Contractor Advantage May / June 2024

SIDING TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2024

CHANGE YOUR THINKING AND CREATE A CULTURE THAT PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO LEAVE

ROOFING JOBS REMAIN HIGH

Castle Building Centres Group Ltd. is a Canadian member-owned, Lumber, Building Materials and Hardware buying group representing over 300 member locations across Canada.

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Lawrence Cummer

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On the cover: Ideal Roofing

ABOUT CONTRACTOR ADVANTAGE

MAY / JUNE 2024

Volume 29 Issue 3

CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTORS

LAWRENCE CUMMER

Lawrence (“Law”) Cummer is a freelance writer and editor and has been a frequent contributor to Contractor Advantage, Ideas and Rough Construction for nearly a decade. Over his more than 20-year career, Law has written about contracting and construction, general business, information technology, health and safety, personal finance and almost every topic in between. He has a passion for storytelling and sharing how people can work better, easier — and “smarter” — from contractors to technologists to business executives.

JESSICA RECTOR

Jessica Rector, MBA, author of the #1 best-selling “Blaze Your Brain to Extinguish Burnout” and nine other books, helps organizations, leaders, and teams Say Yes to eradicate burnout and enhance mental health. As a burnout trailblazer, her research is used in her consulting and speaking and often shared on her podcast, “The Say Yes Experience.” For how Jessica can help your organization and team, go to www.jessicarector.com.

06 SIDING TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2024

Just as the popularity of specific home design trends shifts over the years, the exterior cladding they are wearing changes too in terms of aesthetics, performance, and materials.

CHANGE

YOUR THINKING AND

CREATE A CULTURE THAT PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO LEAVE

Do you have a Negative Nancy (NN) or Toxic Tim (TT) that you’re keeping longer than you should? Would you let them go if you weren’t so short staffed?

ROOFING JOBS REMAIN HIGH

Innovations, sustainability efforts and a backlog of work make 2024 a good time to be in roofing.

SIDING TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2024

Written by Lawrence Cummer

Just as the popularity of specific home design trends shifts over the years, the exterior cladding they are wearing changes too in terms of aesthetics, performance, and materials.

Today, with nearly countless options, there is no shortage of considerations for selecting the right siding. Aesthetically, homeowners — and contractors and builders set on meeting their demands — have a lot more options than simply putting up aluminum or vinyl lap siding panels, which were popular for decades.

Meanwhile, elements of water resistance, energy efficiency, and durability continue to be important considerations. Finally, with time meaning money for everyone involved, ease of installation is a key consideration.

Photo courtesy of Gentek Building Products

WARMER TONES

Long gone are the stark white profile sidings of the past. In recent years, dark colours and tones have been popular across the home, accenting trim, windows, doors, and siding with black or near-black colours.

“The last couple of years, black, dark browns, and dark greys were the main requested colours,” says Maurizio Scatozza, Regional Manager at Royal Building Solutions.

“That’s still trending. We do stock more on black colours and dark greys like ‘gunmetal’ or what we call ‘iron stone’… I’ve noticed a bit of a trend starting towards more of the warmer colours.”

“Browns are starting to be requested again, and interestingly enough, some creams as well.”

He says he’s also seeing a greater interest in wood grain textures, and related colours, although not necessarily wood — with homeowners favouring the easier maintenance of vinyl, aluminum, or steel sidings.

“Royal, among other manufacturers, produces a wood-looking siding in either aluminum or steel, so you have the maintenance-free aspect of it, and the longevity and the look of wood, which is everyone’s favourite thing to have on their house.”

He adds, “I don’t have to touch it, I don’t have to paint it, I don’t have to maintain it, (except) maybe a cleaning every once in a while, and it always looks as if it was brand new.”

Of course, colour and style preferences shift by region. “Dark colours are still very popular,” says Eric Peloquin, Manager of Retail Sales at Gentek Building Products.

“It almost seems like you can’t get enough black in the house. But then, in some regions, there’s been a return to white or, instead, going with a beige or light grey.”

Dark colours are only good if they don’t fade, and Diana Sousa, Marketing Director at Kaycan says “With bold colours being one of the top trends, it is imperative for contractors and builders to know about the technology behind keeping those colours true throughout the years.

As dark pigments absorb heat at a higher level than lighter shades, we developed our Helios and Colorfast technologies to protect the siding from distorting and fading, thanks to these unique technologies, we can offer a 25yr fade resistance warranty.”

Photos courtesy of Royal Building Solutions

Photo courtesy of Gentek Building Products

Photo courtesy of Kaycan

MIX-AND-MATCH DESIGN

The trend of a mixed material design aesthetic that started a few years ago has continued to grow . It’s all to give the home a singularly unique look.

“We call it mix-and-match design. Whereas before designers, homeowners, and builders would go with a similar look on the four walls of the house and the same model of siding, we now see sections of the wall may have more typical vinyl siding, but at the bottom there’ll be (siding with) a stone or wood look,” Peloquin says. “You’ll have these different products, and different colours all blend, but people are moving away from a single look for their house.”

He adds, “Because now there are so many choices for exterior cladding, you can have a curb appeal that’s different than your neighbour.”

On that note, as appearances go, the “faux wood” look is one of the trends Peloquin says has perhaps exploded the most over the past three or so years.

“Anything that looks like wood but doesn’t have the maintenance required, and that could be a PVC, steel, aluminum…”

Sousa says mixing textures is one of three major trends her company is seeing, including sustainability and modern contemporary design.

“Houses are now seeing three to four different types of materials on the exterior. This is a great way to add instant curb appeal and draw the eye towards architectural focal points,” she says. “We love the juxtaposition of sleek aluminum paired with the warmth of engineered wood siding or mixing horizontal vinyl with vinyl board-and-batten in the same colour to create visual interest.”

Photo courtesy of Gentek Building Products

Photo courtesy of Kaycan

AN URBAN FARMHOUSE DESIGN ESSENTIAL

Scatozza points out that a classic American siding profile, board-and-batten remains popular. Sometimes dubbed ‘barn siding’, the profile is so named because it’s created using wide boards — traditionally wood but now in many materials — spaced with narrower strips, called battens.

“Board-and-batten has taken off in the last few years,” he says. “It’s drawn quite a bit of interest

from homeowners, so contractors are looking for those profiles.”

He says, interestingly, he’s been seeing an increase in requests for board-and-batten profiles of his company’s Haven Insulated Siding in white and marine blue. Made using graphite-enhanced EPS (expanded polystyrene), the siding combines the look of cedar with unique heat-reflecting technology — and 16 colours.

Photo courtesy of Royal Building Solutions

Peloquin says Gentek sees the growing trend of board-and-batten and urban farmhouse designs in some regions, while in others, the industrial design aesthetic has become more popular. “Both of these designs are popular at the same time, depending on where you’re located,” he says, reiterating the breadth of available products. “They require totally different kinds of products, but they are all available.”

Photo courtesy of Gentek Building Products

CLAD IN STEEL

In terms of metal sidings, steel appears to be on the rise. “We’re seeing a big lean towards steel right now,” says Greg Gardenits, National Director of Sales & Marketing at Westman Steel Industries.

He says this has come in part based on disappointment with other materials and because “steel holds the test of time.”

“If you travel throughout Europe and the old world countries, and to use roofing as an example, you see a lot of steel roofs that are 500 years old, 600 years old, or 800 years old, and they’re still standing and doing the job they need to do.”

He suggests that this translates into longevity for steel siding products. While a decade ago, steel siding might not have been common in the residential space. “There weren’t a lot of colours, and there was the feel in the marketplace that our ‘better halves’ wanted to see something nice on our home and didn’t want it to look like a barn.”

That’s changed. Today, Westman boasts 43 different colours of steel siding and various

profiles meant to appease the vagaries of a wide range of designers and homeowners.

“We’ve got paint finishes that are textured paints or paint finishes that look like wood grain,” Gardenits says. “We’ve even got finishes that look like rusted steel, believe it or not.” All to meet the designs and demands in the marketplace (of course, rusty-looking or not, it’s good as new and carries a full warranty, he notes).

Gardentis says the benefits of steel for homeowners are its strength, performance, and sustainability. For contractors, it’s the ease of installation, requiring no specialized tools, and an opportunity to stand out in a profitable market. Gardentis suggests that while steel siding can have costs similar to Hardie Board, it has lightness and ease of installation that allow it to go up as fast as vinyl. It’s not for new homeowners.

“You’re seeing more and more sustainable products now going into each zone. It’s no secret that we can’t keep ripping off asphalt shingles and vinyl siding and putting it in landfills; steel is 100 percent recyclable.”

Photo courtesy of Westman Steel Industries

SUSTAINABILITY DEMANDS

As with perhaps every area of renovation, homeowners are seeking more environmentally friendly and sustainable siding solutions.

“Homeowners are increasingly interested in eco-responsible materials, seeking options that align with their values. They even go as far as to research the companies and manufacturers sustainable efforts prior to considering their products,” Sousa says. “Contractors need to be able to offer sustainable solutions combined with contemporary colours and design to stay on trend.”

To that end, she says, contractors need to be aware of their manufacturers’ sustainability efforts.

“At Kaycan Saint-Gobain, we implemented our R3v program, which stands for Reclaim, Regrind and Repurpose vinyl. We encourage our customers to return used vinyl siding to our facilities for us to regrind and repurpose them into starter strips. Our manufacturing facilities are also mandated to be highly efficient in regard to water conservation and waste management.”

Photo courtesy of Kaycan

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

While reducing heat transfer for energy efficiency is top of mind, it’s not the only way the right insulation can contribute to homeowners’ comfort.

Scatozza notes that while his company’s Royal Haven insulated siding provides R-value to contribute to the home’s energy efficiency, its sound attenuation capabilities also provide value.

He speaks to a first-hand example of a home he visited after an installer replaced an old

Insulbrick-style siding popular in the ’60s and ’70s with Royal Haven insulated vinyl. “I was in the area and looking at the house, and the homeowners came out and asked me what I thought… And they said, ‘Yeah, we noticed the sound we used to hear from outside has diminished substantially, which is an unexpected benefit.’

“That was nice to hear, and that’s why I bring sound attenuation up.”

Photo courtesy of Royal Building Solutions

COMPOSITE SIDING MARKET GROWS

One siding product category Peloquin says has “really taken off” over the last two or three years is its Align Composite Cladding.

“Instead of regular PVC, this composite is made from a glass-reinforced polymer with insulation in the back that’s graphite-infused polystyrene, so it’s a different kind of product that touches on all the benefits: easy to install, light, no maintenance, and a nice long warranty. Everything that people are looking for.”

Further to homeowners’ desire for low-maintenance, wood-looking products, Scatozza says interest in composite PVC siding, like his company’s Celect Cellular Composite Siding, has “exploded in recent years.”

He says it has all the look of wood, but with the water resistance and low maintenance homeowners seek. Showing the interwoven popularity of composite technology, urban farmhouse designs, and a growing trend towards wider profiles, Royal last year added an 11” board-and-batten profile to their original 8” Celect offering.

THE NEED FOR INSTALLATION EASE

As the industry continues to be hit with challenges around finding skilled labour, ease of installation has become more and more important for both contractors and homeowners.

For homeowners, faster installation can mean savings on labour costs, while for contractors, it could be the difference between having available installers or not. With that in mind, every siding vendor emphasizes the value of their products’ ease.

“Labour is still a challenge out there, and there doesn’t seem to be as many people available to install siding,” Peloquin notes. “If you have a product that’s low-maintenance but also easy to install, we see a lot of demand for that.” —

Photo courtesy of Royal Building Solutions

Photo courtesy of Gentek Building Products

CHANGE YOUR THINKING AND CREATE A CULTURE THAT PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO LEAVE

Written by Jessica Rector

Do you have a Negative Nancy (NN) or Toxic Tim (TT) that you’re keeping longer than you should? Would you let them go if you weren’t so short staffed? One Negative Nancy or Toxic Tim infiltrates the whole company, and it spreads throughout, affecting everyone.

Think of it like this: You attended a meeting that NN was in. When you leave, you approach Positive Polly and share with Positive Polly, “It’s so frustrating

dealing with NN. Why is she still here? All we do is constantly listen to her babble and unhappiness.”

Before you know it, you become a Negative Nancy, and Positive Polly sees the impact the original NN has made on you and the team. It only takes one person thinking negatively to bring the whole environment, culture, and team down. In order to help you, Positive Polly shares the following.

You have 60,000 thoughts a day, and 80% of them are negative. These come in the form of doubt, worry and stress and are linked to poor attitudes, declining engagement, and poor performance.

Most people think they are positive and optimistic, yet negativity shows and they don’t recognize it. In fact, 95% of your thoughts are repetitive. So, all of the negative thoughts keep getting repeated, impacting how you show up, speak out, lead, and live.

Your thoughts are the fundamental foundation of everything you do and everything you don’t do, yet often times you don’t think about them. When was the last time you thought about what you thought about?

If you’re like most people, you think the same way you’ve always thought, resulting in the same behaviours, actions, and results. If you want to change relationships, communication, interactions, your confidence, you must first change how you think. Once you change that, then everything else will change as well.

Here is a five-step process to help you change your thoughts to invoke different actions, behaviours and results and develop a positive work environment.

1. Identify—Recognize your thoughts. There’s an exercise to help you very specifically identify your negative thoughts. It’s called the Stand up/Sit down exercise. This is a great exercise to do as a team. Have someone read a set of statements. For every statement you agree with, you will move your body. Everyone starts in a stand-up position. For example, if the first statement is “If you’ve ever thought you’re not smart enough,” and you agree, you’ll sit down. If you disagree with the statement, you’ll remain as you were. If the next statement is, “If you’ve ever thought you don’t have enough time,” and you agree, you’ll move (either stand up or sit down depending on what you did for the first statement). This repeats for

every statement read (there should be about 15 statements read). During this activity, you can expect to hear laughter evoked from your group, as they are moving for most of them, which shows that negative thinking arises without you consciously knowing. And you have a lot more of them than you believe.

2. Write it—Once you’ve identified your negative thoughts, it’s important to write them down. Something happens in your brain when you write things down. They tend to become real, and you remember them more. So, when you write down your negative thoughts, you become more mindful when they arise. Follow the rest of the process with just one of your negative thoughts. Once you have mastered one, work on another (you don’t want to overwhelm you or burn you out by doing too many at once).

3. Triggers—What are your triggers for your negative thinking? Triggers can be a place, situation, mood, experience, or thing. If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone and walked away saying to yourself, “Why do I even bother,” then you also know a trigger can be a person too. And many times, it is a person. Write down all of your triggers. When you’re aware of your triggers, you can be on the lookout for them. When they come up, as they will, you are armed to not allow the negative thoughts to follow.

4. Reframe—List all the ways to reframe the negative thought. There are two ways to do this reframing. First, you can say the opposite of the negative statement. Instead of saying, I’m not a good enough leader, you can say, “I’m an awesome leader.” The second way is to ask questions. For instance, what courses do I need to take to become a better leader, what leadership book should I read to improve my leadership skills, or who can mentor me into being a better leader. Your brain is constantly talking too. If you say you’re not a good enough leader, your brain will validate it with all the ways that it’s true. If you say you’re an awesome leader, your brain will validate it in all the ways that it’s true. So, listening to the positive part of your brain will make all the difference in your work and life.

5. Action—Once you have your reframing options, pick one to take action on. Nothing changes until you take action on it. Small action makes a huge difference. If you want to know the best leadership book to read, you may initially think you do not know any; however, your brain can solve that dilemma. It’ll reply with ideas to look up leadership books on Google, put a post on Facebook asking your friends for their recommendations, or look up Amazon book reviews. Then it’s time to decide which action you will take (which book to order and order it). Small consistent action is key to eradicating negative thinking.

The more you work through this process, the more positive thoughts you have. You’ll soon recognize negative thoughts in others and can help them master their own mindset. You’ll become the Positive Polly and help develop a positive work environment that no one wants to leave. —

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ROOFING JOBS REMAIN HIGH

Innovations, sustainability efforts and a backlog of work make 2024 a good time to be in roofing.

Written by Lawrence Cummer

Demand for new roofs remains high, and while product availability seems to have stabilized in recent years, the labour shortage is evident.

“The past few years in roofing, things have been going crazy. Everybody has been struggling to keep up with demand, the highest roofing markets in recent memory,” says Brian Stanford, Product Manager at CertainTeed Roofing Group.

“There’s only so many contractors out there, only so much labour out there to help put the shingles on the roof. The backlog is pretty wild,” he added.

Photo courtesy of CertainTeed

FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABILITY

“As an organization and as an industry, it’s important we look at that side of things,” says Rob Davidson, VP of Residential Sales at IKO Canada.

“Focusing on being green and environmentally conscious is important to IKO.”

With that in mind, Davidson points to what he calls one of the newest trends for his company: its expanded pre-consumer recycling capabilities.

According to an April 2023 press release from IKO, their CEO stated, “The first significant step towards reducing shingle related disposal in landfills is our goal to achieve zero percent waste at every plant location. We are well on our way to achieve this objective at our Hawkesbury facility, and we will use what we learned from this effort to

rapidly innovate even more efficient lines at both IKO Hagerstown and at each of our shingle plants in the coming years.” The Hawkesbury, Ont., plant is one of IKO’s eight modern shingle manufacturing plants; it is among the first to graduate from its pilot phase into daily production.

Of course, recycling is just part of the equation, and Davidson points out the importance the longevity of better-performing products can have in reducing waste. One of the ways it achieves lasting performance is with the ArmorZone technology found on Dynasty and Nordic shingles. This special reinforcing tape was engineered to provide tremendous fastening power and nail pull-through resistance against wind uplift.

Photo courtesy of IKO Canada

GAF, with over a century of experience in shingles, has also seen the danger of more asphalt shingles in landfills, and developed the GAF Roof Cycle, a patented process for building its Timberline HDZ RoofCycle Series Shingles with approximately 7% recycled content without sacrificing quality. It plans to ultimately use 90% of shingle waste that it collects to manufacture new shingles, diverting even more waste from landfills. Since December 2022, GAF says it has diverted more than 1 million lbs.

Photo courtesy of GAF

Stanford notes that his company and its parent company, Saint-Gobain, place sustainability high on their list of priorities. In 2019, it signed the pledge of the Global Compact “Business ambition for 1.5°C”, committing itself to reach Net-Zero emissions by no later than 2050 in line to limit the rise of global temperature to 1.5°C. The company says this is part of the strategy it has been deploying for several years to limit its environmental impact and contribute to decarbonizing its markets.

“We call it growing impact, reducing waste, and increasing the circularity of raw materials. We want to try and strive to have that zero carbon footprint,” Stanford says.

Last year, CertainTeed Roofing acquired the rights to technology from recycling company Asphaltica, which will allow the company to recycle asphalt shingle waste, diverting it from landfills.

“Consumers are more aware of how products are made and how they are disposed at the end of their life cycle,” says Randal Rocchio, Sales Manager at Ideal Roofing. “Ideal Roofing sources our coils from both Arcelor Mittal Dofasco and Stelco in the Hamilton region of Ontario. We manufacture in our Brampton, Ottawa, and Moncton plants, then deliver to our distributors. Our steel is made with a blend of recycled steel and more than 50 years from now, it can be recycled again.”

Photo courtesy of Ideal Roofing

Photo courtesy of CertainTeed

BUILDING FOR PERFORMANCE

For contractors, a larger nailing zone with guidelines printed on the top helps ensure roofing crews place their nails accurately within this zone, making for a quick and easier installation without compromising confidence.

Similarly, recognizing the need for lasting performance, the inventor of the modern shingle, GAF, has unveiled a fastening innovation to its popular Timberline HDZ High Definition shingles: LayerLock technology. The technology includes the industry’s widest nailing area, resulting in roofers achieving 99.9% nailing accuracy, and a mechanically fused common bond between overlapping shingle layers. Adam Prestwich, Director of Canadian Sales for GAF, compares the compounding strength generated to people locking arms.

“There are two major areas when selecting roofing products,” Prestwich says. “Homeowners want curb appeal and resale value, but that roof must stay on. It must do its job, and that comes back to the critical functionality of the roof.”

“That’s why our tagline is ‘we protect what matters most’,” he adds. “It has to go on, stay on, and do its job for many years to come.”

Photos courtesy of GAF

To combat the increase in inclement weather, CertainTeed too has released an innovation. Its ClimateFlex Polymer-Modified Shingle Technology combines durable roofing asphalt with the performance benefits of rubberizing polymers. This results in impact-resistant shingles that the

company says offer an industry-leading Class 4 rating (UL Classified to UL 2218) for protection against hail damage and hail impact, as well as superior surface granule adhesion and all-weather performance that protects year-round in almost any climate or condition.

Photo courtesy of CertainTeed

Of course, Canadian climates must be always considered — including installation. “With professionals, there is a growing need for increased wind resistance because of increasingly bad weather and the fact that roofs are being installed during the Winter more often than in the past. Our new Signature shingle now offers a 220 km/h wind warranty thanks to improved sealant technology,” says Eric Belley, Product Manager for Roofing at Building Products of Canada.

Given the inclement conditions Canadian homes are being hit with, Royal Roofing has taken steps to improve its hidden fastener series products.

“We have designed our hidden fastener series, Heritage and Wakefield Bridge, to be direct to deck application with proper underlayment versus traditional wood strapped metal roofing,” Rocchio says. “By doing so, we have Miami-Dade County Approval to resist high winds of 240KMH (TAS100), burning embers (Fire Class A, ASTM E108), and hail resistance to class 4 size. We understand that when extreme conditions occur, we want our products to withstand the elements and minimize the impact on our consumers.”

Photo courtesy of Building Products of Canada

Photo courtesy of Ideal Roofing

THE DEMAND FOR HIGH AESTHETIC

While having the performance needed to resist inclement weather is key, there’s no denying that most homeowners care about the appearance of their roofs. After all, as Davidson points out, the roof typically represents about 1/3 of the home’s presence. “So, it plays a huge role in aesthetics.”

To meet that demand, IKO has added more high-definition colours to its performance products, says John Vukanovich, Residential Marketing at IKO. To ease homeowners making decisions, he says, the company has developed a series of 30-second YouTube videos using drone footage. But perhaps most exciting is the IKO ROOFViewer Interactive Roof Color Visualizer Tool

found on its website, with which homeowners or contractors can upload an image of the home and make shingle style and colour blend choices.

On reroofs, where homeowners are typically more established, aesthetics can play a bigger part. “Reroof customers are established, might have a little bit more money to spend, might get a little bit more of a luxury look, a shake or slate, to get a bit more premium look on their roof,” Stanford says. He says blacks, browns, and greys are all going to be popular in 2024, adding that people are getting more interested in warm and earthtones colours.

Photo courtesy of IKO Canada

“There is a growing need for roofing colours that compliment today’s modern home exterior finishes, says Belley. “Shingle industry colours have not evolved at the same pace as other home building materials. BP has created the Chroma Colour Lab, a group of technicians and designers, for the sole purpose of colour development and quality. All the colours for our Signature were crafted by the Chroma Colour Lab, and the result is a modern take on classic shingle colours which will compliment today’s modern home design and help update the look of older homes.”

On that note, he adds that BP’s Chroma Colour Lab has developed Profusio, an innovative colour-combination feature that allows homeowners to express personality and style on a roof. Two Signature colours can be combined on the same roof to create a new unique colour blend.

Also trending in 2024, Rocchio says, are hidden fastener roof and wall systems. “They tend to have better wind warranties and curb appeal. These products would include hidden fasteners, snap-lock standing seams, and/or four-way interlocking metal shingles.”

He adds that, in many Urban areas, Ideal Roofing is seeing multi-family housing projects use metal roofing and siding, as they are low-maintenance solutions for many generations to come. “The upfront investment will pay off over time as there will be less replacement costs, keeping maintenance fees lower.”

Photo courtesy of Building Products of Canada

Photo courtesy of Ideal Roofing

A NATURAL LOOKING FINISH

As always, the appeal of a wood-like appearance is popular, even for metal shingles.

“There are a few standout trends that we’ve been observing over the last few years that are continuing to gain momentum across Canada and the US,” says Renai Medeiros, National Accounts Coordinator at Vicwest. “Simulated Natural finish roofing products like Vicwest’s True Nature Roofing products, including Slate and Shake Tiles have been at the top of the list. Improvement in tile manufacturing systems, as well as the paint technologies used, give the finished product a surprisingly close to the real thing feel.”

Medeiros adds that dark colours continue to rule the day in metal roofing. “Blacks, dark browns, and deep grays have all been in high demand. The matte finish versions of these colours remain hard to keep in stock.”

A further aesthetic trend roofing contractors need to consider is the very low, slow roofs in many current home designs, Medeiros says. “While this can be a great looking design, it also requires some additional thought as it relates to what products you’re going to use.” She recommends contractors working on a slope less than 2/12 to share their plans with their regular Castle Building Centre, who can reach out to Vicwest Technical Services to review it.

Photo courtesy of Vicwest

HELPING ROOFING CONTRACTORS

Homeowners don’t call contractors for shingles, but for a finished roof. It’s for that reason that Prestwich says his company has been investing more R&D in technology solutions to aid contractors in doing the gig.

One such innovation is the GAF QuickMeasure report, an accurate roof measurement with high-resolution imagery that roofing contractors can receive in under 1 hour for single-family homes and less than 24 hours for multi-family and commercial properties. To aid on the business side,

GAF has launched GAF Project, a digital sales tool that helps partners streamline sales and even introduce remote selling capabilities.

Medeiros notes that new digital technologies are on the rise, pointing to EagleView technology software as an example that makes estimating more efficient and seamless. She says, “Coupled with advanced coating technologies and the benefits of using steel as a roofing product,” her company and the contractors using the technologies can serve more communities quicker and more accurately. —

Photo courtesy of Vicwest

Photo courtesy of GAF