Roofing Road Trip with Renee Ramey - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Renee Ramey with the MRA. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast here. 

Heidi: Hello and welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi podcast. This is Heidi Ellsworth, RCS partner, and I am so excited today to be here with Renee Ramey from Metal Roofing Alliance. I have learned so much from this lady in the last year about metal roofing and the important place it has for the future of roofing. So Renee, welcome.

Renee Ramey: Thank you. Happy to be here.

Heidi: Thank you. We on, you know you guys are doing some really cool things I think at the Metal Roofing Alliance and it's just so important as we are looking for more sustainability, better choices, and also just where roofing is kind of going. But before we get to all that interesting information, I would love it if you would share a little bit about yourself with our listeners and also talk a little bit about the Metal Roofing Alliance overall.

Renee Ramey: Yeah, happy to do so. So again, my name is Renee Ramey, executive director of the Metal Roofing Alliance. I've been in this role for little over or right about three years. I'm getting ready to start my fourth year and absolutely love it. My background historically since school has been in the marketing and management area. I was fortunate enough not too long after getting out of school to land a really good position with a coil coater, a steel converter, located here on the West Coast. And from there, spent some time doing marketing for ASC Profiles, which is a metal roofing manufacturer, and then transitioned to a smaller Pacific Northwest-based service center within the metals industry. And so my last 25 years has really been spent bouncing around the roofing industry, specifically the metal side of the roofing industry, learning everything from the steel production and conversion side through the coil coating side manufacturing of panel, actually, and then right down through the distribution through service center. So it's been a great career. I've enjoyed the industry and I'm very fortunate to now get to represent the roofing side, specifically in the role that I have.

Heidi: It's cool that you and I both live on the West Coast. We're both basically Southwest Washington, Oregon and you've been in the metal part, I've been in more of the asphalt and the roofing part, and we just met just a year ago. So it's crazy how it's such a small industry, but yet we still get all these opportunities to meet new people.

Renee Ramey: Yeah, it's been great. And just to finish up with the Metal Roofing Alliance specifically, we are a marketing and educational association, we're nonprofit. And we exist based off of membership dues from a variety of companies within the metal roofing industry who support our effort to go out and promote metal roofing to homeowners and to educate and provide resources and information to the homeowners so they, one, know about metal roofing, but two, are making some educated decisions with all the pertinent information. Metal roofing tends to be misperceived a lot in the industry and we're here as an association to help disprove those myths that are out there and to help educate and promote to homeowners the truth about the benefits of metal roofing.

Heidi: You do an amazing job of that and we have a lot of your educational information, your press releases, you guys have some of the best content to help educate not just the homeowners and building owners, but also the contractors. We have a lot of that on the RoofersCoffeeShop and we love the partnership we have with you. How do you kind of start ... You always are bringing out great new content. One of the things we want to talk about today is your top five home improvement trends for 2020. How did you research that? This is what we're going to kind of talk about this trends for 2020, but also overall, you're constantly bringing amazing content to help homeowners and contractors.

Renee Ramey: Well thank you for that. First and foremost, we have a wonderful PR person on staff who is very good at what she does. So a shout out to our PR person, Darcie. But as an association we try to keep our ear to the ground, so to speak. So we're constantly checking in with consumers, whether it be through direct conversation or if it's through surveys. We're watching various research studies that are done and put out there as far as what homeowners are looking at or what they're considering or what the issues are. So we like to think we're trying to stay in touch with the market and let the market drive the content that we come up with. So for example, if we're hearing a lot of rumblings and/or we see through some surveys or research data that consumers believe metal roofing is too noisy, as an example, we will take that information or that feedback and develop content, informational-based, fact-based content to dispel the myth around metal being louder as a roofing material than other products. When we're not defending metal roofing and trying to educate, we'll also go out and look at what's coming, not just from a roofing perspective, but just from an overall building perspective on the residential side. You know, what's going on with siding, with landscape, with the type of homes being built. And so we're trying to keep close to the market and where forecasters predict things are going so that we make sure our content is relevant to what's coming down the turnpike.

Heidi: That makes a lot of sense. And how about, so that really kind of leads into that top five home improvement trends is that you said you're hearing this from really homeowners and what you're seeing out there overall and research on what's important to them.

Renee Ramey: Yeah, yeah. We hear it from homeowners, we hear it through members who are dealing with homeowners or downstream distribution channels. So it's a compilation of feedback. But we do try to stay on top of that data and right down to what's the color of the year. We try to make sure we're representing what's out there.

Heidi: I love that. I love that. Well, let's dive into these trends. So the first trend that you had on, and this is just so everyone knows who's listening, this press release is on RoofersCoffeeShop, it's on the Metal Roofing Alliance website. It's available that you can download it, read it, get it in any way you want to learn about it. But the first trend is Show of Strength. So Renee, what's that?

Renee Ramey: Well, I think for this, what we were trying to land on or share is that now we're seeing a lot more natural materials being used and we're seeing them being used in very forward, and I don't want to say aggressive, but really pertinent, eye-popping ways. So architecturally we're seeing, I think we use the word fortress, but we're seeing those heavier materials and those heavier architectural components really coming out in trends. And that's everything from columns to more dramatic roofing, right down to the fences being put around the house. So just really a large presence from a materials perspective, earthy materials perspective.

Heidi: Yeah, I love that look. I mean, I live up in the mountains of Oregon, so we have a lot of that around here where it's all about withstanding the elements but making it look really good at the same time. So I agree.

Renee Ramey: Oh sorry. I was going to say, I think you hit the nail on the head from the perspective of, with all the weather related events that have been occurring throughout the country, whether it hurricane, high wind, hail, snow loads, whatever. I think homeowners are finally realizing that delicate or dainty architectural aspects of a home might look nice to some, but at the end of the day, your home is your fortress, right? It's where you go, it's your harbor of safety, so to speak. And I think people are realizing that functionality over what it looks like, but more importantly, realizing that that functionality and that strength can actually be very beautiful and aesthetically pleasing as well.

Heidi: I agree. I love that. I love that architecture and it makes sense. Trend number two is kind of taking that and also adding some creativity where you talk about Mix & Match. What's that trend?

Renee Ramey: Yeah. Specifically, this one popped up first when we noticed a lot of dual roofing on homes and when I say dual, you know you might see a tile combined with a standing seam metal roof or you might see, asphalt with a shake or stone-coated look to it. It's this combination of various materials coming together and playing off one another that we're starting to see a huge trend toward. And so taking that to the metal roofing front specifically, that's one area where we can really shine as a product because metal roofing literally can look like any other roofing material out there. So if you're wanting the look of a shake on certain aspects of the home, but really like the simpleness of a standing seam panel, metal can come in both. It can come in a preformed shake panel, it can come in standing seam, it can look like an asphalt roof if you want it to. So the metal's ability to mimic any roofing style and play off of each other to create a very appealing roofline with roofing materials, that's a huge plus right now in the market.

Heidi: Yeah, I see that around here too. I love that architecture. I love the combination and I mean that's not new, but people are kind of rediscovering it, it seems like.

Renee Ramey: Yeah.

Heidi: Now one of the things that I think is on the news almost nightly is really talking about sustainability, energy savings, and so your trend number three is called Save by Zero. Probably going to be one of my favorites. Tell us a little bit about that.

Renee Ramey: Yeah, so metal roofing has historically showcased through statistics and through testing the benefit that it brings from an environmental standpoint, from a sustainability standpoint. So, you'll hear things like, it's recyclable at the end of its life or it's made out of recycled material. That's usually always the case and we're very proud of that. But beyond just even the recyclability is the ability of metal roofing to be manufactured with cool, what we call cool coatings. So paint systems that reflect heat and they will retain heat in ways that you want, they'll reflect heat in areas where you don't want. So we really have a product that works well to limiting or reducing your heat and cooling loads on a home, which is a huge energy saver. And then beyond that we have the perfect platform for solar attachments for solar panels. So metal roofing is probably number one, in my opinion, for solar, if you're going to put solar on your home simply because there are so many various attachments out there that allow you to get solar on your roof without penetrating the roof. And obviously any penetration in a roof is an opportunity for leakage of water and whatnot. So we really like the fact that metal roofing allows homeowners to put up solar panels without puncturing the roof. And then one step beyond that is metal roofing, depending on the roof that you get, a quality metal roof can last up to 50 plus years, which would way outlast the solar panels that are put on the roof. So again, you're not only getting the no penetration on the roofing material when you're putting up the solar panels, but you're also getting a base roofing system for those panels that doesn't have to be dismantled or replaced during the life of the solar panel. So there's a lot of benefits to metal roofing beyond energy efficiency and beyond recyclability.

Heidi: Yeah. And I think solar panels look really cool on metal roofs too. So it kind of goes back to your show of strength, your number one trend. It kind of fits in there a little bit too, because I don't know about you, but sometimes you see the solar panels on certain roofs and you think, Oh, I'm not sure how well I like that, but I think they look great on metal roofs.

Renee Ramey: Yes, I agree.

Heidi: So that really leads us into trend number four, which is, Hi-Fi Contrast. I love this one. Tell us a little bit about that.

Renee Ramey: I think this one semi-relates back to the Mix & Match which is the ability to utilize metal roofing in various colors and styles and then playing those off of each other to create this very, eye pleasing, visual product on your home. And so from our perspective, the Hi-Fi aspect of metal roofing is its ability not only to look like any other roofing product, but from a color perspective you can introduce virtually any color of roofing you want and the roof, most people might think the doors or the windows are the first thing you notice about a house, but we would argue that the roof usually is the first thing you notice about a house. But if it's not aesthetically, wow, you really kind of glance over it and then go straight to the rest of the home. So we're saying metal roofing is an architectural component of a home that does give a great first impression that is viewed first and foremost and to put that signature on your home by using products that contrast or help promote the rest of the home that really again, blends with the architectural look and feel.

Heidi: And there's so many options. I mean, when you think about colors and metal roofing, there's just so much possibility.

Renee Ramey: Yeah, just dating back to my previous life with a coil coater, we would literally have 160 whites. I mean, in just whites you know you would think there's a white, oh no, there's 160 whites and they all have a slightly different hue or shade or gloss or matte, whatever. And so, yeah, the choices to your point are endless from a color perspective. And it's not even a solid color. We as an industry have come so far on multicolor roofing. So literally you could look at a roof, and I've done this before. I've walked through my neighborhood, seen a new roof go up, not paying attention to the installation, but looking at the finished product and have to do a double take because some roofing materials now have three, four different colors and the way the design or pattern on the metal is, it just looks like shake, it looks like shingle, it looks like slate and you just never know. So it's endless. It's the only industry that offers such an endless array of options.

Heidi: Yeah. We just saw, I was just down on the California coast and we saw a red metal roof being put on right on the coastline and it was metal and, but a lot of the roofs around there were tile, you could not tell the difference. But yet the performance, you can tell the difference there, that's for sure.

Renee Ramey: And you know, and there's so many benefits, obviously I could talk forever and ever. But tile is a great example. Tile is a beautiful roofing product, but there are metal options out there that look exactly like tile and they weigh so much less and they're so much easier to install and easier to recycle at the end. Just the weight factor alone. It's just baffling that anyone would choose to put all that weight up on a roof when you could have something that looks exactly the same but in a metal lightweight product.

Heidi: Yeah. Especially in California with some of the shaking that goes on down there. Okay. So the last trend and I am a huge proponent on this, I have several in my house, it's called Sky's the Limit, and talks about some great natural light. Talk about that trend a little bit.

Renee Ramey: Yeah. So a lot of people, this kind of pertains more to a myth or it was probably born out of a myth, I'll say, is a lot of homeowners believe that with a metal roof you can't put in skylights or you can't have those type of features. And that's absolutely not true. You know there are a lot of metal roofing products out there most, I dare bet, that can accommodate skylights and any form of add-on to your roof to help bring in that light. And so to that end, this is really just kind of dispelling that myth that if you get a metal roof you can't have things like skylights. There also, it just goes back to that durable material aspect, that strength of metal roofing as well. Because again, if you've got a quality product being installed by a quality installer, the odds are good that that roof is going to last 30, 40, 50 plus years. And so it just prevents you having to get back up there and mess around with the skylight. Every time you put on a new roof, you're reintroducing an opportunity for things not to be done correctly and end up with water leakage. And that's the longevity of metal is just one more thing that goes along with those penetrations like skylights. If you get it done right you get it done once and then you sit back and relax and you don't have to worry about it again for quite some time.

Heidi: Yeah, that's smart. I love those trends. I think they're right on from what I'm hearing out there too. We get a lot of feedback into the RoofersCoffeeShop, but one of the things that I've been hearing consistently over the last couple of years is just this phenomenal growth of metal roofing. I would love it if you could share with some of our contractors who are listening what you are seeing in the growth of metal roofing in the industry, both from architects, homeowners, building owners and obviously contractors starting to provide metal roofing in their business.

Renee Ramey: Yeah, absolutely. So we are seeing metal roofing grow, the market shares definitely trending up within the residential market. I think again, as we spread the word and educate, promote the product to homeowners getting over those myths as I've alluded to a few times is huge. And once we let homeowners know the truth about metal roofing, it becomes kind of a no brainer to a lot of people that it's the right material for their home. So we are seeing the market share increase. Metal roofing is the second largest market within the residential arena at this point behind asphalt, so that's a positive. And so our goal is just to continue to get the word out, continue to correct any misperceptions that are out there and make sure that metal roofing enters the consideration set at least for a homeowner. And beyond that, one of the things that the industry as a whole is running into, it's not just metal roofing, but across the board all roofing, is just a lack of installers to get the material on. And one of the bits of information that we've gleaned through the research that we do ourselves as well as through talking with others is metal roofing's share of the market has the potential to go a lot higher than it is now, but we need to get more installers. To put that another way, we've got a demand that's outpacing supply when it comes to the installation side of the metal roofing. And so we are constantly trying to bring on new installers as an industry and there's a number of ways that's being approached. MRA as an association is definitely more marketing and education and focus, but we've partnered with some other associations in the industry to try to beef up the efforts on the technical front. And when I say that I'm referring to training materials, training opportunities, getting this opportunity in front of installers doing either asphalt roof or just starting in the industry period, trying to get that out in front of them. A lot of the MRA manufacturer members, in fact, I'd say most of our MRA manufacturer members, offer some sort of installer training as well. And it can be very specific to their product, but it also offers kind of a higher-level introduction to metal as a whole from an installer perspective. So I guess what I'm saying is there's a lot of resources out there. A lot of them are very well done. I think the misperception that metal is a lot harder to install than asphalt. If you take the time and research it a little bit better, you'll learn that it's like anything else, once you learn how to do it correctly and the more you do it, the better you get. It's not substantially harder than asphalt. Any roofline that's got a lot of different angles and valleys and peaks and penetrations is going to be more difficult period regardless of the roofing material. So it's just kind of getting over that hump with the industry, the installer, contractor side, letting them know that it's a very easy product to install once you learn how to do it and you actually get a lot more profit. Historically you typically get a lot more profitability off of an install of one metal roof than you will several asphalt roofs. So it's a very profitable business to get into as an installer. And so we just try to make the first step in that transition as easy as possible. And if anybody ever has any questions about training materials or where to go, we definitely will help. I was interacting with a contractor earlier today actually who has never installed a metal roof but would love to learn how to do it and is looking for training opportunities within the area they live. And so we're in the process of hooking him up with a local manufacturer of product that he's interested in installing so that we can get him trained in and out on the ground installing metal roofs. So there's lots of opportunity and again, the market is trending up and the opportunities from a market growth perspective are huge. So we would encourage anyone interested to reach out and let us help you get connected.

Heidi: You know, that is great. I was just at the NRCA meetings last month and was visiting with a top contractor who does a lot of metal roofing, and she said, and I love this quote, she said that, "It is not a problem getting homeowners or building owners to pay more for metal. It is a problem getting them to wait for a metal roof". So it goes right to what you said, the demand is there, and for roofing contractors to be more profitable, people want metal roofs, they just don't want to wait for them. So we just need to keep getting more training for these crews and developing more metal roofing craftsmen and women on the roof.

Renee Ramey: Yeah. And I'll even add to that with some statistics. We get inquiries from homeowners through our website all the time, and we did a follow-up to a group of those homeowners that filled out the MRA form and just kind of said, Hey, did you get what you were looking for? Did you end up installing a new roof? If you did, what type of roof was it, et cetera, et cetera. There was a fairly significant number of consumers who contacted the MRA who were very much interested in metal roofing, who ended up confirming with us that they ended up going asphalt, not because they wanted to go asphalt, but because they, one, couldn't wait the length of time the projects their local installers were pushing out projects so far that they couldn't wait or, two, there just wasn't a qualified metal roofing installer in their area and it was so much work that they ended up just kind of throwing up their hands and putting asphalt on. And so it just goes to show that there's a huge opportunity out there. The interest level is there and again, I know the labor shortage covers all roofing materials, not just metal, but there is absolutely evidence to show that if you are interested in installing metal roof, there is more than enough business to go around we've found very few areas where that's not the case. You know where there's too many installers and not enough demand that we very rarely come across that. Usually it's the other way around.

Heidi: Yeah. Well I think you've answered really one of the most important questions that I had on after the trends and that was how can roofing contractors start doing more metal roofing, because we know the demand is there and now how do we make it easy? And the answer is get ahold of you, the Metal Roofing Alliance. You can connect them, right?

Renee Ramey: Absolutely. We are trying to be a resource to homeowners on roofing period. You know, we want to provide data. Obviously we're very focused on metal, but you know, we just want to be that resource for homeowners as well as the industry. If we don't have the answer or we aren't the answer to your question, we certainly know and have partnered with enough people throughout the industry to get you to the right place. So by all means, call.

Heidi: Perfect. Well Renee, thank you so much. This has been incredibly informative and I can see a lot of people using this on not only to learn more for their business but maybe use some of this for their sales efforts with homeowners. Because you've really given the industry some great ammunition on the trends and what homeowners should be thinking about, which I know they love. They want some good choices.

Renee Ramey: Okay.

Heidi: Perfect. So thank you so much for being on here and I want to say thank you to everyone who's listening. Be sure to go to RoofersCoffeeShop and listen to all the podcasts, including this podcast today. Plus all the Roofing Road Trips podcasts by Heidi and stories from the roof and our partner podcast are all there under our Read, Listen, Watch, RLW initiative education on the website. I also really recommend checking out the directory. Metal Roofing Alliance has a full directory on the site. You can get tons of information, excellent articles and education all right there on RoofersCoffeeShop and that will also get you to the Metal Roofing Alliance website. So from RoofersCoffeeShop and Roofing Road Trips with Heidi, thank you all for listening.