Why contractors should approach building holistically

By Dani Sheehan. 

Thinking of expanding your business? Grab a cup of coffee and hear from industry experts as they venture into the fascinating world beyond the roof and explain the benefits of understanding the building envelope. 

In the latest edition of Coffee Conversations®, sponsored by SOPREMA, Heidi J. Ellsworth joins industry experts for an enriching discussion that ventures beyond the roof. As something every commercial contractor, as well as residential contractors, should understand, they dive into the building envelope and how it relates to a roofing system. Hear from RCS Influencer Steve Little from KPost Roofing & Waterproofing, Mark Defreitas from SOPREMA and Ron Harriman from Benchmark, Inc. as they explore buildings holistically and unravel complexities of building design to allow your company to expand into this critical market. 

When asked why contractors should be looking at the building holistically, Mark offers two main points, scheduling and tie-ins. He explains, “The important part is the integration, the tie-ins. That's a big challenge, how the different products... Are they compatible? The detail, is it functionally workable versus just looking good on a drawing board? I think the integration of the tie-ins is a challenge for manufacturers, as well as the waterproofer or the contractor.” 

He says that typically 80% of roofing challenges come from detail and integration points. By understanding the entire envelope and more collaboration with the other trades on the job, projects will see better performance and resiliency in the system. 

Ron agrees, saying that solutions to problems with a building can sometimes put them in a compromised position. If you only get one chance to do it right, it better be the first time. He believes this can be accomplished through scheduling, sharing, “Like Mark mentioned scheduling, the sequence of work or the timing of the first conversations... If we're at the table a little bit sooner and we can start impacting some decisions... That takes trust, that takes relationships, but I'd say if we can really insert ourselves in a collaborative voice trying to pull the right team members into it, then we've got a far greater chance for success.” 

Fostering these relationships across industries is crucial to the success of construction, but as Steve mentions, it’s sometimes more advantageous to offer solutions within your company. He elaborates, “Where does the roof end and where does the rest of the building begin? This has been a natural evolution tied to the computer age and tied to consolidation. We've seen a great deal of consolidation in the material side of our business and the distribution side of our business. Now it’s coming in the building envelope side of our business.” 

From tie-ins to warranty considerations, whether on repairs or new construction, customers what to have one contact they can go to. 

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to learn more about expanding into and positioning your company as the building envelope expert.