07 Nov 2009, Posted by Shawn in Contractors, Green, Showcase, Suppliers, Sustainability, 4 Comments, Short-URL:http://portlandbuilt.com/25223

Portland Metal Roofs

I’ve always thought metal was the creme-de-la-creme of roofing materials. Metal roofs last forever (estimates of 30-50 years and beyond), require little maintenance, and can be recycled at the end of their life. Plus, metal roofs aren’t made with petroleum products, which puts them squarely in the A+ column for green, sustainable products.

Where to Start Your Search for Metal Roofs in Portland

A quick Google search will reveal a number of companies that will roof your house in steel or aluminum. Metal roofs come is a variety of profiles from standing seam to more traditional shakes. Personally, I prefer the more modern look of the standing-seam roofs, but owners of older homes will most likely gravitate towards a traditional (shingle-replica) solution. Here are some of the results if I simply put in a generic search like, “Portland Roofing”

I’ve noticed many web sites come up under the search term, “metal roof” but lack any concrete examples of actual installations. The other problem in finding a contractor is that many roofing companies are still operating as if it’s 1986 – i.e. pre-internet. Their websites are poorly produced and lack good customer testimonials highlighting their excellent service. Sadly, many of these roofing contractors don’t understand how many people use the internet to find someone to help with their roofing needs. In fact, just to give you an idea of how many people are looking for roofers, take a look at this graphic (data pulled from Google’s Keyword Tool):

As you can see, there are a LOT of people looking for roofing contractors in Portland! By my estimation, the number of people conducting searches based on the term “Portland roofing” is between 50,000-70,000 per year. And, if you were to add in other, more generic terms like “roofing,” you’d probably hit six figures.

So why does this matter? Well for two reasons:

• If you are a contractor, you’d better pay attention to your website and how people find you through Google. You’re missing huge profits by relying solely on word of mouth, yard signs, and advertising.
• If you are a homeowner, architect, or someone who buys roofing services you’ll probably need to be very diligent when selecting a contractor. Because this industry is “behind the curve,” often the best vendors will be hard to find through internet-based searches.

Case and point: My neighbor recently re-roofed her house with a gorgeous metal roof. The contractor who did the work, did a fantastic job. You can tell from the attention to detail on the flashing just how good their work was. When I went to look the contractor up on the internet, however, their site was riddled with broken links and missing pages. If I were a typical homeowner (and knew nothing about roof technology) I’d wonder, “why is this web site not working? Why aren’t there pictures of the contractor’s work on the site?” That feeling of doubt might make me look elsewhere.

Finding Contractors Beyond the Web

Fortunately, there are other options besides the web. One way to find a good roofer is to talk to a reliable builder or general contractor. For example, I recently spoke with Stephen Aiguier of Green Hammer Building Contractors. I know Stephen hires top-notch guys and works on the kind of projects where “attention to detail” is the norm. From his experience, he was able to recommend a roofer that he had worked with on previous projects. The next step would be to call on the roofer and ask for references and addresses of houses that he had roofed. Visiting past projects is an absolute must before hiring any contractor.

The Live/Work project will be selecting a roofing contractor in the coming weeks, and Portland Built is looking for a partner in the roofing services segment. If you know of any great candidates, let us know in the comments below.

Photo Credit Englert, Inc.

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