underlayments and higher quality roofing products. Some companies integrate high-pressure car salesman tactics with their roof sales process to maximize the profits rather being more focused on the actual workmanship.
In twenty years of roofing, there have been many changes and this article only expresses some of the details. For many roofers that have been in the industry a good while know that the roofing industry is constantly evolving over the years.
Aquashield Roofing
Address: 4006 Morris Ct, Chesapeake, VA 23323
Phone: (757) 553-5191
Aquashield Roofing Norfolk
Address: 8416 Cape View Ave, Norfolk, VA 23503
Phone: (757) 553-5191
Aquashield Roofing Suffolk
3800 Pughsville Rd, Suffolk, VA 23435
Phone: (757) 553-5191
Roofers Chesapeake
Address: 4006 Morris Ct, Chesapeake, VA 23323
Phone: (757) 553-5191
Aquashield Roofing Corporation
Address: 3838 Rica Dr, Virginia Beach, VA 23453
Phone: (757) 553-5191
Aquashield Roofing Corp.
1976 S Military Highway Trlr 84
Chesapeake, VA 23320
Virginia Beach Roofing & Siding contractor/company
3165 Holland Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23453
Virginia Beach Residential Roofer For You!
3924 Indian River Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Website: http://www.aquashieldroofingcorp.com
Appointments: http://www.aquashieldroofingcorp.com/contact.html
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