flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

What specifiers look for in a roof

What specifiers look for in a roof

Product performance, warranty, and the manufacturer's reputation are the most important roofing attributes, according an exclusive survey of BD&C readers.


By By Dave Barista, Assistant Managing Editor | August 11, 2010
This article first appeared in the 200602 issue of BD+C.

When evaluating the merits of roofing systems, specifiers generally consider a product's performance record, warranty, and the manufacturer's reputation before all other attributes, according to a recent survey of 300 designers, contractors, and building owner/developers by Reed Research Group, a sister company of Building Design & Construction.

More than 84% of respondents said product performance is an "extremely important" or "very important" trait (see table below). Nearly 80% said warranty was a crucial attribute, followed by the manufacturer's reputation (72%), customer support (66.3%), required maintenance (65.3%), and fire protection (57.7%). All respondents said they regularly purchase, specify, and/or recommend brands and types of roofing systems.

Surprisingly, environmental considerations ranked last on the list of key attributes. Just 44.3% of respondents said it was an extremely important or very important characteristic. Speed/ease of installation and appearance also ranked at the bottom of the list, with a little more than half of respondents designating them as crucial features.

While the three disciplines surveyed for this report (designers, contractors, owners/developers) generally agreed on the relative importance of various attributes, there were several discrepancies worth noting. Owners/developers ranked fire protection as the third most important attribute when specifying a roofing system, with 72% saying it's extremely important or very important. Just 56% of architects/engineers and 46.7% of contractors agreed.

Energy savings also ranked high with owners and developers (64%), but only half of designers and contractors surveyed said it was very or extremely important.

Architects/engineers ranked both ease to do business with and speed/ease of installation at the bottom of the list, with less than 44% saying they are very important traits. In contrast, more than 66% of contractors and 64% of owners/developers said they are key attributes.

When broken down by region, the relative importance of key attributes is generally the same, with a few exceptions. Survey respondents that reside in the South, for instance, place much more emphasis on energy savings than professionals in other regions. More than 60% of respondents from the South said energy savings is extremely important or very important, compared with just 45.3% from the Midwest, 49.4% from the Northeast, and 54.3% from the West.

Fire protection ranked alarmingly low with Midwest respondents, with less than 40% saying it was a key feature. Those surveyed in other regions ranked it as a top-five attribute, on average.

Those surveyed from the West placed much less emphasis on the manufacturer's reputation (51.4%) and warranty (68.6%) than those from the other regions. About 80% of respondents from the South, Midwest, and West said the warranty is a key attribute, and nearly 74% said the manufacturer's reputation is a vital trait.

When gathering general information about roofing products, respondents say they prefer to use manufacturers' websites and manufacturers' representatives before all other sources.

More than 30% of those surveyed chose manufacturers' websites as their top source for product information. Nineteen percent prefer manufacturers' representatives, followed by McGraw-Hill's Sweets catalog (12.2%), industry trade publications (11.6%), manufacturers' literature (8.8%), and distributors (7.8%).

Nearly 20% of respondents said they used a roofing consultant on their last roofing project.

Owner/developers are more likely to hire a roofing consultant than designers or contractors, according to the survey. More than a quarter of owner/developers surveyed hired a roofing consultant on their last project, compared to just 16% of contractors and 18% of architect/engineers.

Which roofing attributes do you consider to be 'very important'?

Attribute Total Architect/engineer Contractor Owner/developer
Base: 300
Source: Reed Research Group, 11/05
A survey of 300 BD&C readers who regularly purchase, specify, and/or recommend brands and types of roofing systems shows that a product's performance record is the most crucial attribute when evaluating a roofing system. Nearly 85% of respondents said product performance is "very important," followed by warranty (79%), manufacturer's reputation (72%), and customer support (66.3%).
Product performance record 84.3% 82.7% 92.0% 80.0%
Warranty 79.0% 76.0% 82.7% 81.3%
Manufacturer's reputation 72.0% 72.0% 74.7% 69.3%
Customer support 66.3% 62.7% 70.7% 69.3%
Required maintenance 65.3% 66.7% 58.7% 69.3%
Fire protection 57.7% 56.0% 46.7% 72.0%
East to do business with 54.3% 43.3% 66.7% 64.0%
Energy savings 53.7% 50.7% 49.3% 64.0%
Appearance 53.3% 48.0% 57.3% 60.0%
Ease of installation 53.0% 40.7% 65.3% 65.3%
Environmental considerations 44.3% 40.0% 42.7% 54.7%

boombox1
boombox2
native1
halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021