Paul Scelsi - Venture Above at Air Vent’s 2024 Ventilation Seminar! - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Paul Scelsi from AirVent. You can Read the interview below or Listen to the podcast.

Intro: 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 J. Ellsworth: Hello, and welcome to another Roofing Road trips from Roofer's Coffee Shop. This is Heidi Ellsworth, and this is a fun podcast. Get yourself ready because I have Paul Scelsi here from AirVent, and he has some of the best energy and most knowledge in the roofing industry. Paul, welcome to Roofing Road Trips.

Paul Scelsi: Oh, thank you, Heidi. Thanks for having me. That's very kind of you. I'm thrilled to be part of your podcast with Roofer's Coffee Shop. Thank you.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Oh, I tell you what, I'm just really excited about this. First of all, you were just the leader in ventilation. Paul, I would love for you to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about how long you've been in the industry, give us a little bit of flavor for what you do, because everyone knows Paul from AirVent and Ventilation.

Paul Scelsi: I am a marketing communications manager at AirVent. We're part of the Gibraltar Building Accessories Group division, and we're a full-line manufacturer of a variety of products. At AirVent, I'm heavily involved, Heidi, in industry education to help the industry increase their awareness about the importance and usefulness of residential attic ventilation. The seminars is one of those avenues that I'm involved in among other things, and it's one of my favorite things to do.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: It's so important. I'm from the Pacific Northwest, we have a lot of moisture. It's really interesting when you think about ventilation across the country, all the different areas and the changing weather patterns. What are you seeing overall in the country with trends of ventilation and is it growing?

Paul Scelsi: Yes, thanks, Heidi. I will say this, attic ventilation is a small part of an overall roofing project, and it's not always top of mind, but it plays a critical role in the overall longevity of the roof, energy efficiency, it could affect indoor air quality.

What I'm noticing through hosting the seminars, and again, I have the benefit of visiting many cities and hearing what folks are saying, there is increased awareness about the importance of ventilation. I think reputable contractors are seeing the value and the importance of bringing it up because if you don't bring it up, I've also noticed, Heidi, today's homeowner has become a bit more educated and they're bringing to the table some of their own research and they're feeling out the contractor to see what he or she might or might not be bringing up during the roofing estimate process.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Exactly. That's such a great point. We see that all the time on our Ask A Roofer website. Ventilation is some of our top articles. They're asking questions about it because it doesn't matter where you're at. If you are in the northern climates, you're dealing with moisture inside during the cold and with the snow and ice dams, if you're in the south, it's all the humidity and everything that's going on there. Really, there's very few places, if any, that don't have to worry about ventilation anymore.

Paul Scelsi: Agreed. What we try to emphasize is it's a year-round benefit, fight heat in the warmer months, fight moisture buildup in the colder months and by moisture buildup that includes, Heidi, just you and I living in our homes, cooking and cleaning, breathing. We generate water vapor, and that water vapor is attracted to a cooler drier place, which is the attic, so you want to get it out of the attic properly. I don't want to turn this into a seminar, but those are the kinds of things that we talk about in the seminar.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I think that is so important. I want to really set the stage for everyone listening of how important continuing education is on these type of topics. When I look back, Paul, over the last 30 years of my career in roofing, ventilation has always been there, but it has changed. The technology, there's been improvements that way, some of the building science thinking. How important is it for contractors to really commit their teams to go to seminars like yours, to have continuing education?

Paul Scelsi: Heidi, tremendously important. I am privileged to also host a podcast like you do and airing it out with AirVent. One of our recent episodes was the importance of continuing get your team trained and not just about ventilation, whatever the topic might be.

One of the benefits that came clear through our guest is A, everybody is on the same page within your company. You're all learning. B, you spread the wealth of knowledge so you're not dependent on just a handful of people who know a certain particular aspect of the business.

No, everybody might be able to learn it. It improves morale because there's some pride that my employer invested in me becoming better trained. There's that element. Secondly, you're just staying current within your industry and that allows you to be relevant in your business, I believe.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I agree. Whether it's ventilation, or siding, or roofing, it doesn't matter what it is, doing these classes... That is such a great point, Paul, of having your company on the same page. If you send just one person, then they're coming back and everybody's like I don't know.

Paul Scelsi: Yeah. My guest recently said to me, "Paul, the folks that I brought felt rewarded that I invest..." And it was a little bit of a road trip, not a farm road trip, but they had to stay overnight and there was a meal involved. I never thought of the morale part of it, but I could see that.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Team building.

Paul Scelsi: Team building.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, it's great for culture. It also shows that the employers care. They care about quality, they care about education, all of those things. Okay, let's talk about... Now that we know we're all going, let's talk about the history of the AirVent annual seminars that you do. How did it get started? What's the history?

Paul Scelsi: Sure, great. The seminar started in full-throttle, 1998. That was season number one.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Paul Scelsi: 1998. January is our 26th year. In '97, management in place at the time had the concept we ought to start an educational program about the importance of attic ventilation, how you could be a better contractor, remodeler, home inspector, whoever gets their hands involved in attic ventilation, how you can be better at it.

We tested six cities in '97 as a pilot program. They were pretty well received. In '98, we kicked off our first season. For us, Heidi, a season is Q1, January, February, March because that's when the weather... When the weather is not conducive for roofing, meaning it's cold outside, that's better for our seminar because that's when they'll come. They won't come if they could be working and we know that. That was season one, and it's been really, really well received.

Sometimes I'm asked why is it still relevant two and a half decades down the road? I think it's this, Heidi. AirVent from the beginning was wise enough to involve its audience. What do you want from this program if you come back? Thank you for coming today. If you come back next year, what is it you want? You can't help but stay relevant if you involve your customer base or potential customer base in the content that you want.

We've been doing that and we can't add everything. We can't add everything, but we keep a list and we try and add it, and we tell them we added it. That helps us Heidi because we always ask every year, what do you want? If we tell you we added this because you asked for it, and now we're asking for more ideas, that snowballs into getting more ideas.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, that makes so much sense. We do the same thing here at the Coffee Shop. We're asking in our trends report, what else do you want to hear? What should we be talking about? It makes so much sense now. Okay, Paul, I've got to ask how long have you been doing the seminars?

Paul Scelsi: I've been blessed, Heidi, to be part of it since day one. I am not kidding you, it is by far my most favorite aspect of my career. Not just building science, my entire career. I just love it. I love the engagement with the industry, I love that I feel like we're helping... Look, whether you buy Gibraltar, AirVent brand or not, we're genuinely trying to help you be a better remodeler, roofer, architect, home inspector. I think the industry senses that.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, I do too. That is great. That is so fun. Okay, listening over the last 26 years and everything, what's going to be different this year that people might be looking forward to?

Paul Scelsi: Sure. Every year, I'm not going to try and sugarcoat this, the core principles are pretty much the same. The core principles of the program are the same. Why is ventilation important, how best the vent and attic, overcoming homeowner pushback. Those three key principles are the same every year.

What's new every year is how we address it through field examples, case studies that are submitted to us from the field. What I think also helps with the relevance of the program, Heidi, when we come to Portland, or Seattle, or Philadelphia, we're bringing to that seminar what we've collected from all over North America into that program. We're bringing that collective knowledge to the program. The core principles stay the same. What's new every year are the field examples and the case studies.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, that's cool. I would love a little bit of an example of some of those case studies. What are some of the things that you've received?

Paul Scelsi: Yeah, I'll give you one from the Pacific Northwest. By the way, all over the country participates, but some of my favorite markets because of the audience engagement are Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Cleveland. Here's one from the Pacific Northwest.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yes.

Paul Scelsi: Homeowner bought a house, an existing home that was sold. That happens all the time. Homes change hands all the time. No one caught, during the inspection of that house, that the vents were covered over with roofing material. The vents were in place, but they were covered over. In effect, there was no ventilation.

The house was sold, the homeowners moved in. A year later, they're noticing a little bit of mold on the underside of the deck, and a contractor got involved to fix it. That's one example. A, how it got sold like that, I don't know. But B, homeowners, we recommend periodically pop your head in the attic, which this homeowner did to see if something is off right. Insulation, mold, mildew. That's one example. We try and keep fresh examples to increase the awareness.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: You just are making me think of, because obviously I've talked to a lot of contractors all over, but a lot in the Pacific Northwest. We had a really interesting topic come up last year around ventilation, and it was for hot yoga studios. I know. Now, there's something you don't hear every day.

Hot yoga studios because the moisture outside, the moisture inside, old buildings. It was a huge discussion amongst the contractors on how to best vent, how to solve this, looking at the situation. I love the idea that you're doing these kinds of case studies to really get the contractors talking about stuff.

Paul Scelsi: Yes. We have a Q&A at the end of every seminar. The seminar's two hours, and by the way, it's free. It's two hours, the final 15 minutes, Heidi, we open up the floor to whatever the audience wants to talk about. That probably is the best part of the program, if I'm candid with you, because that's when you can ask whatever. It just takes one question sometimes to get the room...

Sometimes it's a quiet audience. That's okay. That's when I bring other questions that are in my back pocket from other audiences. But it just takes one roofer to bring up a topic and then someone else chimes in. Here's how I handled that, and this makes it really a powerful dynamic.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I have to give a shout-out to Matrix Roofing, and hopefully they'll come to the Portland one with me.

Paul Scelsi: Oh, great.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: We're hoping. We're going to try. They're the ones who were working in solving the hot yoga.

Paul Scelsi: Awesome. Fantastic.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Definitely need to them to ask that question.

Paul Scelsi: Yes, I would love it. Yes.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I would love it if you could give us just a little walkthrough of the seminar. In those two hours, what should people expect and look forward to?

Paul Scelsi: Sure, absolutely. If I may, it's two hours plus 30 minutes. We give you a free substantial breakfast buffet and Heidi, it's a nice meal. It really is a nice meal. Look, I'm not going to joke. Some people come because of the nice meal. We don't mind why you come because we believe once you're in the room, you're going to leave with some good information.

The first 30 minutes is a free meal, little buffet. You mingle, you talk to your colleagues. And then we're usually 8:00 AM in the local time zone to 10:00 AM. That's the seminar. It's two hours, and we walk through why ventilation is important, how best to ventilate an attic, we give a handful of tricky roofs, some samples of tricky roofs. That usually triggers some other questions during the Q&A. We run through some math. Sounds boring, but we just...

How do you calculate... Okay, I'm in front of the attic. How many vents does this attic need? We walk you through the math and then a section that we added probably 15 years ago, and we're constantly tweaking. Okay, the homeowner is not convinced. I need vents. I do need a new roof. I want the new roof from you, Heidi. I don't want the vents. How do you overcome that? And then we open it up to Q&A, and that takes you through the two hours.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I was actually going to ask that question about the math, because I hear a lot of people who are talking about how do we calculate net free aerospace, what do we need to do? All that kind of stuff. I'm really thrilled to hear. Really, roofing contractors, as they're sending their teams or going themselves to the events, their teams are going to come back with tools that they can use that day.

Paul Scelsi: Yes. Heidi, every year we evaluate what we should trim because we don't want to go past two hours, so we get this laundry list of ideas to add. You can't add if you don't take something out, and every year privately we think is it time to kill the math? If the math gets rated high every year... You hear math and you're like well... But I think it's because we arm you with the confidence you can calculate any attic out there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's so important. We always talk about as contractors, as we're doing our things on Coffee Shop, it's all these seminars across the country or at the trade shows that you just need to be able to take home one, two, maybe three nuggets to make a difference for the business.

Paul Scelsi: Yes, I agree. We're fortunate, Heidi, to have some repeat attendees and they come back. Look, if you come back to back years, it's not like it's a completely different seminar, but there might be a couple of nuggets that maybe you didn't pick up on the first time or you might notice the new nuggets.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: If you went last year, think about, if you're not going again, sending some of your teams, sending your salespeople. I love that thought. I love what you're saying about how to sell ventilation. I think that's so important because it's really not... In my mind, it's not even a sell, it's a taking care of the customer.

Paul Scelsi: Yes, yes. I agree, Heidi, and many of our attendees tell us, and this is a really nice compliment I believe for the program, since implementing some of the tips, talking about talking to the homeowner, we now convert more than ever than we used to. I'm pleased to hear that.

It might be an extra step, it might be easy just to back off. Homeowner resists, you back off. Well, don't back off. Maybe with confidence, explain this is why I'm bringing it up. I know the others didn't bring it up, but I am bringing it up because your roof needs it and this is why.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Don't you think, Paul, that you really, as a roofing company owner, you have to think about the liability of not doing ventilation especially in certain areas because you don't want your brand hurt by a roof failing because of improper ventilation. You don't want the customers to be unhappy and to have to have a callback.

Paul Scelsi: Agreed. Heidi, the shingle warranty is tied to proper attic ventilation. You might not get the full terms of the warranty.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right.

Paul Scelsi: Energy efficiency. There are studies which we share in the seminar, energy efficiency, winter and summer comes with proper attic ventilation. I just recorded our next podcast yesterday, actually, our guest. It was about how the attic air quality could negatively affect the living space air quality. There's all these factors. End of the day, the bottom line, you're doing the right thing. You're doing the right thing for your brand and for the customer.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right, and really, it's about taking the time to get educated about that. I was going to say, why should they attend? We've just been talking about all that. I really think I want to go back and just reinforce too, that this just isn't a one person. They can bring a number of their team.

Paul Scelsi: Please. You can bring as many as you would like. Many attendees tell us now that I've come and experienced the value, I'm bringing so-and-so because I think that person... We have some wholesalers who come and they bring contractors to expose them to the message. Really, anyone who has an interest in roofing would benefit from this, I believe.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I am going to just say this because I'm always about networking, but after 26 years, people know what your seminars are about and there's some great networking there too. You're going to hear what other contractors are saying and really get to know the folks in your community.

Paul Scelsi: Yes. I'll say this, Heidi, you're making me think of things. Thank you for this, your line of questioning. One of the other benefits is this, I'll say it loosely, networking. Whether it's live during the Q&A or post seminar, some people mingle after and they lean around and you talk... I heard you ask that question. I didn't want to speak up lie, but I'll tell you, and then they start drawing on the whiteboard because we have a little whiteboard. That's helpful.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, it is. We need that kind of camaraderie and really working through these types of problems together. The image roofing respect, the image of the roofing industry, this brings it all up in the communities. I know that you do some special things for attendees. Do attendees receive any certificates or anything like that?

Paul Scelsi: They do. If you fill out the feedback form, I hate to dangle carrot, but we really value the audience feedback because it helps us improve each year. If you fill out a feedback form, we send everybody a certificate of attendance.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's great.

Paul Scelsi: Yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I'm telling you.

Paul Scelsi: There are a handful of professional organizations, Heidi, that recognize the program for continuing education, including American Institute of Architects, AIA, AIBD, Building Designers, ASHE, Home Inspectors, NARI, that's the remodeling industry, National Association of Remodeling Industry, and then the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Nice.

Paul Scelsi: That's all on the website as well.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, so you've got all that continuing education.

Paul Scelsi: Correct

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's amazing.

Paul Scelsi: We always tell folks even though you might belong to another organization that I didn't just mention, you might get credit if you send in our certificate, take a picture of it or email it, they might give you credit for it. It's worth asking.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Exactly. You just made me think of something else, Paul, because when you name all those different associations, I'm thinking of sitting in this room and I'm sitting next to my local remodeler, I'm sitting next to though my local roofing consultant, I'm sitting next to an architect from the area. Not only am I learning, but I am meeting potential future customers.

Paul Scelsi: Yes. Absolutely, Heidi. I agree completely. Yes.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's cool. That is great. Okay, so this is how you can attend these seminars. It's really easy. Go to Roofer's Coffee Shop, go to the directory, type in AirVent, one word, and you will find their directory. At the very top of that, right there on the first page, fold, you're going to see the seminar link. All you have to do is click on that link and it will take you to a site that will tell you what, Paul?

Paul Scelsi: It'll tell you the 37 different venues. We're offering seminars January 16th, Toronto, Canada, through April 11th, Anaheim, California, and everywhere in between.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Ah, I love it. They'll be able to register there?

Paul Scelsi: Correct, yes.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yep and see all the continuing education information too.

Paul Scelsi: Yes, we list the organizations that allow continuing education. We tease the content just a little bit. There's a little video tease as well about the program, and a little bit about me and the program's history.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is great. Really easy. Just go to the directory, AirVent directory on Roofer's Coffee Shop, and you will find it. That is so simple. Okay. Now, Paul, I don't know if you have this at your fingertips or not, but any idea on the dates for the Portland seminar?

Paul Scelsi: Hold on. I do, hold on.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay.

Paul Scelsi: Yes. I'll give you the whole week for Pacific Northwest. Is that okay?

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay. Okay, yes.

Paul Scelsi: Pacific Northwest, we're going to be in Billings, Montana, March 26th. That's a Tuesday.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Awesome, okay.

Paul Scelsi: Seattle, Washington, the very next day, March 27th. Portland Oregon, the very next day, the 28th of March.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: March 28th, so I'm sending this all out to my peeps. I'm going to check my calendar, check your calendar. Maybe we can meet up in Portland for this great seminar.

Paul Scelsi: I would love it, Heidi. Awesome, thank you.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I would love it too. Paul, thank you so much. What a great podcast. Great information. Honestly, congratulations. 26 years, that is such a huge accomplishment.

Paul Scelsi: Thank you, Heidi. Thank you. I feel very fortunate and I love it, it keeps me motivated. Thank you for this opportunity. Please say hello, whoever might attend. If you haven't come before, say hello at the seminar. I would love to meet you and shake your hand.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, and mentioned that you heard it all about it on this podcast.

Paul Scelsi: Yes, RoofersCoffeeShop.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hey, also, I wanted to make sure that you talk just a little bit about your podcast. I know we have it. We'll have that on your directory also. That'll be on the AirVent directory where you can go over there, but just tell everybody a little bit about your podcast.

Paul Scelsi: Thank you so much, Heidi. It's called Airing It Out with AirVent. One a month, and it's an extension of our continuing education efforts, and I love it. It's a one-on-one conversation, it's audio only. We might do video one these days, but a new topic. It's not just about ventilation. Overcoming a bad online review. You're new to the industry, you're starting your own company, some tips from seasoned business owners. Anyway, one a month, Airing It Out With AirVent.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. Maybe one day, we could be on your podcast.

Paul Scelsi: I would love it, Heidi. Yes, please.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Okay. We would love that too. Awesome. Paul, thank you so much.

Paul Scelsi: Thank you, Heidi, very much. Thank you, everyone.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you. Thank you everyone for listening. What great stuff. I hope to see you at the seminar in Portland if you're from the Northwest, or I hope you make these seminars across the country, obviously starting in Toronto, Canada.

This is just something that is so good for your company and such a community builder on its own. Please check out all the information about Gibraltar and AirVent on their directories on Roofer's Coffee Shop.

Also, please check out all of our podcasts under the read, listen, watch navigation under Roofing Road Trips. Also 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: Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from TheRoofersCoffeeShop.com.