New Solutions for Roofing Contractors Unveiled At IRE
It’s hard to believe that we are already in the second quarter, and equally hard to believe that IRE 2024 was almost two months ago in Las Vegas.
During IRE, two names familiar to building pros everywhere unveiled new products and solutions that should help roofing contractors save time and money when it comes to insurance restoration work and exterior waterproofing.
During the “Best of Success” podcast show live from the IRE floor, Roofing Contractor Group Publisher Jill Bloom sat down with representatives from GAF and Owens Corning to learn about these exciting new offerings.
GAF Introduces ScopeConnect for Roofing Pros
GAF has introduced a brand new product called ScopeConnect™ that will actually write the insurance scope of work for the contractor. GAF designed Scope Connect™ with two types of roofing pros in mind:
- Roofing contractors who are either just getting into insurance jobs or contractors for whom insurance jobs account for a very small percentage of their business, and…
- Roofing contractors who are doing a ton of insurance work and have a single employee who writes scope of works all day long.
How Does ScopeConnect Work?
GAF Business Development Manager Haley Hayden sat down with Roofing Contractor’s Jill Bloom (Video) and explained how ScopeConnect can give roofing pros a detailed estimate in less than 24 hours.
“Basically, you start with an address, you answer as many questions as you want…I like to say the more you fill out, the better the scope is going to be, and within 24 hours you are going to have a full insurance scope of work written for you,” says Heyden.
She adds that, “Roofing contractors can also receive this information in an ESX file for Xactimate or an FML file for Symbility. So just like that, roofing pros can step into the insurance game and save both time and money. ScopeConnect is highly intuitive as it works off of building codes and pulls in measurements automatically.”
With an insurance-focused game changer like ScopeConnect now available for roofing pros, it seems appropriate that the new offering’s tagline is “Take The Pain Out of Insurance Claims.” (Video)
Owens Corning Unveils Two New Solutions for Roofing Pros
Owens Corning also had some big announcements for roofing pros at IRE 2024 in the form of a new waterproofing product and a solar panel installation solution.
Owens Corning is no stranger to product innovation and education opportunities for roofing contractors, so these two announcements were right in line with what the company has delivered historically.
Owens Corning Launches Solar PROtect for Contractors
In another Roofing Contractor Best of Success podcast interview, Owens Corning Roofing President Gunner Smith explained the motivation behind a new offering called Solar PROtect.™ (Video)
“A lot of the value we have been bringing to contractors is beyond product. This year we are launching a program called Solar PROtect™ which was designed by roofing contractors for roofing contractors,” Smith said.
“Basically, contractors kept asking us, ‘Hey, how do we play in the solar arena.’ And as we did more research, we found that homeowners were often dissatisfied with either the water tightness (of) solar projects OR they were dissatisfied with a solar project that went over a roof that half of its life was already gone, and they had to deal with that later.”
“Solar PROtect™ is basically a program where we use our system, high-temp underlayment, high-duration shingles, and preparing the mounts properly and then the roof is water tight. And then the solar company only has to install the rack, so it gives the homeowner peace of mind, and it gives contractors the opportunity to do the roof the right way. And if they do all of those things, we will offer an extended warranty including workmanship for the homeowner,” Smith said.
Owens Corning "Moving Down The Walls" with PINKWRAP
The second major solution for roofing contractors from Owens Corning is back in the product category, and a logical extension down the exterior walls of what Owens Corning does so well on the roof.
In conversations with roofing pros, Owens Corning was finding more and more contractors were looking for solutions for extending the roof’s weather barrier down the walls of new construction homes.
The new PINKWRAP™ product was showcased this year at Owens Corning’s IDE booth. The new PINKWRAP™ product is pink, of course, but it also has the added advantage of being transparent, so contractors will know where the studs and fastening points are. There are two versions of PINKWRAP™: a premium product and a value-based product depending on the contractor’s needs.
Contact CII Today
If you own an established roofing business and would like to get a better understanding of the current market value of your company and important steps you can take today to maximize that value, get in touch with a CII business advisor today.