Advertise on podcast: The Roofr Report

CertainTeed's Larry Sernick has been selling shingles for almost 30 years, and he's watched the industry shift right in front of his eyes. This episode, Pete and Larry discuss slower storm seasons, Class 4 shingles going mainstream, and solar creeping into roofing's territory — all from a manufacturer's perspective. Larry also shares his thoughts on retail sales, credentialing, and where the manufacturing side of roofing is headed next.‍ In this episode: • Why retail sales skills matter when storm season goes quiet • Referrals are jobs to lose, not jobs to win • How a 25-year-old contractor built a business on repairs • What CertainTeed's credential program actually requires • The 150% jump in Class 4 shingle sales • Why "good, better, best" is backwards for retail sales • Where solar fits into roofing's future

Meet Chandler Pedini, our October 2026 Roofr of the Month. Chandler is a sales and project manager at Five Star Roofing in Buffalo, New York. He was on roofs at 10 years old working at the family business, and saw exactly what a life of roofing does to your body. So he tried his hand at accounting, and lasted exactly one day before coming back. Now, he splits his time between job sites and his desk, which turned out to be the perfect balance. Chandler walks us through building a business with 40 in-house crew while most of the industry subs everything out, cross-training crews to survive Buffalo winters, and why Five Star's Instant Estimator leads close at nearly double the rate of their regular leads. If you've ever wondered whether ditching subcontractors is worth the headache, this one's for you. In this episode: • Growing up on roofs (literally, at age 10) • Why Chandler tried accounting and lasted one day • The hard transition from the field to the office • Why Five Star keeps almost everything in-house • The real cost (and the payoff) of ditching subcontractors • Cross-training crews to survive Buffalo's winters • How Instant Estimator generated 35 leads in its first month • Why Instant Estimator leads close at up to 65% • The hidden benefit of looking like a "next level" company • Five Star's 2027 goal: "do less work, make more money"

Roofing is physical labor, full stop. But most of us never talk about what that does to your body over 20+ years on the job. For this episode of The Roofr Report, we're stepping away from our usual roofer spotlights to sit down with physiotherapist Colby Bucci, owner of the Center for Fitness, Health and Performance in Toronto. Colby shares his take on the injuries roofers deal with most, why they happen, and what you can actually do about it. If you've ever pushed through back pain because taking a day off means not getting paid, this one's for you.‍ In this episode: • The #1 injury roofers deal with • Why repetitive strain causes most long-term damage • The "big rope fraying" problem • Three things you can do to prevent injury • Proper lifting technique — back vs. legs • Why hydration affects more than energy • Back braces: helpful tool or crutch? • The tough-guy mindset holding roofers back • Is long-term damage reversible? • Why roofers should train and recover like athletes‍

Owen Atherton almost became a doctor. Five years into a pre-med degree and college baseball career, back-to-back injuries and a new marriage forced a hard pivot. A teammate got him into roofing sales. Three years later, at 23 years old, he launched Rocket Roofing out of Minnetonka, Minnesota. Owen breaks down why he walked away from storm and insurance work entirely to go all-in on retail roofing, and the cash-flow math that made the decision easy. He gets specific on his marketing stack — direct mail, Facebook ads, yard signs — and the "snowball" mentality of showing up in front of homeowners every 30 days without fail, no matter how busy the crews get. Owen also talks candidly about the financial risk of investing in marketing before the business could really afford it, why networking and referral partners quietly outperform cold leads, and how staying deliberately lean — no early hires, no bloated overhead — is the whole strategy behind hitting his revenue targets. In this episode: • From pre-med and college baseball to roofing sales • How discipline from athletics translates to running a business • Choosing retail roofing over storm/insurance work for cash flow • The marketing stack: Staying consistent every 30 days • Betting on ROI: Marketing spend before you can "afford" it • Why referral partners and networking pay off years later • Staying lean: hiring only when there's a real bottleneck • The goal: $750K this year, $2-3M next year, $10M in five years

What if your best referral partner isn't a past customer at all, but your pool guy? That's one of the plays Michael Stearns of Ascend brings to Pete in this episode. Michael runs a marketing agency built around custom websites, SEO/AEO/GEO, and Google Ads for roofers. He doesn't sugarcoat where most contractors go wrong: chasing lead volume instead of understanding what it actually costs to land a customer. Michael breaks down the difference between "tag team trades" (HVAC, plumbing, landscapers) and "power partners" (real estate agents, property managers, insurance agents) — and why the second group can feed you leads before a homeowner even knows they need a roof. He also gets into how AI search is changing what "ranking on page one" even means, and why the roofers showing up in ChatGPT results are the ones getting cited as trusted sources, not just optimizing for keywords. In this episode: Why cost per acquired customer matters more than raw lead countTag team trades vs. power partners — the referral network most roofers ignoreUsing real estate agents and property managers as a built-in lead sourceHow to actually show up when homeowners search on ChatGPT, not just GoogleA simple system for batching a month of social content in 90 minutesWhere the roofing industry is headed after a slow start to the season

Ken Conrad didn't grow up dreaming about roofing. He dropped out in the 10th grade, never got a GED, and spent his early twenties getting doors slammed in his face in Oklahoma City. 18 years later, he's running one of Tulsa's biggest roofing companies — projecting $20-21M this year, in a market with 8,000-10,000 roofers all competing for the same jobs. His approach? Cut out every middleman he can find. Conrad's Roofing private-labels its own nails, felt, sealants, and pipe boots. And they're currently designing their own shingle. Add 60 billboards driving 40-50% of his calls, a "Roof Now, Pay Later" strategy to move homeowners off insurance and onto cash, and a customer experience philosophy borrowed straight from Disney World, and you've got a company that looks nothing like its competitors, on purpose. This one's for any roofer who's tired of competing on price, chasing insurance checks, or waiting on a distributor to tell them what they can and can't do. In This Episode: • Why the name "Affordable Roofing" became a liability • "Roof Now, Pay Later" strategy to move homeowners off insurance • Vertical integration and private-labeling your own materials • Billboard strategy that doubled revenue overnight • The most integral hire Ken ever made (hint: it's his wife) • Ken's "Disney World" philosophy on customer experience • Advice for anyone starting out in roofing today

Sallas Exteriors didn't jump into commercial roofing headfirst. They started with roof coatings. And it changed everything. Based out of Houston, Juan Rodriguez and his team launched in early 2024 as a residential outfit. Commercial was always part of the five-year plan. They just got there a lot faster than expected. How? Roof coatings. Acrylic, silicone, and a local manufacturer relationship that meant materials showed up when they needed them, not weeks later. That low-risk entry point taught the crew how to evaluate a roof, understand NDL warranties, and eventually graduate into TPO and modified bitumen. Now they're chasing high-rise and mid-rise multifamily work, still lean, still small, and still winning against companies ten times their size. This one's for any residential roofer eyeing the commercial side and wondering where to even start. In This Episode: • Why roof coatings are the lowest-risk way into commercial work • Acrylic vs. silicone — and when to use which • How manufacturer partnerships (and NDL warranties) win jobs • The cost of underestimating material and labor on commercial bids • Why referral partners matter more in commercial than residential • Competing with commercial companies while staying lean

E.N.G. Roofing is changing the game. Based out of Waller, TX, Quintin Wilsford and his team are flipping the script on how a roofing company operates. We're talking W2 employees across the board (yes, even the door knockers), hourly pay + commission, and a marketing machine that spans TikTok, LinkedIn, TV commercials, and 1.5M-follower local media partnerships. In just a few months, E.N.G. has grown from ~8 employees to 50+, hit nearly $400K in roofs in a single month — almost entirely retail — and are gunning for $10M this year. This isn't your average roofer story. In This Episode: • How to build a W2 team that sticks around • Winning in a saturated market • Why retail-first beats storm chasing • A multi-platform marketing playbook • Diversification done right

What if scaling back was actually the smartest move you could make for your business and your life? That was certainly the case for Michael Hill of Boise Roof Repair — a former insurance claims adjuster who walked away from corporate life in 2020 to build a lean, profitable roofing business on his own terms. Michael shares how he carved out a niche in a retail-only market by focusing almost entirely on repairs, and how that strategy created an unplanned (and powerful) long game with customers. Michael also digs into the tools that keep his one-man operation running smoothly, including how a $150/month virtual office changed everything, and how Roofr's automations replaced a patchwork of four different software programs. In this episode: How to play the long game with a repair-first roofing businessWhy scaling hurt Michael's profits — and what he did about itThe power of a virtual office for solo operators (for just $150/month)Using Roofr as a full CRM, from measurements to invoicingBig goals, like Michael building a legacy for his kids

What if the best marketing move you can make has nothing to do with SEO, social media, or paid ads? Leaning on his 17+ years in home service work, Dave Carroll of Dope Marketing gives Pete the case for traditional, guerrilla-style marketing. Listen in to learn why postcards and door hangers are still some of the most effective tools a roofer can use. From reaching customers in unique and memorable ways to staying hyper-local and owning your neighborhoods, Dave’s got practical advice you can put to work for your roofing business right now. In this episode: Creative ways to get in front of customers (QR codes, Christmas lights, and more)The case for print marketing vs. digital for lead qualityMarketing vs. branding (and why you need both)Automatic postcard marketing integrations with DOPE and RoofrPlus AI tools, building a hyper-local presence, and more

From Disney to the Marine Corps to Roofing. This week, we're talking to our May Roofr of the Month, Matthew Marsh of Eastern Shore Roofing and Remodeling in Maryland. Matthew shares the story of how bad contractor communication led him to start his company three years ago, reaching $700K+ with three trusted crews and a 70/30 roofing-to-remodeling mix. Pete and Matthew discuss everything under the sun: Matthew's background as a carpenterFinding reliable roofing crewsThe pitfalls of per-square pricingHow roofing tech touches every part of the businessGrowing toward $5M in revenueIt's a great story with a lot to take away. Listen in with us!

How'd Cam Burns hit $500k revenue in year one? Rejuvenation, not reroofing, was the spark. On this week's podcast, Pete sits down with our April Roofr of the Month, Cameron Burns of OK Roof Revival in Kelowna, British Columbia. West coast Canucks rise up! Cameron shares how he left 15 years in oil and gas construction to launch a roofing company in late 2022, and went on to acquire Canadian distribution rights with licensed applicators. Pete and Cam get into: How rejuvenation gets earlier leads and builds trustWatching maintenance become reroof jobsHigh-end offerings (metal, torch-on, Brava synthetic tiles, etc.)The challenges of winter seasonality and ethical reworkHow tech like Roofr and CompanyCam helpsIf you, like Cameron, aren't afraid to get your knuckles a little scratched up, listen up for a lot of solid advice for your own roofing business.

This week on the Roofr Report, Pete sits down with Phil Risher to talk about LLMs, return on ad spend (ROAS), and marketing that actually converts. They discuss what works, what doesn’t, and why finding that right balance is so frustrating for so many roofing companies. Phil explains how to stop guessing, start tracking the right things, and build marketing that actually supports your business goals. The shift to conversational AI searchUsing call data to improve your marketingVisibility, conversion, and re-targetingROAS reporting and moreIf trying to effectively market your local roofing business in 2026 feels overwhelming and unclear, this episode will help bring it back down to earth.

After nearly 22 years in business, John and Carrie McClung have a clear philosophy: “We don’t live to roof. We roof to live.” To celebrate our March Roofr of the Month winners, Pete sits down with John and Carrie McClung to discuss how success arises from taking an active part in the roofing community. From disaster response to backpack giveaways to breast cancer fundraisers, McClung Roofing has built a business rooted in service. In this episode: How community investment fuels long-term growthWhy reputation beats priceWhat legacy really means in contractingIt's a story about business, but also heart.

This week, Pete catches up with Chuck Allen, our February Roofr of the Month. Chuck shares his transformation from crane operator to roofing business owner at San Antonio’s Rio Blanco Roofing. Chuck’s been around the block, and shares some great business insight into: Targeting your clients instead of casting a wide netBuilding your brand by being honest and authenticKeeping quality service and high production standardsSetting proper customer expectationsLeaning on the right tech, and the right people, to grow without wasteLearn how Chuck and his team have set Rio Blanco apart in a highly competitive market — and how your own roofing company can follow a few key principles to achieve the same.