David Welch is a roofing contractor who also happens to be a pilot. His vocation of roofing and his hobby of flying have come together in the form of a new service being offered by his company: roof inspections via infrared (IR) thermography.
My good friend, Tom, caught me by surprise the other day. My pastor needed some help with the storm-damaged roof on his home and I was on the phone with Tom discussing how he might help out. He said something to the effect of, “You still writing the ‘good news’ editorial in the roofing magazine?” I bit my tongue, and instead of responding with, “Yeah, why the hell are you not reading it every month?” I asked what he meant with the “good news” comment.
There is a lot of squawking these days about the “nationalization of the banking system” and the “nationalization of the auto industry” and the “nationalization of the health care system.” I do not know quite how to break it to you: that ship has sailed. It left the dock a long, long time ago and it will not likely return in my lifetime.
Trips to the old hometown are not infrequent as the roofing distribution company where I make my primary living has operations here. In fact, we still operate from the same facility we built back in 1989 when I was branch manager here. So much is the same and so much has changed.
Since 2007 when the nation’s economy began sliding into recession, warning signs started pointing to the kind of thing that happens when unemployment begins to rise. Notably, there has been an increase in “shrinkage” - everything from break-ins to white-collar theft.
As distasteful as I find most things political, it seems that I spend more and more time trying to figure out what the federal government is going to do next. It might not ordinarily matter a lot, with the exception of things like wars or political upheaval in foreign lands in which we have an interest.
I was still a kid in the roofing biz when non-destructive testing of low-slope roofing systems began to gain some widespread popularity. There were all types of devices ranging from simple, handheld moisture meters to conductance systems to infrared systems. In other words, the idea of surveying an existing membrane as to the condition under it is not new but has gradually gained wide acceptance among roofing professionals, both contractors and consultants.
It was March of 2001 when Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley introduced “an energy code for Chicago that promotes efficiency and protects the environment.” Part of the code set forth requirements for new roofing systems and repair and replacement of existing systems relating to insulation and reflectivity. The code in its original form virtually eliminated most of the most common low-slope roofing systems that were being specified and installed at that time.
I was involved in more unpleasant business this past week than I care to think about much less blog about. But as the week comes to a close it is still good to look back and learn; we should gain something from the pain life is prone to dispense from time to time.
