BLOG - Trying New Things

I think a lot of us are stuck in the old way of doing things. The lightening speed of the changes in new technologies in almost too much to absorb. It all seems too complicated, so we just learn how to turn it off and on and don’t stretch out much past that. You were forced into getting a cell phone, using the ATM and now look at you, you are reading this on the internet.

So you do move forward but how forward thinking are you when presented with something new? Are you going willingly, do you give things a try when introduced or will you wait until your are forced? In the past 10 years there is major changes in roofing products. Think about it, until 30 years ago were still putting on built up roofing like our fore-fathers did. Now we’ve got synthetic underlayments, hybrid underlayments, EPDM, TPO, PVE, KEE and coatings that would have kept the titanic afloat.

Next time your roofing supplier invites you to a demo of the newest thing are you going to go? If you go and it seems viable will you try it, or will you just put the literature in the filing cabinet? Let’s just save it for later and go about using that same old product with the same old way of applying it?

Is it that you hate to use your next project as a guinea pig? Is it the time that it will take for the learning curve? Is it just the reading of directions on the package that you can’t do?

The problem is with waiting until you HAVE to use it. Now your customer wants it and now your really are behind. Another problem is that whippersnapper competitor doing business down the street, you know the one – the guy that uses an iPad for estimating, has already been using that new roofing product.

There is only one thing left to do – Dinosaurs unite and try something new.

I pondered and Pondered until my "Ponderer" was sore and I still don't have the answer.

Do I want to hang my reputation on the latest and greatest thing out there? Depends, I guess. Our schedule is pretty tight right now with customers buying the old and proven. Is the new stuff better? Hmmmm, will I be around long enough to find out? Do I want the headache of some product engineer's misguided calculations?

Ida Know, something to ponder on, I guess.

New single plys and other things? I take the seminars and classes. I get certified. I throw the certs away. Otherwise I'd have nothing but them in the cabinets. There's always some learning curve there, though most things still rely on common sense. I'll keep tabs on the new stuff and have the abiity, but I'd rather have the other companies deal witht he early failures and recalls. Part of the 'learning curve' in action!

I just put the literature in the filing cabinet.

I take them all with a grain of salt. Like the 'New' FireFree fake slate that came out about 10 years ago. THe company is gone, the HO's are looking for affordable solutions to fix their homes that the new lifetime product failed on. At least the problems didnt show up until the fifth year.

Synthetic underlay? So what. Do the roof right and no underlay is necessary.

New shingles? One company claims all flashing can now be tightly nailed. Being under the shingles will annul the expansion and contraction properties of metal products. Even though, for some insane reason, the metal manufacturers claim their metals still expand and contract. Most any day now, you will see architects specifing shingles on the roadways since they will prevent concrete from expanding and buckling in the heat. Bridges will no longer require expansion joints either. Just shingle the roads!

New caulk? New cement? So? Do the roof right and it won't matter.