Tesla's rooftop solar tiles differ from others in the market in terms of size, aesthetics and requirements, and they could inspire more roof replacements by yielding a greater return on investment, writes Ken Kelly of Kelly Roofing. "Tesla products could make it 'cool' to work in the roofing industry," he adds.
How Top Roofing Companies Maximize Margins In this one-hour webinar, Erick Vargas, COO of Followup CRM, will break down the strategies top roofing contractors use to maximize margins on their bids. We crunch the data of thousands of salespeople and estimators to put together a framework around how you can add 30% or more margin on your jobs. Register now.
Declines in private construction offset gains in single-family home construction as overall construction spending decreased 0.8% in October, according to the Commerce Department. Overall construction in the first 10 months of this year reached an annual rate of $1.09 trillion after seasonal adjustment, down 1.7% compared with the first 10 months of last year.
Roofing contractors can benefit from using aerial imagery captured by airplanes, helicopters and balloons to inspect projects and evaluate conditions in detail, writes Natasha Ridley of aerial imagery technology company Nearmap. She says that these means of acquiring images provide more clarity and detail than satellites and have more useful tools for roofing contractors than drones.
Contractors remain optimistic about 2020, despite indications of a slowing economy and an ongoing struggle to find qualified labor, AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson says. Demand for pipelines, renewables, data centers and last-mile warehouses should remain robust, but construction of medical facilities and infrastructure might lag, economists say.
Budget overruns are common in construction projects, and while technology can help keep costs in line, it might also overwhelm users with too much data. Kahua CEO Scott Unger breaks this problem down into parts and explains how investing in a network-based collaboration solution can tame data by eliminating issues of tech integration and data ownership.
During the past few decades, construction has evolved from a "messy and dirty and very two-dimensional" business to one that relies on technology before a project begins, says Jimmy Grossmann, national chief operating officer at Suffolk Construction. The company's Smart Lab lets it test and scale virtual design platforms, which let companies "do more with less," Grossmann says.
A vision statement from the US Green Building Council is designed to shift the focus from reducing environmental harm to eliminating it, with a goal of achieving a "regenerative" built environment. Guidelines include positive LEED targets for energy and carbon reduction and speedier adoption of LEED for new and existing buildings.
Potential hires should possess traits that will help your business thrive, according to Calendar president John Hall. Enthusiasm, a proactive approach, integrity, communication skills, a unique personality and emotional intelligence are all traits to look for when hiring, says Hall.
Make the most of holiday social gatherings by being optimistic and seeking out people on the sidelines, writes Amy Boone. "Asking open-ended questions is one of the quickest ways to strike up a meaningful conversation with someone you don't know," she writes.
The IRS has issued instructions and draft forms to help employers comply with Affordable Care Act reporting requirements. In addition, the IRS has issued a form for the small-business health care tax credit.
RT3 member Trent Cotney named NRCA general counsel
With over twenty years representing the roofing industry, Cotney's passion and focus continues to be on roofing. He has built a law firm dedicated to giving back to the construction industries they serve and donates his firms' services as general counsel of RT3 as well.
