September 2020 Letter from Colorado Roofing Association President

CRA president warns about hail chasers and provides information about upcoming events.

Greetings to all -

First, I want to thank our past President, Ray Phillips for putting together last month’s newsletter for me. This last year we lost some Board members and I volunteered to do an extra third year as your CRA President. I have enjoyed it, but unfortunately, I am running out of steam a little bit and I appreciate all the help and support from our organization.

Well, enough whining! Summer is over and the white stuff will be flying before we know it. This year I will be happy for snow, so we can get these fires put out. The Fraser Valley air is brown and looks like downtown Beijing, China, which I have been in twice. It makes you sick.

This year in the mountains, I am seeing what all of you folks deal with all year, which is hail chasers coming to the mountains in droves. There hasn’t been any hail to speak of along the Front Range, so they're flocking to the mountains like I have never seen. One of our prominent CRA members explained it to me that they are like rats jumping off a sinking ship looking for any piece of wood to survive. What I have seen up here are roofers who have no business roofing in the mountains. First, their pricing has been 40% in some cases under us, they have no fall protection, they use flashing details that only work down in the Front Range, they use ice & water shields that will not work in alpine conditions, and of course no workman’s comp on their people and last, poor general liability that will not cover them in a construction defect suit when the roof leaks like a sieve.

Their lack of knowledge will not only hurt them, but ultimately the unsuspecting or rather uneducated owners up here. After a good old-fashioned winter with about 350” average snowfall, these roofers and the homeowners who hired them will find out why roofing in alpine conditions is a huge challenge and why it’s best to stay in the Front Range or at minimum to take the time to learn about what really works up here and why. All I can say is...I hope they have their attorney on their speed dial!

I wanted to remind everyone that we have our CRA Sporting Clay Tournament on October 9th - be sure to sign up soon. Please also review my article in the legislative section below where I have an update on the private retainage reform we are working on, additional info on the upcoming paid sick leave requirements effective January 1, a list of the November 11 ballot issues and information on our upcoming Top Golf Fundraiser and Silent Auction. The tournament is November 12 and the auction will run from October 1 to November 12 and we are looking for auction items. Please consider making a donation! It's a good opportunity for your business and for name recognition as we encourage members to do a little pre-holiday shopping all while donating to a worthy cause.

Everyone stay safe, stay healthy and God bless!

Jeff Johnston

The Roofing Company
CRA President

Learn more about the CRA in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory.

Original article source: Colorado Roofing Association