Of all the things one may find in a successful roofing contractor’s toolkit, a pool of well-trained and motivated workers would always be considered one of the most treasured. Being armed with great technical expertise and having a fantastic client base is not worth much if you cannot execute the work.
This issue of Roofing Contractor officially marks our 25th anniversary. While we are thrilled to reach this new height, we recognize that we have a job to do. No matter our age or past accomplishments, we are only as good as our most recent publication, Web posting, webinar or conference.
"It looks like you have a sound, productive sales system. When you follow the system, you provide better service to your customers and create more and bigger sales. So, what's the challenge?" I asked.
Year after year, company after company, industry after industry, I keep hearing business owners tell me the biggest problem they have is finding good employees. I don't have any magical solutions to offer, but a little common sense might clarify some rules of the game.
All successful roof projects require that the installers adhere to proper application methods. Improper workmanship contributes to a decrease in the roof systems service life. All types of roof systems - both steep-slope and low-slope applications - are prone to potential workmanship errors. In the case of steep-slope shingle applications, there are a number of common mistakes that should be avoided to ensure a long service life. A successful roofing project and satisfied client can be achieved if these common mistakes can be avoided in the field.
It has been awhile since I broached the subject of per square pricing and the perils it presents for roofing contractors. It is such an important topic that I would like to revisit it and once again caution roofers as to why per square pricing does not work. We will start this discussion with a tale of two roofs being bid by the same contractor who uses per square pricing methods.
Ramón didn't understand. He said he did, but he didn't. He said he did because he wanted to make his supervisor happy. Making his supervisor happy cost him his life. Making his supervisor happy cost his family their husband, their father, their provider.
OSHA defines a "steep roof" as any roof with a rise/run ratio over 4:12 (18.43 degrees). While most standard-pitched residential roofs seldom exceed a 12:12 pitch (45 degrees), the landscape is occasionally marked by a design which harkens back to earlier times, when much greater roof pitches were more common. Architecturally described as a "dramatic pitch," the extremely steep roof (ESR) is considered to have a pitch in excess of 12:12, up to a plumb vertical plane.
It would be ludicrous to think that all OSHA site inspections are identical, but there is a basic "skeletal process" common to each one that contractors should be familiar with.
Everyone would agree that word of mouth is the best form of advertising. It's free, it's effective, and it's substantive. A referral leaves you with a good feeling because you know it's the result of a job well done for some satisfied customer.
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