Darci Kunard – Color Matching and Metal Roof Sealant - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Darci Kunard of Franklin International.You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast. 

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. This is Heidi Ellsworth and we are live on this road trip, I mean actually live. I am sitting here with Darci Kunard from Franklin International, you also know as Titebond, and we're going to be having roofing road trips right here in Las Vegas, Darci. Welcome.

Darci Kunard:

Thank you so much for having me. I love that we're doing this. I know, we just came up with this last week.

Heidi Ellsworth:

I know. We're like, let's just do it in person while we're here. We'll do a roofing road trip. So we're at the Western Roofing Expo and the show has just been great and it's so busy.

Darci Kunard:

I was thinking that this is the most well attended Western states I've seen in a long time.

Heidi Ellsworth:

I know, me too. Me too. We were just swamped yesterday, so it's good. So Darci and I are sitting here nice and early before the show starts so that we can talk about what is going on with color matching. So before we get started Darci, and I know because you are such a regular that a lot of people know, but can you introduce yourself? Tell us a little bit about Franklin and Titebond.

Darci Kunard:

Absolutely. So Franklin International was founded in 1935. We're a family owned company based in Columbus, Ohio. We have a factory in Columbus and then one in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. So we started out as a glue company. So that's what a lot of people know us as. But that's not all we do. We also do construction adhesives, caulks and sealants, which is kind of my baby. You know who doesn't love caulking?

Heidi Ellsworth:

Exactly.

Darci Kunard:

Not to be too much of a dork, but hello.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Come on. We all love it, that's for sure. Well, okay, I kind of want to talk about this color matching and caulking and adhesives and all those kind of things. But there's something I really want to talk about first because I'm seeing it all over the show and it's really interesting. And that is metal roofing and siding. There are so many booths here, Darci. And everybody I talk to is just like, the growth is phenomenal. What are you seeing around the growth of metal in construction?

Darci Kunard:

I think it's just really taking off. I mean, obviously there's a lot of focus in certain parts of the country where it's very regional, so think Midwest. We've seen that a lot in Colorado. It's just a more sustainable type of roof and people seem to really gravitate towards it. It comes in a variety of colors. There's a lot of manufacturers of it and it's just one of those more versatile materials.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah, and what we're seeing too, we had just some discussions about this yesterday, is that with the growth of solar, that solar works so well on metal roofs for the durability, the longevity just overall. And so that's kind of driving it too.

Darci Kunard:

Absolutely. And then you're seeing a lot of people gravitate towards it because it is more modern looking, right?

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yes.

Darci Kunard:

So it's kind of a nice mixed media. So people are doing both. I've seen shingles and tile and metal all in the same house.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And that's what it really comes down to, to the details. If you have this beautiful new metal roof or siding, I mean metal siding's really hot too.

Darci Kunard:

Oh, absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth:

You want to make sure you're doing all the details right. So that was one of the things we wanted to talk about today was the color matching with metal. As you are doing your details, as you are caulking and making sure everything is looking the right way, if the colors don't match, it's all of a sudden you're going to have a polka dot roof.

Darci Kunard:

And you don't want it to look like that.

Heidi Ellsworth:

No.

Darci Kunard:

Yeah. So we created metal roof sealant about 15 years ago, so it's part of our Weather Master line. So it's the really all weather application. So hot, cold, wet or dry, even standing water. Our sealant's going to work in those conditions. So it's just a great, really outstanding sealant, lifetime guarantee. We just came out with Weather Master and then we saw this need to come out with a metal roof sealant. And the reason that they're different is our metal roof sealant sticks to coated metals. So when you already have painted or coated metals, not all sealants stick to it. That's actually really difficult. So we came up with this formula that sticks to that and then it passes the Miami Dade certification, which is one of the hardest certifications to get.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Wow. With the wind. And that's so important, I mean right now we're hearing about hurricanes starting to hit Florida right now, and so you want to make sure everything's staying where it's supposed to be.

Darci Kunard:

Absolutely. And so maybe you don't need that in Kansas, but it is a great kind of testament to the durability of the product.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Right. And earlier, I'm sorry, I did say caulking, but it's sealants.

Darci Kunard:

Caulks and sealants. The same thing.

Heidi Ellsworth:

It all kind goes together. You're on the roof. So some people are having problems finding matches. The contractors are, with everything else. And I know you get calls on this all the time. So how do you walk people through finding the right colors and making sure that it's really working for that end consumer?

Darci Kunard:

Right. So we have a color matching little link on our website, so titebond.com, T-I-T-E-B-O-N-D.com. And if you go up on the very top of the website, you just click color match and then you can pull down a dropdown list of all the manufacturers of metal siding, metal roofing, and you will actually see all the ways that we match. So they have a specific color, obviously in their line. Say, for example, they have a harvest blue. It will tell you what color of ours matches that. We also do custom color matching as well. So we've gotten a little bit of people who are really into a very specific color. Maybe they created it themselves. They've got a 10,000 square foot home and they've done this amazing roof, so they need a very specific color. So the benefit of that is you don't have to repaint the caulking.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Nice.

Darci Kunard:

So you put it on and you kind of seal up the rivage, you seal up any implements around the roof and then-

Heidi Ellsworth:

It all matches.

Darci Kunard:

It all matches.

Heidi Ellsworth:

It all matches. And how does, so contractors just get a hold of you and they get you a sample of the metal roof? So I'm really curious about this, what if the metal roof's been on for a couple years, they can just also still do that color matching?

Darci Kunard:

They can, absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Wow.

Darci Kunard:

So that's another benefit of this metal roofing and siding is the color doesn't fade.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah, that's great. That is so cool.

Darci Kunard:

It's just one of the more durable materials out there. I mean we work exclusively, we have a color matching tech who sits in our office in Columbus, and when we get new metal manufacturers who come into the scene, we're able to take their line and put it on our website and we know which one matches. So we have over a hundred colors in stock. A lot of people are telling us that they can't find certain metal roof sealants. We have no problem with supply.

Heidi Ellsworth:

I wouldn't even think there was a hundred colors of metal roofs out there.

Darci Kunard:

Oh, I think there's more than that.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Really? And I guess you do see that with some of these big, the coatings companies, they are doing a lot of custom coatings and there are new colors to keep up with the times and what's going on. Wow, that's very cool. With your solution of them going on to the website and being able to find and match that color, what kind of is that process? I mean, just maybe walk us through, do they send you a sample? How does that work?

Darci Kunard:

No. So we already have it on our website. So they just go and find their manufacturer and then they locate the color of ours that matches that manufacturer and then they can order it through any of their distributors. So anyone that they can think of, we sell.

Heidi Ellsworth:

You sell through. Now what are contractors saying about this? How are they liking this color matching?

Darci Kunard:

They love it. I mean, it's been around quite a while and we just are expanding our offerings. Because, as you said, there's a lot of new players in this industry. And I mean, metal roofing is taking off, metal siding. So it's become a thing where we've been able to really glom onto that color matching and make sure that we have up to date on all the latest colors and the new manufacturers.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Well, and I also, I kind of want to talk about that, just being able to talk to your homeowners about this. You and I have talked about this before on podcasts, it's the details. It's the little things that can differentiate a company from another company. So if you're out there doing metal roofing and you want to talk about performance, you want to talk about color match, wind uplift, I mean, those are great things to bring up during that sales conversation.

Darci Kunard:

Absolutely. And you want to really focus on doing it right the first time and not getting that call back. I mean, can you imagine installing a metal roof and then all of a sudden it rains? Or we get three feet of snow like we're prone to do in Colorado.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah, it's very true.

Darci Kunard:

Then it's leaking and you've damaged the inside of the house. You have to stand behind the products that you're using. So making sure that you're using a really high quality sealant and not skipping on that is vital.

Heidi Ellsworth:

I mean, you see it where other sealants, they can start just shredding away, right? Because of they dry out and they crack.

Darci Kunard:

Oh yeah. I mean a lot of people use silicone on the roof for sealants. And I mean, unless it's UV rated and really make sure that it's not going to yellow. I mean, it's just not going to look great over time. So our formula doesn't do that. It doesn't degrade. We have UV inhibitors in there. Obviously the adhesion is bar none if you're trying to stick to a coated metal. We have a lot of adhesion promoters in our sealant as well.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And that is one of the things about the coated metal, you can go over it. There's a lot of sealants that can't. Right?

Darci Kunard:

Yeah. A lot of sealants don't stick to it whatsoever. So you've got to be careful.

Heidi Ellsworth:

I love it. I think it's so important for the contractors to really look at that and to think about how do some, I know we said this before, some of you're probably going, oh yeah, you've said this before Heidi. But I do think it's the details that matter. I think once they know what kind your roof is, then really ventilation, sealants, all those little details that make a difference for the long term without callbacks, like you're saying.

Darci Kunard:

Yeah, absolutely. You want to stand behind your work, you have to have products that work as well.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And Franklin is very committed to this kind of research and performance. Maybe just share just a little tad bit more about that. I mean, it's not just a product, but it's like the color matching. They're using so much technology to make it easier for the contractors.

Darci Kunard:

And that's all, I mean, we're all a solutions oriented companies. So a lot of people aren't aware, but Franklin International is a chemical company and so we have a whole industrial side of the business where we make our own polymers. A lot of companies don't do that. And with those types of innovations, we're able to put that into products. And then that's the Titebond side of the business that I work on. So we're able to supply amazing products to the industry, whether it's roofing, hardware, lumber, the pro market. We're very focused on making sure that the contractor has a great experience.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah, that's so great. I love it. I love it. Okay, so we're going to share one more time. So we already talked about the availability of the product. No problem. So you [inaudible 00:11:58] anywhere.

Darci Kunard:

Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth:

It's in all distribution.

Darci Kunard:

Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth:

And also some of the retail spots too, right?

Darci Kunard:

Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Yeah. And then, let's do the website one more time for the color matching.

Darci Kunard:

Yeah. So titebond.com, it's at the very top and you just click color matching and then you can click from a dropdown menu, choose your manufacturer, and then find the color.

Heidi Ellsworth:

That's excellent. Darci, thank you for doing this live with me here. I know. I love it. And thank all of you for listening. This is really kind of a fun one. We're going to be doing this a lot more. We're all back out on the road again, so just stay tuned for these kind of fun podcasts out and about. But be sure to check out the Franklin International, Titebond directory on rooferscoffeeshop.com. You can find everything about them there along with some great articles and videos. Also, be sure to check out all the podcasts under our read, listen, watch section under Roofing Road Trips or on your favorite podcast channel. Be sure to subscribe and set those notifications. We don't want you to miss a single episode. And we will see you or talk to you or visit next time on Roofing Road Trips.

Speaker 1:

Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the rooferscoffeeshop.com.