Roofer profile: Jessie Gillam, University Roofing and Construction

Experienced roofer Jessie Gillam answers questions about composite roofing for his roofing projects.

The one-stop service solution offered by University Roofing & Construction positions the company as a leader in the St. Louis, Missouri marketplace. The team excels at providing best practice solutions with superior customer service for their residential, commercial and premier restoration clients. 

Since 2015 the company’s President, Jessie Gillam, has enthusiastically offered DaVinci composite products to his customers. His key piece of advice to other roofers in trying to sell composite roofing is this: 

“Don’t ever make the assumption that someone can’t or won’t spend the money for a top-quality roofing system,” says Gillam. “You never know who may be interested in a DaVinci roof that simply hasn’t heard of them.” 

Q: How have you used composite roofing products as an upsell for your business?
A: We always offer our customers a variety of options when replacing their roofs. DaVinci has a premium roofing system. We’ve frequently been able to upsell to this product line for many different reasons. Some folks love the wind, fire and hail ratings of the product. Others are more interested in the curb appeal that it will add to the home. Some customers simply don’t want to worry about replacing the roof every 15-20 years like we see with asphalt systems.  

Q: Tell us about the trends you’ve seen in the past five years related to synthetic roofing… and then look ahead five years. Where has your company been, and where do you think you’re going?
A: We typically install about three to five DaVinci projects a year. We see an ever-increasing demand for composite shake as insurance companies have increased rates and denied coverage on real cedar shake roofs. With the advent of the farmhouse style of homes over the last couple years, the introduction of DaVinci shake siding has been a great alternative to vinyl shake siding. It’s another way to boost our business.  

Q: What’s a favorite DaVinci project you’ve worked on?
A: There’s a 125-square-foot DaVinci Multi-Width Slate project we installed in Wentzville, Missouri. The house was over 10,000 square feet and had three unique turrets and more than 65 different roof facets. 

The homeowner describes the home as French whimsical countryside. We spent about eight weeks installing this project from start to finish. It’s so unique that it’s easily one of my favorites. 

Q: What makes DaVinci a good partner for your business?
A: The DaVinci product quality is dependable and desirable. The look is realistic. We’ve pitched DaVinci slate for church and school projects. We’ve color and pattern matched existing slate roofs when customers were adding to their homes. We’ve installed DaVinci slate on a horse stable. It also works for historic homes as well as new construction. 

The authenticity of the DaVinci products stands out in the marketplace. We also love all the colors in the Nature Crafted Collection. It takes the shake product to the next level. The Black Oak, Aged Cedar and Mossy Cedar give the roofs so much more dimension and texture. The customers just love it.  

Q: What key pieces of advice do you have for roofers trying to sell composite roofing? 

A: First, make sure you study the product. Understand that some details on DaVinci roofs will require specialty flashings or custom sheet metal. Look out for these when you initially inspect the roof so that you don’t encounter surprises later on. 

Next, think outside the box. Last year we replaced a designer asphalt shingle roof. It had 4 dormers shingled by the previous contractor. I recommended installing single-width DaVinci slate on the dormer walls instead of heavy asphalt shingles. We fabricated and installed individual flashing pieces between each row on the corners so we didn’t have to use any bulky, custom metal corners. It turned out amazing and the customer loves the DaVinci product. 

Finally, know that if you’re in a snowy area, you’ll absolutely need a snow retention system with composite roofing. We’ve used the Alpine and Rocky Mountain Snow Guard #10 pad style snow guards. There are also bar systems available. Regardless, snow retention is definitely needed with composite roofing.