Building owners value honest conversations about roof lifespan

Coatings Coffee Shop Influencer Will Lorenz says that candor is the best policy when talking to builind owners. 

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Will Lorenz of General Coatings. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Lauren White: Hello everyone. I'm Lauren White for CoatingsCoffeeShop and our August influencer response, and I'm here with Will Lorenz. Will, it's great to see you again.

Will Lorenz: Lauren, thank you. Always glad to be here and keep that things rolling on a summertime.

Lauren White: Yes, absolutely. So for our coatings topic this month, it is knowing when restoration is the right option. So what do you have to share?

Will Lorenz: Well, first of all, thank you again for the opportunity to talk with with folks, and the people in the coatings space here. Generally what I would say is it's always good to evaluate the roof and then know what your customer can afford. And that's really what you're trying to emerge, along with what best practices you know as a professional. If your roof candidate already has coatings on it. Maybe it's two or three layers of something. It's probably not a good condition to add another layer of coating to it. So those kind of roof systems usually require removal and and start with a new roof system.

There are ones where of course if it's wet, and there's wet insulation, or it's loose and coming up, or the membrane itself is degrading and it's not an acceptable surface for you to get a bond to, or it's just something where it has significant ponding and you can't repair it. Maybe you could use spray foam to repair it, but if your options are really only to coat it, and it's still going have those performance requirements damaged, then you should consider another alternative.

Also when you start talking to your your customer about their budget, this year's been a challenging year with a lot of things related to the Middle East and all those activities causing you know availability and costs to go rising. So perhaps the original budget of a new roof system, you know, has gotten outside of what they can afford. Then a fluid-aplied coating system is a great choice to give them a solution to keep them watertight, weather tight, so that they get the performance they're looking at.

Then the other thing is if the substrate down below is failing or weak. Then you know the roof system has to come off and put a new roof system on. Just putting a coating on it may waterproof it, but it's really seen its service life. Its shot. I recommend that you give them the best advice. People appreciate trust, professionals that give them sound advice, even if it's difficult for them. So be candid, be forthright and and tell them what's really necessary. Maybe they plan it for this year, maybe they plan it for next year, but they'll certainly keep working with you because you're you're a trusted partner.

Lauren White: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's all really great advice for people wondering when restoration is the right option for them. So thank you so much for sharing as always. Yeah. And for those of you out there, make sure that you check out Will Lorenz's directory on coatingscoffeeshop.com. Lots of other great responses from him. And we will see you next month.

Will Lorenz: You're welcome. Thank you.