Colorado Roofing Association Newsletter

1675 Larimer St, Suite 700
P.O. Box 480084
Denver, CO 80248-0084
(303) 892-6966
Fax (303) 892-6322
E-mail: debbie@coloradoroofing.org
Website: www.coloradoroofing.org
Executive Director: Debbie Hathorne
Industrial Expositions, Inc.

2009 CRA OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Chuck Spicer, Bighorn Metalworks
303-287-8220
VICE PRESIDENT
Kirk Tiley, Tiley Roofing, Inc.
303-426-7370
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Dave Rueter, GAF Materials Corp.
303-847-9359
DIRECTORS
Slate Baker, Allied Building Products
303-296-2222
Curt Boyd, Academy Roofing
303-360-0708
Brad Evans, Advanced Roofing Technologies
970-663-0203
Jeff Sykes, ACH Foam Technologies
303-297-3844
Mike Trotter, Front Range Roofing Sys.
970-353-2322
John Weber, D & D Roofing
303-287-3043
Dan Zahtila, Black Roofing
303-449-5176
Past President
Amy Hawkins, Boulder Roofing
303-443-4646

Mission Statement
"To promote the ethics, education and image of the roofing industry in the State of Colorado through meetings and actions of the members."

The CRA newsletter is open for member input. We encourage you to submit items that will benefit the members, including new technical updates, community service achievements in your local communities, educational seminars/ workshops, etc. (no sales oriented pieces).

Contact the CRA office for more information at 303-892-6966 ext. 2.

2009 CALENDAR

August

Aug 6 - CRA Board Meeting

Aug 12 - CRA & ASAC Sponsored "Subcontractor & General Contractor Partnering for Profitability," Lakewood Country Club, 10:30am Brunch

Aug 21 - CRA Golf Tournament;
Location - Saddle Rock Golf Course, Aurora, CO.

September

Sep 3 - CRA Board Meeting

October

Oct 1 - CRA Board Meeting

Oct 30 - CRA Membership Luncheon;
Comfort Inn at Denver
Merchandise Mart. 11:30 am.
Topic: "TBD"

WELCOME New Member(s)

TCC Contractors
PO Box 2123
Eagle, CO 81631
Ph: 970-328-2340
Roofing Contractor-Com/Res

9th Annual
AWARDS DINNER
February 18, 2010
Infinity Park Event Center
950 S. Birch Street
Glendale, CO

HAVE YOU SELECTED YOUR 2009 JOB OF THE YEAR PROJECT?

A friendly reminder to be thinking about and taking pictures* of your outstanding 2009 jobs and submitting a nomination(s) for a CRA Job of the Year Award.

*Be sure to get lots of photos and take them from start to finish!

Our business at many times seems to be feast or famine, for those of you who do hail work let the gluttony commence. Last month I had written about the southeast Denver/Aurora storm, on July 20th those storms were all but forgotten. I'm sure all of you who were around in 1990 experienced deja vu all over again (apologies to Yogi Berra). I had been working for about a year for a large roofing company as the gutter estimator in 1990. The current economic conditions we are experiencing now feel very similar to that time. The country was crawling through an economic recovery, interest rates were still in the teens, and new home construction was virtually non-existent. The timing for a storm of that magnitude then, like now, was exactly what the doctor ordered. I know from talking to many of you that you are practically killing yourselves just to keep up. As hard as it is now, I hope the reward will be long-term. A contractor that I highly respect told me once that the 1990 storm changed the roofing business for the good for the next 15 years. Because of the amount of work, installed shingle prices rose to a consistently profitable level for contractors through most of the recent home building boom. Although this storm is not as big, it's still a solid number 2 and hopefully the long term positive effects will be similar.

Much to the dislike of us, Colorado contractors, the hail chasers are here in force. I am a believer in free markets and don't think we can or should be able to stop these people. They have it figured out and know how to work these storms. I don't like or agree with the business model but it works and it is impressive. That said, the CRA has no intention in letting these people take over our city like a swarm of locusts without a fight. We intend on making it as hard as possible for them to do business here so that they will move on to somewhere else where getting work is easier. One huge difference between 1990 and now is the availability of technology to do research. Back then we could make sure the contractor had a yellow page add and check their BBB listing, beyond that it was tough. Homeowners can now do almost unlimited background checks on contractors on the internet and hopefully will do so. Many customers were around 19 years ago and can remember the scams and that can only work in our favor.

Through our PR Committee, the CRA has prepared a series of public service radio advertisements to educate customers and drive traffic to our website. These ads will be airing for at least the next two weeks; your annual dues at work! For those of you who have not checked it out in a while, the site contains information on what to do when you have hail damage and how to select a member contractor. Though some have recently tried, our membership requirements will not allow the hail chasers to join.

Best of luck, get some sleep, and promise your kids you'll do Disney World next summer.

Chuck Spicer
Bighorn Metalworks
CRA President

2009 Industry Leader Sponsors		2009 Level 2 Silver Sponsors
ABC Supply Co. Academy Roofing, Inc. Advanced Roofing Technologies Allied Building Products American Roofing Supply Arapahoe Roofing Black Roofing, Inc. Boulder Roofing, Inc. D & D Roofing, Inc. Fowler & Peth Front Range Roofing Systems	GAF Corporation Gulfeagle Supply J & K Roofing Moody Insurance Agency Pacific Supply Pinnacol Assurance Source Products Group Statewide Wholesale Tamko Building Products Weather Guard Building Products W.R. Grace & Co.	Atlas Roofing Corp. B.R. McCracken & Co. Clark Rheem & Associates, Inc. Cleasby Manufacturing Flood & Peterson IB Roof Systems Johns Manville Premium Panels

CRA Getting "the message" out to homeowners

Hail. Friend or Foe? Either way, Colorado has not seen a hail and wind storm this large and costly since 1990.

For this reason, the CRA is taking steps to send a positive message out to homeowners with tips on finding local reputable roofers.

First, on Wednesday, July 22nd, two days after the last storm, six CRA members volunteered to take calls for Channel 7's "Call 7 for Help" line to educate consumers and take their questions on the July 20 hail storm. Consumers were directed to the CRA website "Consumer" information pages. The request from Channel 7 was under short notice and we would like to thank our six members for literally "dropping everything" on behalf of the CRA.

Curt Boyd, Academy Roofing
J. Bretz, Excel Roofing
Conrad Kawulok, B & M Roofing of Colorado
Tim O'Connell, CJ Roofing
Ray Phillips, RTP Roofing
Kirk Tiley, Tiley Roofing

Second, the CRA has been putting together a radio campaign to let homeowners know they need to be patient, take their time and warning them about out-of-state companies, "TRAVELERS" and the tactics they use. The radio ads will run the first two weeks of August and direct consumers to coloradoroofing.org for helpful information and links to our member contractors. Be sure to tune your radios to KOA & KHOW.

CRA Golf Tournament - August 21, 2009

August is here and that means the CRA Golf Tournament is just around the corner. . . Friday, August 21st at Saddle Rock Golf Course in Aurora, Colorado.

Sign up to play today . . .

The fee is $90.00 per player. This includes all green fees, golf cart, range balls, golf tees, green repair tool, bag tag, coffee and lunch buffet. The tournament is a Four Man scramble. Teams will be assigned by the golf pro by your average score. If you have not already done so, Click here to sign up for this year's tournament.

Tournament Sponsors . . .

Hole sponsorships are still available. For $150, you can become a sponsor and have your company name displayed on a hole sign, at the clubhouse and in the monthly newsletters timely to the tournament. Or, DONATE a prize for the awards program.

We thank the following companies who have already signed up to sponsor the our 27th annual tournament:

ABC Supply Co.
Academy Roofing, Inc.
ACH Foam Technologies
Advanced Roofing Technologies
Air Vent
Allied Building Products
Alpine Roofing
American Roofing Supply
Arapahoe Roofing
Atlas Roofing Corp.
B.R. McCracken & Co.
Black Roofing, Inc.
Boulder Roofing, Inc.
CertainTeed
Clark Rheem & Associates, Inc.
Cleasby Manufacturing
Construction Metals, Gibraltar
D & D Roofing, Inc.
Drexel Metals
Employee Benefit Design
ERSystems
Excalibur Exteriors
Flood & Peterson
Forsberg Engerman Company
Fowler & Peth
Front Range Roofing Systems
GAF Corporation
Georgia Pacific
Gulfeagle Supply
Hunter Panels
IB Roof Systems
J & K Roofing
Johns Manville
Jenesis Roofing
Malarkey Roofing
Metal Sales
Metro Roof Products
Miro Industries
Monier Lifetile
Moody Insurance Agency
OMG
Owens Corning
Pacific Supply
PINNACOL ASSURANCE - Beverage Cart & Hole Sponsor
Premium Panels
PROTECTO WRAP - Grand Prize & Hole Sponsor
Roofing Products International
Roofing Resources
Sheffield Metals
Source Products Group
Statewide Wholesale
Tamko Building Products
Tiley Roofing
United Asphalts
USG Securock
Versico Roofing Systems
W.R. Grace & Co.
Weather Guard Building Products
Western Allied Systems
WESTILE- Beverage Cart & Hole Sponsor

Click here for a copy of the registration flyer or call the CRA office at 303-892-6966, ext. 2.

CRA Association Dental Program

Value Added Member Benefit

The Colorado Roofing Association wants to once again remind you of our value added membership benefit. . . CRA's Dental Plan.

In partnership up with Employee Benefit Design Group, Inc. and Delta Dental of Colorado, the CRA Dental plan offers three competitive dental insurance plans that are only available through membership in the CRA. Just pick the plan that works best for you!

3 Dental Plans to Choose from
Great Rates
Three-year premium guarantees
No new individual application forms for existing Delta members

Look for information being mailed to you in August. Or, call Jerry Ressetar our agent of record with Employee Benefit Designs at 303-220-8209.

CRA ITEMS TO NOTE

Kudos for CRA in July's Professional Roofing, Aug 12 Seminar on Partnering for Profitability

Bill Good gives a nice shout out to the CRA.

In the July issue of Professional Roofing magazine, Bill Good, NRCA's Executive Vice-President, sends a nice "shout out" to the CRA in his monthly column. Click here to read his comments.

Aug 12 Seminar: "Subcontractor and General Contractor Partnering for Profitability"

CRA is co-sponsoring a seminar with ASA and four other Colorado Coalition members on August 12, 2009. The presentation is entitled "Subcontractor and General Contractor Partnering for Profitability," and will include topics such as the Bidding Process, Construction Process and Quality Projects. The seminar will be held at Lakewood Country Club located at 6800 W. 10th Ave., Lakewood. It begins with a 10:30am Brunch and 11:15am Seminar. Click here for full details and the registration flyer.

OSHA Updates

Colorado OSHA: Region 8 Enforcement Emphasis Program for Inspection of Stimulus Funded Construction Activities.

The entire Department of Labor and specifically OSHA has recognized the need to focus enforcement efforts at jobsites funded by the Stimulus Bill to ensure workers are properly protected from occupational hazards that may lead to injuries and illness.

To help ensure that these activities do not contribute to unnecessary exposures to workplace hazards, the agency will devote considerable and concentrated enforcement inspections at the specific jobsites.

Source: Colorado Compliance Assistance Network Newsletter (Summer 09).

OSHA to Push Program on Recordkeeping

Starting this month, OSHA will begin its new National Emphasis Program (NEP) on injury and illness recordkeeping. This program will institute a policy that prompts recordkeeping inspections at employers’ establishments with low incidence rates in historically high rate industries. It will also incorporate inspections of a sample of construction firms. Click here for the rest of the article from www.todaysfacilitymanager.com.

NOTE: For Pinnacol policyholders -- they have made OSHA recordkeeping easier. When you complete a first report of injury at www.pinnacol.com, you will be asked if you would like that injury included in an OSHA 301 report. If the answer is yes, just click on the link and you will be taken to a screen that allows you to manage your OSHA recordkeeping. The new system also gathers all the information from your OSHA 301 reports and compiles it for both the OSHA 300 report (the log that classifies work-related injuries) and OSHA 300A report (a yearly summary report organized by category). To access and adjust your OSHA reports at any time, select Manage OSHA Recordkeeping under "Quick Links" on Pinnacol's Web site.

Preventing Fatal Falls in Construction.

Construction is a potentially high hazard industry for those who work in it, with falls at the top of the hazards list. In fact, falls are the most frequent cause of fatalities at construction sites and annually account for one of every three construction-related deaths. Click here for statistics and helpful resources. Source: www.osha.gov.

ITEMS TO NOTE . . . FROM ACROSS THE NATION

There is a lot to report with NRCA front and center on many key issues, as the nation's capitol remains busy, including:

The Employee Free Choice Act (or "card check" legislation). Supporters haven't been able to get the 60 votes they need to pass the bill in its current form in the Senate. Compromises now are being floated; the New York Times recently reported a bill is in development that would call for secret elections but speed up the election process and retain mandatory binding arbitration. NRCA will continue to vigorously oppose the legislation.
A massive climate change bill passed the House by a narrow seven-vote margin and awaits its fate in the Senate. The bill features 397 new regulations and 1,060 new mandates. NRCA opposes it in its current form.
The national health care debate is well under way with the White House putting on a full-court press to get a bill passed this summer. The most recent version includes mandates for most employers to provide coverage to their employees or face a stiff penalty (8 percent of payroll) for not doing so. NRCA opposes this bill, too, and issued an Action Alert in July addressing it.

There is, thankfully, some more pleasant news to report. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last month it will rescind the "no-match" rule, which would have required all employers to use the E-verify system to verify citizenship of current and potential employees. NRCA was one of the litigants in a suit to block the rule. Following the announcement, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) offered an amendment to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would bar DHS from using funds to rescind the no-match rule in fiscal year 2010. That amendment awaits a House/Senate conference committee.

One other measure NRCA continues to work on is the estate tax, which, unchanged, would expire altogether in 2010 and then revert to a 55 percent tax on estates valued at more than $1 million in 2011. They believe Congress is likely to find a middle ground—with an exemption amount of $3 million to $5 million and a tax rate of 40 to 50 percent.

And it appears Congress may extend the first-time home buyers' tax credit of $8,000, which is set to expire Dec. 1. Some members of Congress are arguing for an increase in the credit amount, but that appears unlikely.

Our friends at OSHA have been busy, as well. The agency has a larger enforcement budget this year, and we're hearing reports from NRCA members of increased attention being paid to our industry, especially as there are fewer large, new construction projects to occupy inspectors' time. OSHA inspectors also have been more aggressively using the "general duty" clause to issue citations for hazards not specifically enumerated.

Earlier this summer, NRCA launched two online educational programs in cooperation with the Institute for Business & Home Safety. The first one is designed to help contractors and their employees understand how to identify, select, install and sell impact-resistant roofing products. A second companion module is directed to homeowners. Both are available on NRCA's Web site, www.nrca.net.

NRCA recently released the Roofing Contractors Equipment Cost Schedule, which provides descriptions of roofing equipment and tools and lists monthly, weekly, daily and hourly expense rates. It includes more than 90 illustrations and addresses 45 types of equipment. The price is $55 for members and $110 for nonmembers; it is available in print or electronic format. Available on NRCA's Web site, www.nrca.net.

NRCA Action Alert about health care legislation

On July 14, the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Democratic leadership has indicated it intends to bring the legislation to the House floor for a vote by July 31. Although NRCA supports Congressional action addressing health reform that expands access to affordable health care coverage, H.R. 3200 fails to enact true reforms that will slow rising health care costs. The bill also will increase taxes and impose new mandates on employers that would deal a crushing blow to many small businesses. As such, NRCA urges you to read its Action Alert to learn more about the legislation and contact members of Congress in strong opposition.

Click here to read NRCA's Action Alert: Unacceptable Health Care Legislation Moves in the U.S. House.

IRE and NRCA convention will be held in New Orleans

The 2010 International Roofing Expo® (IRE) and NRCA's 123rd Annual Convention will be held Feb. 20-24 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

For more information about the 2010 IRE, visit www.TheRoofingExpo.com or call (972) 536-6415 or (800) 684-5761. To view a preliminary schedule for NRCA's 123rd Annual Convention, click here.

Source: NRCA.NET