The Sea Ranch Motel in Carolina Beach, N.C., has experienced their its share of trials and tribulations.



Mike Cooper was what you would call a “true skeptic” when it came to finding the right roofing system for his sister’s family-owned business. As the operations manager for the Sea Ranch Motel in Carolina Beach, N.C., Cooper and his sister, Margaret Vernon, have experienced their share of trials and tribulations. When storms such as Hurricane Floyd swept through town, they left roof shingles from the hotel scattered everywhere – and the hotel closed for business. It seemed like nothing could curtail the destruction.

So when John Hall, a Duro-Last® sales rep, came knocking on Cooper’s office door, bragging about the wonderful roofing system that would come to his rescue, Mike was very leery about trying the thermoplastic single-ply roofing system.

“I was very skeptical about the system,” recalled Cooper. “I didn’t know if I would like the aesthetics of a smooth white surface, especially since you can clearly see the motel roof from every side of the complex. But I was getting tired of replacing shingles and losing business every time a hurricane came through,” he continued. “So I knew that something needed to be done.”

Prior to Hall’s visit, Cooper had been researching various roofing systems for approximately one and a half years. He was about to purchase a standing-seam overlay when Hall sparked an interest. Hall arranged a rooftop tour of the Baptist church in Fayetteville, N.C., which had received a Duro-Last roof. To Cooper’s surprise, he learned that the church’s old roof had been a standing-seam metal roof that had experienced continual leaks.

“The maintenance gentleman at the church said that there had been no problems with the new roof,” recalled Cooper. “I was impressed with that.”

Although he was still not totally convinced in purchasing the system for his motel, he did agree to use a Duro-Last roof on his home, a little cottage that is adjacent to the motel. Not only did the system protect his home and reduce energy costs, according to Cooper, it also insulated and “sound-proofed” the cottage. “Since the parking lot is also adjacent to my home, I get a lot of the traffic noise associated with the motel,” noted Cooper. “The roof cut the noise level down – I didn’t expect that.”

And that was all he needed to know. Within a year, he placed an order with D. Thomas Roofing, Wilmington, N.C., for a Duro-Last roof. Since the 43-room motel has been covered by the roof, the thought of a hurricane is no longer a threat to Cooper. “I wanted something that would stay during any kind of inclement weather and I found it,” he said. “We’ve witnessed several bad storms since the new roof was installed, and there have been no problems, even when other (rubber) roofs on neighboring properties blew off. It’s an amazing product … downtime for my business is not a factor any more.

“I’ve had a bunch of inquiries about our roof,” Cooper explains. “I even have samples of the Duro-Last membrane that I give out to customers, visitors and neighbors who are interested.”