Mike Vaughn & Landon Coggins - Expanding Your Product Offerings with Composites - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an live interview with Mike Vaughn from DaVinci Roofscapes and Landon Coggins from Apex Homes. You can read the transcript below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips, the podcast that takes you on a thrilling journey across the world of roofing. From fascinating interviews with roofing experts to on the road adventures, we'll uncover the stories, innovations and challenges that shape the rooftops over our heads. Fasten your seatbelts and join us, as we embark on this exciting Roofing Road Trip.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello, and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. This is Heidi Ellsworth and we are here today to talk about award-winning projects. Yes, award-winning projects. DaVinci has just come out with some of their top, top projects that are amazing. They are so beautiful. We're going to talk to one of the winners, Landon Coggins with Apex Homes out of Oregon City, Oregon. I'm so excited to hear more about this project. We also have Mike Vaughn, from DaVinci, to give us some flavor about composite roofing and everything that's happening.

Gentlemen, welcome to the show.

Mike Vaughn: Hey, thanks for having us. I'm really excited to talk a little bit about some DaVinci and listen to Landon talk about his project of the year.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Very cool. Let's start out with some introductions. Landon, let's start with you. If you could introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about Apex Homes?

Landon Coggins: Yes. I'm Landon Coggins, I'm with Apex Home Solutions. Our main office is in Oregon City, which is a suburb of Portland, Oregon. Then we have another office over in Gearhart, over on the coast, northern coast in Oregon.

Apex, we specialize in roofing, siding, windows and decks. One of our primary products that we do install would be DaVinci by a landslide right now.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Awesome.

Landon Coggins: Just due to its durability and longevity and whatnot.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is great. I'm in Oregon too, Landon. I can't wait to see these projects. I'm telling you, I'm going to start heading over to the coast. But you also do projects in Central Oregon, too.

Landon Coggins: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We've done a handful of DaVincis and other projects over there in Bend and Redmond, and whatnot. We just finished a real large multi-use building right downtown, in the old Mill District, too.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay. I'm going to check that out. I go down there all the time. This is great.
Mike, if you could introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do with DaVinci?

Mike Vaughn: Yeah, sure. Mike Vaughn. I've been here at DaVinci for six years in January now. Currently, I'm working as the national sales director, covering coast to coast, for DaVinci sales.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Very cool. Thank you both for being here.

I want to start with setting the stage. Mike, let's start out with, if you could just give us a little bit about what's going on with the trends, and especially around composite roofing. Talk about huge growth. We are seeing so much. What is happening with the speed of acceptance and just the design community really looking at composites?

Mike Vaughn: Yeah, sure. Sure. First off, it looks great. The aesthetics on it, it's second to none. But that's not the only thing behind the magic here at DaVinci. I think it's the durability, the performance that we're able to offer. It's class four, we're hail resistant, class A fire, along with wildlife urban interface certifications. Low maintenance. Frankly, it's going to be the last roof that you're going to put on your house. I think all those things are very appealing to homeowners, designers and architects and contractors.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Across the board. Landon, what are you seeing from your customers? I know you also said you're working with some architects and some custom builders. What are you seeing with the demand for composites like DaVinci?

Landon Coggins: It's more warranted, especially on some of the larger, nicer homes I would say, for sure. The demand's definitely getting a lot higher. The stigma that I would say composites had over the years is dying off a little bit. I would say a bit part of that is, for example, DaVinci using 100% virgin resins and no recycled content for consistency in their product is a huge factor as well. Some of these markets, like at the coast, you could replace old cedar roofing and siding with DaVinci for similar money, or even a little less in some cases and you're going to get a lot more lifecycle out of it. You won't be replacing it-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: You're seeing it really trending in the Northwest?

Landon Coggins: Yes, big time in the Northwest. From an aesthetics standpoint, there's certain types of looks you can't get with say, metal or composition. Also, a performance standpoint as well.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Mike Vaughn: Yeah, I would second that. That's some of our biggest growth, where we're seeing the most traction, is in the coastal areas of West and East. I think that everything that Landon said is spot on. When you have that performance that we're able to give to homeowners, I think it makes them feel very good about the purchase. Then obviously, the aesthetics we keep on talking about.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. You're seeing it grow geographically in a lot of different areas, but it's really interesting, Mike, that you're really seeing it along the coast. I just have to say, being an Oregonian, we know how the wind speeds are in the Oregon coast. You talk about hurricane level wind speeds, we get those.

Landon Coggins: It gets sideways.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Through the gorge and on the coast, right, Landon?

Landon Coggins: Yeah, sideways rain at times. [inaudible 00:06:05].

Mike Vaughn: Yeah.

Landon Coggins: We have a project positioned south of Depoe Bay, Lincoln City area, in Whale Cove, and it's right on the water. You're probably 15 feet away from the water. We're doing DaVinci hand split shake siding on that, we just ordered the product.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Beautiful. Beautiful. Performance and beauty.

Landon Coggins: All in one.

Mike Vaughn: All in one.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: All in one. Mike, I'd really love for you to ... For other roofing companies out there, exterior companies across the country, what are you seeing with them starting to offer DaVinci more? And why? What are some of the reasons that they're differentiating their business and really adding this to their offering?

Mike Vaughn: Well, you just said it. It's a great differentiator, there's no doubt about it. Everyone knows about asphalt and asphalt's always going to be an option, and a good option. But there isn't a big different between asphalt companies. I think when a contractor installs a DaVinci roof, they can point to that roof, they can market that project and that's going to absolutely help them sell their next job.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Mike Vaughn: And the job after that. They can point to it and it goes back to being a differentiator. We're not going to get all of them, totally understand that. But it's there to help the contractor close deals and I think that's what's getting the traction.

Landon Coggins: I would agree, 100%. I ask a series of questions to potential customers, based on how long do they plan on keeping their house and then what type of house is it as well. Those things will help spending more money for DaVinci, you could justify it a little bit more if you're not going to be putting another roof on in another 25, 30 years and it's a house you're going to keep for a while.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Yeah, because it's going to stay. Landon, I'd be really interested, too. When did you start selling and installing DaVinci and how has that changed your business?

Landon Coggins: When I started my company about seven years ago, the very first DaVinci roof I did is my accountant today.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay.

Landon Coggins: He wasn't my accountant then. It was a multi-width Tahoe color.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Landon Coggins: That's in a nice subdivision called Bull Mountain in the Tigard area. Then I think I've done seven or eight DaVincis in there now.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Landon Coggins: It took off a little bit there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Really, when you started your business, you went into it with this plan of offering a premium product?

Landon Coggins: 100% I did, yes. I was a lead estimator for another company before I started mine. All I've done is construction my whole life. They sold a product called Gerard, a stone-coated steel. I sold a lot of it but that product isn't that friendly because you can't really walk on it without denting it. Then the granules just really soak up the moss and it looks pretty terrible after five to 10 years, depending on where it's at.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Whereas what you're seeing ... Mike, this also goes across the country too, is that you don't have to worry about staining, and moss, and organic growth with DaVinci.

Mike Vaughn: 100%. Yeah. It goes to that low maintenance. It's easy to take care of, especially in areas like the Northwest where you'll get some of that growth on roofs. The only way it's going to happen on ours is if there's pine needles or something, because our material's inert, nothing can grow out of it. Even if you do see something on the roof, it's such an easy fix. Take a power washer, spray it, it's gone. You can't really do that to too many other products out there. The maintenance is huge for us.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Well, okay. Let's talk a little bit about the DaVinci Awards. Mike, can you set the stage for us on how the awards started, and what you do, how you present these to all these great contractors across the country?

Mike Vaughn: Yeah, sure. Every year, we have our contractors send in projects that they're proud of, and want to get out there and market. We get tons of projects that come in, from the East Coast to the West Coast. Our DaVinci team, we get together and narrow those down to a select few. Then we present them at IRE, which we did just last week. I forget exactly how many, I think it's seven this year, out of hundreds of different applicants that came in. Obviously, Landon was one of those guys who topped the list and really excited about his project out there in the Northwest.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That ... Let's talk about that project. Really, this is a big deal and I'm so excited about it. Can you just start from the overall, give us a view and a picture of the project? Just so everyone knows, this is also available on RoofersCoffeeShop, you can find information about the project on the directory, too. Landon, tell us about it.

Landon Coggins: Yeah. Jeff Bergen is the homeowner there. He came to me already knowing that he wanted a DaVinci roof. He has two houses in Texas that both have DaVinci on them. He's only at this residence maybe two weeks out of the year. It sits right on the beach. The house was built in 2005 and he already had, when we pulled his cedar siding off, he had some dry rot already.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Landon Coggins: In 18 years of service that the cedar gave him. He was unaware of the DaVinci siding so we made him aware of that. He went ahead and pulled the trigger. We paired it with AZEK Trims, a PVC trim. Basically, the whole exterior now is 100% waterproof.

The project, I personally managed that project from start to finish. It took about five weeks and it couldn't have turned out more beautiful. That was the flagship, the very first one we did on the Oregon coast, with both DaVinci roof and DaVinci siding.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. I can't wait to see it. I just love the fact that you were able to do both the siding and the roofing. Actually, I have seen the picture of it. It's beautiful, kudos to you. To be a DaVinci Masterpiece Contractor with Project of the Year, that's a big deal, Landon. How does that-

Mike Vaughn: It is.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Help your business?

Landon Coggins: Well, the exposure, it's just coming at us left and right, which is amazing. Getting the word out and letting people know about Apex, that's something that us as a company have never done. It's always been referrals from the manufacturers or previous clients. We don't spend money on marketing, really. It's been huge for us.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's awesome. That is awesome. We talked just a little bit about your other projects. But how much are you doing with roofing and siding? What are you seeing with the trends of that, with your projects all over Oregon?

Landon Coggins: Yeah. I would say that we do almost more DaVinci now than we do composition or asphalt. It's grown our business exponentially, especially over here at the coast. We've got the other house we're doing for Garret right now, in the same subdivision as Bergen. That's a 12,000-foot house, all DaVinci siding, DaVinci roof. We've got another gentleman four houses down that wants the same package, I just went and met with the other day. Then you go on down the coastline in the Halem, I've got a couple of DaVinci roofs in a nice subdivision right on the water there. On down to Lincoln City, you'll see the flagship Salishan condo building that was built in 1964, with all DaVinci hand split shake siding and DaVinci roof.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Landon Coggins: Since then, we've done a couple other roofs in there. On down to Whale Cove, we just got the HOA approval in that gated community as well. We're set to do our first DaVinci in there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: What I'm hearing is a lot of your business is people seeing your beautiful projects.

Landon Coggins: Yes.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Then saying, "We want the same thing."

Landon Coggins: Exactly. That's for sure. They want to see how it wears. Devon Howard, one of the principles at the condo building down on Salishan, wanted to see how the aged cedar wore. I took a piece and I put it on a roof we did about seven years ago in Canon Beach, the exact same color. They looked identical.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Landon Coggins: No fading, it looked just like it did the first day that we put it on.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: How many inquiries are coming in that don't know about DaVinci and that you're able then to talk to them about the performance of this product? How do you go about that, really finding the ideal candidates for composites and talking them through that process?

Landon Coggins: Yeah. It starts definitely with just asking them a series of questions. What type of products have they been looking at? Of course, seeing their residence as well. If it's something that looks like aesthetically it could really benefit the house, and from a value standpoint of the property, it'll accept a nice DaVinci roof. You don't want to necessarily put it on a rental, I wouldn't say. I ask a series of questions like that.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Landon Coggins: Then I present it to them and explain the benefits. Sometimes, it might be a style. We're doing a French mansard style roof in Westland right now. It's about 16,000-square-feet.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Landon Coggins: We did a province gray slate there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Beautiful.

Landon Coggins: It's going to be amazing. We're just finishing that one up.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. That could be another award winner.

Landon Coggins: It probably will.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, I'm telling you.

Landon Coggins: It's pretty good.

Mike Vaughn: Keep sending them in, keep sending them in.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Keep sending them in. Mike, what are you seeing from other contractors, along the same lines of what Landon is experiencing? First of all, with all the referrals of people seeing it and wanting it. But second of all, how contractors are upselling to the composite and really making their customers, giving the roof that they need. What are you seeing?

Mike Vaughn: Sure. I would say this. Contractors, the thing that slows them down when it comes to DaVinci is just not feeling comfortable with it and not knowing enough about it. Once they get there ... This is coming from a DaVinci employee but I truly believe this, I think it should be offered on almost every roof.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Mike Vaughn: I understand that the majority are going to go asphalt and that's just fine. But just by presenting DaVinci as another option, it does a couple different things. Like I stated before, it really is a differentiator. We're talking options with DaVinci, and then maybe an asphalt, and letting the customer decide. But what it does is it establishes that contractor as being an expert in the field, knowing multiple product lines and feeling comfortable about it. Once they are able to accomplish that and build that rapport with a homeowner, then their close rates are going to go up dramatically.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Mike Vaughn: Because homeowners are going to get multiple quotes, most of the time. When they come in and the second guy or third guy follows them, and they're asked about DaVinci, most likely they're not going to have the knowledge like someone who is presenting it. I think that's going to create some pause for a homeowner and want to go with someone who's an expert in multiple lines, and really knows the in and outs of a roof.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Mike Vaughn: Again, I think that's where we've seen more growth because we're starting to see more contractors in the coast do that. We're very strong here in the Midwest, we know the hail belt. I think we're doing a good job getting that message to contractors and it's helping their business. I think when you can help someone's business grow, it's a win for everyone.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right. It makes sense, Landon. Yeah, you're nodding. That as you look at this, I loved what Mike said about being to show that you are high performance on several different types of roofing. Just tell us a little bit, you do a lot of different roofing there and as you're presenting it, how has that worked for you for the homeowners to see hey, they can do all these things?

Landon Coggins: Yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: It's a differentiator.

Landon Coggins: It's a big differentiator and Mike's exactly right. You present options. It's an option close, if you will. Then also, it establishes your credibility. Back to your question again? Sorry, Heidi. I thought we were-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: No, that's okay. Being able to provide several different types of products-

Landon Coggins: Oh right, yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: But then, having composite be that premium.

Landon Coggins: Yeah, 100%. Yeah. Again, the credibility, just giving them options of course. I'll refer back to that mansard style French house we're doing. It's got a bunch of flat decks up top so we had to install a bunch of TPO in those areas. A lot of times, people will want maybe standing seam metal mixed in with DaVinci.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Landon Coggins: Something like that. We can execute all of that. My project manager's a 25-year seasoned roofer.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Landon Coggins: There's nothing we can't do.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I've seen some beautiful copper accents on DaVinci roofs.

Landon Coggins: Oh, yes. We actually did a DaVinci multi with slate in Corvallis.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah?

Landon Coggins: We had copper half-round gutters, copper valley, all of that. We'll get some good photos of that-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Beautiful.

Landon Coggins: For next time.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Beautiful. Real quick, talk about differentiating or growing your business in different directions. I want to talk a little bit about siding because we have a lot of roofing contractors out there listening right now. Some of them, a lot of them are offering full exteriors, but that is a great way to grow your business. When maybe there's a little bit you're not sure exactly where the economy's going or not going, although right now, thank you, it's going well, it's nice to have different options. How did you get into siding? Was that part of your original business plan when you came in or did you add that as you went?

Landon Coggins: No, that was part of my original business plan going in, because I knew the product very well, the different types of product, and whatnot. We led in with siding, windows and roofing. What we added later would be decks.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay.

Landon Coggins: We added that a couple of years ago.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's cool. Really, on the siding front, using the DaVinci with the shake, how has that worked? What do homeowners say when you're coming in and saying, "Hey, we have this product for the siding," which is probably not your normal product that people are presenting.

Landon Coggins: No, yeah. It's very specific, the DaVinci siding and the hand split shake. It's got to be aesthetically the look that they want. But it happens to be the look that almost everybody wants at the coast.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Landon Coggins: It's taken off quite good over there. But again, it goes back to what Mike was saying, you give them options for different packages and different things.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah.

Landon Coggins: We did one regular cedar job on the coast here recently, and that was just because the customer, he has a DaVinci select shake roof, but he did an addition and he didn't want to side his whole house.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, okay.

Landon Coggins: We decided to do cedar there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Your crews were like, "Wait, what are we doing?"

Landon Coggins: Yeah, exactly. When he does redo the whole thing though, he'll do DaVinci.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, he'll go with DaVinci. Well, gentlemen, this is great. I love it. Mike, any last thoughts or advice for contractors out there who are thinking about adding DaVinci or who are really trying to grow that part of their business?

Mike Vaughn: Sure, yeah. Absolutely. I would say one of the things that we're doing here at DaVinci is we're adding more dedicated representation coast-to-coast. Reach out on our website and get the training that you need. We'll be able to provide that and would be happy to do that. That's what we're tasked to do is get the word out and talk to as many contractors as we can so they're knowledgeable and feel comfortable with DaVinci. We're able to provide any type of training that they need, be it sales, install, all of it. We have a very strong team here when it comes to technical, and sales and marketing. We're here to help our contractors grow. Definitely reach out and we'll do our best to give you guys the tools that you need.

Landon Coggins: Yeah, I agree, Mike. I'd say DaVinci's customer service is unmatched. The service that I get from you guys and the support is amazing.

Mike Vaughn: Thank you.

Landon Coggins: The other thing is, for other contractors to consider, is the higher end market which DaVinci is tailored for, when there is slowdowns and recessions, the high end stuff still keeps going more so than the other. It'll give them a little bit better chance in the recession type markets.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is great advice. I love that because I think that's what everybody wants to continue getting their business to a space where it can handle anything that's going on. It can go with the ebbs and flows.

Landon, I want to say congratulations on being a Masterpiece Contractor award winner. That is phenomenal and your picture was just so beautiful. I also want to note that, as part of that, all of the award winners are also getting a year subscription to the R-Club on RoofersCoffeeShop.

Landon Coggins: Nice.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: You and I will be talking about that.

Landon Coggins: Okay, sounds good. I like it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay. That is good stuff.

Mike Vaughn: Hey, I'd like to say congratulations too, Landon. This was a great project and thank you for all your support.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Landon Coggins: Absolutely, Mike. I appreciate it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: You're going to be getting a lot of attention so that is very good.

Mike Vaughn: Yes.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Gentlemen, thank you so much and I look forward to seeing your next project next year, Landon. And also, Landon, for everyone out there whenever you're listening to this podcast, check out our YouTube channel because Landon will be on the soundstage at the International Builder's Show coming up at the Westlake booth at the end of February. I'm excited to meet you in-person, Landon.

Landon Coggins: Absolutely. I'm excited to meet you, too.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: We will see you then. Thank you both, gentlemen, for being a part of this Roofing Road Trip.

Landon Coggins: All right.

Mike Vaughn: Thank you.

Landon Coggins: Have a good day.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you. And thank you all for listening. This is great information for your business. Please take these nuggets. If you need more information to start using DaVinci, to getting it out onto your sales program, please check out the DaVinci directory on RoofersCoffeeShop. You can find information about sales, training and all these award-winning projects. Also, please check out all of our podcasts under the Read, Listen, Watch navigation under Roofing Road Trips. Or on your favorite podcast channel, be sure to subscribe and set those notifications so you don't miss a single episode. We'll be seeing you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

Outro: If you've enjoyed the ride, don't forget to hit that subscribe button and join us on every roofing adventure. Make sure to visit rooferscoffeeshop.com to learn more. Thanks for tuning in and we'll catch you on the next Roofing Road Trip.