S2:E43 Jack Gottesman and Mark Zehnal - Roofing Systems That are Challenging the Weather

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter.

How IKO roofing systems are meeting FORTIFIED Home™ standards and ensuring homeowners a job worth paying for.

On this episode of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth, chats with Jack Gottesman of IKO and Mark Zehnal of IBHS. This is an exciting episode as Jack and Mark discuss IKO roofing products and how they are creating systems that meet the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety’s (IBHS) FORTIFIED Home™ standards.

Jack works for IKO on a residential roofing line within the U.S. He shared that IKO is getting ready to celebrate their 70th year of business in North America as a leading manufacturer of building materials.

“I'm very proud to work for the organization,” said Jack, “We started in Canada. That's where our roots are, but have since expanded on a mission to conquer the world. So here we go.”

Mark has been working in roofing since 1987 and serves as the senior roofing specialist at IBHS. Mark works primarily with the FORTIFIED program while also helping out with research projects and anything else that has to do with roofing.

“It was September in 2016 that I came over and got involved in the FORTIFIED program. And I'll tell you, Heidi, if I was a contractor at the time, I would have been all over this. It just makes so much sense to me. As I was doing trainings for the roofers for FORTIFIED, I'd have people come up to me and say, ‘This makes so much sense.’ And the funny thing about it is it’s really basic stuff. And a lot of people are doing some of the things already. They just don't even know it,” said Mark.

IKO and IBHS have been working closely for quite some time, however in recent years they have ramped up their efforts. Working together ensures that people have the best roofing systems available in order to protect what matters most: a home.

“We were doing a PR project with our friends at Apple Roofing in the Midwest recently and one of them just said something that I love. They said that the roof is very important obviously, but it's what's underneath the roof that matters most,” said Jack.  

The FORTIFIED Home program seeks to improve property resilience to natural disasters as well as ensure the homeowner a job well done through a system of third-party verification. In simple terms, the homeowner gets somebody looking over the shoulder of the contractor, and the manufacturer has somebody watching and providing updates on what’s going on in the project. All of the information is documented through pictures and other written documentation and sent to the IKO and IBHS offices for verification.

“One of the things I really like, being involved with the manufacturers, is that I can call the technical people over at IKO. And if a contractor is having issues, I can call them and we're able to deal with the problem immediately. We don't have to go around in circles,” said Mark.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about how FORTIFIED and IKO are working together to create secure roofing systems that stand against the tests of weather.