What the numbers reveal about roof restorations

By Emma Peterson. 

By analyzing more than 100 commercial roofing projects, APOC and Cotney Consulting Group uncovered compelling data showing how restoration can improve labor efficiency and increase profit potential. 

Earlier this year, APOC and Cotney Consulting Group released a Roof Restoration Index that showcased market research relating to the profitability, challenges and opportunities of roof restoration. To learn more about this study, we brought Johnny Walker of APOC and John Kenney of Cotney Consulting Group together for a Coffee Conversation®.  

The inspiration behind the creation of the Roof Restoration Index ties back to the Roof Coatings Manufacturers Association (RCMA). Johnny explained:  

We were talking with RCMA and realized we’ve all been out there promoting fluid applied growth restorations based on colloquial experience but we didn’t have the data and research to back up that experience...So we did this study with the goal of getting that hard data to make sure that we’re leading people the right way by recommending restoration.  

APOC brought John and Cotney Consulting Group into the study to help them manage their data and respondents. John described his team’s role, sharing, “Anybody that knows me throughout my years knows I live and die off of data. So, I was really excited to join and use my resources and databases to help get participants and information.”  

The final index was able to analyze 118 different commercial projects. John offered a high-level overview on what they were specifically comparing between these projects, sharing, “It was 118 projects of pure data that allowed us to compare restoration against both recovery and tear-off projects.” He went on, “We focused on the profitability, labor efficiency, time efficiency and return on investment by margin performance.”  

Looking at all that data together, a pattern emerged – that restorations are a valuable roof solution. Johnny explained, “I’ve always assumed that the value of restoration came from it being more productive and that by using less time on the job, you'll get more productivity elsewhere and overall higher profitability. And, overall, this study showed that we were right to think that.” John added some details, “Specifically, when we looked at performance related to crew time, there were big arguments for restoration... Take the 300 square projects. Modeled restoration growth profit was about $8,000 per crew day versus roughly $4,300 for the re-roofing option. So, almost double the profit per crew day for restoration as opposed to reroofing.”  

What does all of this mean for contractors in the field? In a world where labor is limited and margins are tight, having the capacity to not only tear off and reroof but also to restore systems is a powerful card to have up your sleeve.  

Listen to the whole Coffee Conversation or Watch the recording to learn more.