Tag: Contractor

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Why is the Fluid Applied Industry Continuing to Grow????

That’s a great question. Let’s dig deeper…

Eco-Friendliness and Sustainability

First, the thought of not taking a roof off and putting it into a landfill for it to be there for the rest of our life, plus our kids’ lives is reason enough on it’s own. Fluid Applied Restoration allows a roofing system to be salvaged or restored prior to that condition. That does mean that property managers & building owners need to pay attention and do progressive roof maintenance. Better yet, they could get their buildings involved in a roof maintenance program which allows them to stay ahead of the ball, savings them lots of money in the lifecycle of that roof. We need to educate building owners to pursue that level of thinking.

If a building owner or facilities manager stays on the progressive front, and they use a quality fluid applied roofing system, they can easily extend an additional 10, 15, 20, 30+ years to that building’s roof without having to do a costly tear off and expose themselves to a high liability.

Energy Efficiency

Additionally, when highly populated areas start turning more of their dark heat absorbing roofs into white reflective cool roofs, there is a heat reduction in what is known as the “urban heat island effect”. This will actually benefit an entire community when there is buy in from everyone.

Economics

Another reason the Fluid Applied Industry is growing, is economics. Fluid applied coating systems not only add to that cool roof concept but they are less cost because the building owner is not paying the labor that’s involved with all of the other traditional roofing systems, not to mention not paying for the tear off, labor and disposal.

So they are economically and environmentally good choices for maintaining a building and have traditionally always been a tax advantage because of the opportunity for a complete year one write off in most instances.

Spray Polyurethane Foam = Added R-Value

If you are to toss spray polyurethane foam into the restoration or fluid applied industry as an option you also get the additional R-value and return on investment from cooling and heating savings that come along with that.

We have to face the fact that energy cost are no longer going to be cheap and they are going to continue to increase in the future, unless grave measures are taken to find alternative methods to reduce energy costs. If building owners as a whole can reduce the amount of energy used for the cooling load of their buildings by using highly reflective cool white roofs it’s a benefit to everyone.

Technology

Another reason why the Fluid applied industry is growing is because of technology. The technology advancements that have happened in the traditional roofing systems have also advanced in the coatings industry & have substantially reduced some of the issues that plagued the industry & led to those early coating failures we have all heard of.

Custom, Tailored Roofing Solutions

Next reason is because of the options available to suit a building’s existing substrate. The big three acrylic’s, silicone and urethane’s give roofing contractors an opportunity to make a selection that can be custom tailored to their clients needs. 

Let’s say you have a industrial client that has a low sloped 1/2:12 pitch to 3:12+ pitch metal roof: acrylic systems have proven themselves for decades to do great on these existing substrates. Silicones and urethanes will also serve these roofing substrate but can come with some unwanted additional baggage as in they are typically higher cost then a quality acrylic and they are harder to apply & have more chances of overspray concerns. When it comes to silicone it can be extremely slick when any moisture is present so rooftop foot traffic can become more of a liability.

Turn the tables and low slope or flat roofs under 1/2:12 or less (that have a chance of ponding water or slow dry times) lean more towards the silicone and urethane chemistries. Acrylics will take on water so they are more likely to loose adhesion in ponding water areas. Their counterparts silicone & Urethane are hydrophobic and actually repel water so they hold up better long-term in standing water.

Smaller Install Crews/Lower Labor Costs

A reason that is often overlooked in the industry is something that is plaguing all of the trades and that is a shortage of qualified labor. Your traditional single ply roofing companies, employee 8-10 to upwards of 15 employees to do jobs of any size whereas a fluid applied roofing system can easily be installed with half the labor or less, where a common crew size is 3 to 5 man crews.

Fluid applied roofing is going to continue to grow for the foreseeable future. 2017-2018 growth was great, but 2019 & on it will be exponential. The companies that react first will be the dominant ones in the industry as it begins to explode.

Chad Hedrick, Roof Coating Life
“We Bleed White”

Chad Hedrick, owner of Roof Coating Life commits to helping 10 new Contractors succeed in the Fluid Applied Industry each year. He’s selective in this process because realistically, his time is limited. He offers his valuable time and best mentor ship to the guys who are serious about making 30%-50% profits with Roof Coatings. Check out the Requirements for working with Chad to see if you might qualify.
Get the FREE eBook “7 Unique Ways To Market Your Fluid Applied Roofing Business.” It’s packed with outside the box Marketing Strategies (Strategy #6 landed us 5 commercial projects last Summer!) that will help you best serve your clients and live the Roof Coating Life like a boss.
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Are You Setting The Pace?

pace

What is “PACE?”

Pace stands for “property assessed clean energy.” It’s an industry organization that helps contractors and consumers finance projects. What the Pace program does is uses a bond program to finance energy efficiency projects in the residential & commercial world. Once a municipality’s financial district adopts the bond program, bonds can be issued. So homeowners or building owners who are adding energy efficient improvements can be granted loans through the pace program. The unique thing about the program is that the property owners are able to repay the loans with (obvious interest) over 20 years based on an annual assessment that goes onto their property taxes.

Why it’s a Good Thing

By doing it this way the pace loan program allows contractors to get over the two common hurdles for owners which are: upfront cost and the possibility of those costs not being recovered if the property was to be sold.

Pace allows them to install energy-efficient upgrades now and pay later. If the property happens to be sold before the repayment has been made then the remaining tax liability becomes part of the property’s new tax bill and the new owner just takes it over.

With credit being a serious thing in the Economy today, and having cash flow tightened, this type of program is a great alternative to traditional financing. If it’s offered in your area you should be taking advantage of it as often as possible. Your clients will be able to make the payments even easier by reaping the benefits of the energy-efficient upgrades that you are installing such a spray foam or cool roof coatings.

Unfortunately…

The only thing holding pace back is that it requires state by state approvals to create legislation to have their own pace programs, which is a slow process. PACE-enabling legislation is active in 36 states plus D.C., and PACE programs are now active (launched and operating) in 20 states plus D.C.

In states where the pace program is available a contractor should be doing their due diligence on educating their clients about the programs benefits. Contractors who do not have the pace program available need to for the benefit of the whole industry, encourage their state to pass the pace bond program.

Let’s Work Together to Pick up the Pace

If we can all come together as advocates we can get this program adopted across the entire United States and allow our clients to take advantage of the benefits of it. With the added ability to sell more jobs and building owners to be able to have the work completed, we can even add more economic benefit by creating new jobs.

Another benefit to the program is for the actual local governments benefit, which is that the program provides new revenue sources through interest charges that go out on the loans. Although the interest is minimal with added quantity they can add up to substantial stimulation for local economies.

So let’s gather together to get the Fluid Applied Roof Restoration Industry up to PACE and saving roofs & saving dollars one roof at a time.

Chad Hedrick, Roof Coating Life
“We Bleed White”

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Checklist for the Brand New Coatings Contractor (or a new Division of your Existing Company)

New-Contractor-Checklist

1: Select a business name that is well represented by what your niche focus is. Use something along the lines of: “Commercial Roof Coatings of Iowa” instead of “Iowa Roofing and Coatings”, it helps establish your company for Google and the public, by describing in detail what you primarily do.

2: Get a good website up and rolling that is optimized and searchable.

3: Start a Facebook page for your business. Add other Social Media outlets as you grow or expand ones that you already use.

4: Advertise yourself with branded vehicles, shirts, hats, literature and business cards. You can start with a minimal amount of material, but be sure you have enough to be able to begin cold calling in your area.

5: Develop your marketing plan and start working on it immediately: Cold Calling, Direct Mail, Social Media, Trade Shows, Digital marketing, etc.

6: Get your Demo kits started so when you are presenting they are ready.

7: If you can’t answer or return calls in a timely manner, then hire out an answering service to make your company feel larger.

8: Have a system in place for inspections and estimating that is timely and makes a positive impression.

9: Create a Follow Up Plan that is consistent and goes until you get a “YES,” “NO” or a “we already awarded that project.”

10: Do the highest quality work possible on landed projects and never cut corners. Your reputation is something that you can not easily get back once its created. Make a reputable name for your business from the very beginning. This is especially helpful in getting repeat business and referrals.

Chad Hedrick, Roof Coating Life
“We Bleed White”

Want to read more?

“How Your Competition Can Be Your Best Ally In The Roofing Industry”

“Professional Contractors Never Stop Learning”

“The Launch of the Roof Coating Life Blog”

Chad Hedrick, owner of Roof Coating Life commits to helping 10 new Contractors succeed in the Fluid Applied Industry each year. He’s selective in this process because realistically, his time is limited. He offers his valuable time and best mentor ship to the guys who are serious about making 30%-50% profits with Roof Coatings. Check out the Requirements for working with Chad to see if you might qualify.
Get the FREE eBook “7 Unique Ways To Market Your Fluid Applied Roofing Business.” It’s packed with outside the box Marketing Strategies (Strategy #6 landed us 5 commercial projects last Summer!) that will help you best serve your clients and live the Roof Coating Life like a boss.
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Professional Contractors Never Stop Learning

Educated-Contractors-Never-Stop-Learning

No matter how long you’ve been in the business, you owe it to yourself and to your customers to continually learn at the speed that our industry is growing. Technology has changed the quality and overall performance of today’s roofing systems. It has also changed the applications and methods of installation and proven long-term performance based designs.

What may have been known as common knowledge 15 years ago could quite possibly have been replaced with newer technologies and newer methods that give better long-term performance.

Here are a few other reasons why you should continually immerse yourself into trainings, whether it be manufacture-based or in field trainings with other contractors or product reps:

1. The human mind can only retain so much knowledge, without it being brought back to the forefront by daily use.

Things can easily become clouded or confused and we commonly think we recall something to a T, yet it could actually be somewhat different in reality. By attending regular trainings it allows things to be brought back to a more conscious level and builds off of repetition.

2. Technology and advancements have changed for the better by the way that products are applied, stored, used, disposed of and cleaned.

By attending trainings you will learn all of the methods that will make you a better steward of the industry and of our planet.

3. Consistently attending Industry trainings will bring you more profit by expanding horizons of your options and methods of delivering those options to your potential clients.

Take coating’s for an example: if all a contractor ever did on a metal roof was a TPO flute Fill layover and he comes in contact with a customer who does not have the budget for that system, a Fluid Applied system could be a very viable opportunity for that contractor to still make a sale and serve his client. 

Also as stated before when you learn tips tricks or equipment that will speed up your install time while still delivering quality workmanship you lower your labor and increase your profits.

At the end of the day, attending trainings makes you a better contractor so reach out to your local rep, your manufacture, or to other contractors in your area and see which trainings they would recommend you attend and get registered for them as well.
Educated contractors make educated decisions.

Chad Hedrick, Roof Coating Life
“We Bleed White”

Want to read more?

“How Your Competition Can Be Your Best Ally In The Roofing Industry”
“Check List for the Brand New Coatings Contractor”
“The Launch of the Roof Coating Life Blog”

Chad Hedrick, owner of Roof Coating Life commits to helping 10 new Contractors succeed in the Fluid Applied Industry each year. He’s selective in this process because realistically, his time is limited. He offers his valuable time and best mentor ship to the guys who are serious about making 30%-50% profits with Roof Coatings. Check out the Requirements for working with Chad to see if you might qualify.

Get the FREE eBook “7 Unique Ways To Market Your Fluid Applied Roofing Business.” It’s packed with outside the box Marketing Strategies (Strategy #6 landed us 5 commercial projects last Summer!) that will help you best serve your clients and live the Roof Coating Life like a boss.

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How Your Competition Can Be Your Best Ally In The Roofing Industry

two-roofers-shaking-hands

We all know that traditionally your product rep or manufacturers rep can be a huge support system for you and your business. A Rep that reaches out even after you have bought their product and makes sure that you had a successful install, is one worth bragging on and keeping.

But another group of people that could be huge allies in you getting more jobs is your so-called “competition.” I know you’re thinking “what is he talking about? Why would I work with my competition and why would they give me jobs?”

Here is the reasoning behind those crazy thoughts:

I’m not suggesting that you reach out to every competitor that you have in your market, but what I do suggest is that you reach out to a handful of the top notch top quality professionals that you know, who are large players in your market. Find out what services or systems they install that you don’t, and vice versa. 

Let’s say they only install TPO/PVC and EPDM because they are a large single ply contractor. If you were to make a good acquaintance with them and show them how you can offer a high-quality liquid applied system to their repertoire when they come in contact with a client who may not have the budget for a TPO or a layover, they can refer you or bring you in as a sub to do a coating system for them. This allows them to continue to serve their clients and still get a small piece of the pie on an otherwise lost opportunity.

In doing so, if you come across a roof that is in need of a single ply or a specific system that you currently don’t install, you can reach out to them and do the same thing. You can refer them or use them as a sub and you both get a piece of the pie and build both of your businesses.

Mutual Benefits:

Not only does this build stronger communities because of the shared wealth and growth but it also builds a stronger quality control in your market which will allow the cream to rise to the top promoting both of you to get more jobs.

If you live in a storm ridden area this will give both of you the opportunity to tackle more jobs by having more tools in the toolbox, thus improving the bottom line for both companies.

At the end of the day, when you collaborate you eliminate competition and dominate industries.

Chad Hedrick, Roof Coating Life
“We Bleed White”

Chad Hedrick, owner of Roof Coating Life commits to helping 10 new Contractors succeed in the Fluid Applied Industry each year. He’s selective in this process because realistically, his time is limited. He offers his valuable time and best mentor ship to the guys who are serious about making 30%-50% profits with Roof Coatings. Check out the Requirements for working with Chad to see if you might qualify.

Want to read more?

“Checklist for the Brand New Coatings Contractor”
“Professional Contractors Never Stop Learning”
“The Launch of the Roof Coating Life Blog”

Get the FREE eBook “7 Unique Ways To Market Your Fluid Applied Roofing Business.” It’s packed with outside the box Marketing Strategies (Strategy #6 landed us 5 commercial projects last Summer!) that will help you best serve your clients and live the Roof Coating Life like a boss.

Want to up your game in the Fluid Applied Roofing Industry? Sign up for Tips and Tricks of the trade so you can live the Roof Coating Life like a Boss.