By Emma Peterson.

This October, APOC is helping their Contractor Pros maximize the value of their purchases with special savings on select APOC roof underlayments!

Since its launch in 2023, APOC’s Contractor Pro Program has helped contractors across the country maximize the value of their purchases. The program is organized into three tiers – Registered, Gold and Black+Gold! For members of these different tiers, APOC runs different promotions throughout the year with various rewards, such as gift cards, electronics, tickets and more!

For the month of October, the reward is savings on APOC underlayments that provide dependable protection beneath the roof system. The following products are included in the October APOC Contractor Pro promotion:

• #15 Felt Underlayment: This organic felt underlayment features True-Breathe™ Technology which is engineered to keep “rain and water on the outside of your home while allowing water vapor from cooking, cleaning, bathing and other sources to escape.”
• #30 Felt Underlayment: Another organic felt option, this product helps “prevent premature damage and rotting of your roof deck materials” by allowing “the transmission of air vapor while keeping water out.”
• #30 Tuff-Felt Premium Underlayment: Take protection to the next level with an exclusive, heavy-weight felt underlayment that “greatly increase tensile strength and prevent the tearing of felts during installation.”
• Tuff-Grip 15 Synthetic Roof Underlayment: This UV-stabilized polypropylene underlayment offers a powerful secondary layer of protection against wind, moisture and other elements for your structures.
• Tuff-Grip 30 Premium Synthetic Roof Underlayment: This underlayment not only provides robust protection, but it also features Tuff-Grip™ Coating Technology, which makes it safer for your crews to install and work on the roof.
• Weather-Armor CX-L Hybrid Roof Underlayment: This high-quality roofing underlayment combines “the best properties of traditional organic felts and synthetic products” to create “a superior roof underlayment with faster and easier installation, as well as improved performance and durability.”
• Weather-Armor SB-1 Self-Bond Underlayment: Weather-Armor SB-1 is an all-purpose roof underlayment that “provides a highly rubberized and flexible waterproofing membrane that helps keep your home or building dry and provides a cleaner and healthier environment to live in.”
• Weather-Armor HT2 High-Temperature Underlayment: As the name implies, the Weather-Armor HT2 is an underlayment specifically manufactured with high-melt bitumen so that it can perform powerfully in even the highest temperatures (up to 265 °F).
• Weather-Armor HT3 Premium High-Temperature Underlayment: Like the HT2, this underlayment is designed for high-heat applications. What makes this underlayment different is extra durability that makes it stronger in the face of the elements and safer for your crew to navigate.
• Weather-Armor FT3 Fleece-Top Underlayment: This state of the art, premium polyester underlayment is “ideally suited for tile and metal roofing systems, as well as where conditions require a mechanically fastened roof system” because of its dual reinforcements and high tensile glass reinforcement.

Why is APOC doing all of this? Their team truly believes that when contractors win, everyone wins and this is one of the ways they feel they can help their contractors win. As Sara Jones, the VP of marketing for ICP Group put it, “We’re committed to helping roofing contractors with their business needs and to helping them make every job a successful one with trusted, high-performance APOC roofing solutions...We know that when our customers do better, win more bids and take on more successful projects with APOC professional roofing solutions, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

Sign up for APOC’s Contractor Pro Program and start maximizing your purchases!

Stat-Rez® ESD Nano coatings are the next generation in electrostatic discharge controlled coatings. The Stat-Rez line of products are designed to protect equipment, people and other assets through static dissipative or conductive flooring. The ESD Nano line provides even more protection with a stronger network of conductive properties through our NanoWise™ carbon nanotube technology providing exceptional uniformity of surface conductivity.

• Helps control electrostatic discharge (ESD) in static-sensitive environments
• Protects sensitive electronic equipment from static-related damage
• Provides durable flooring for demanding industrial and commercial facilities
• Supports safer work environments where static control is essential
• Offers specialized flooring solutions for a variety of operational needs

Learn more about ESD systems today.

A new benchmark study from APOC and Cotney Consulting Group is highlighting the growing business advantages of commercial roof restoration compared to traditional reroofing. Analyzing 118 commercial roofing projects, the report found that restoration projects generated nearly twice the gross profit per crew day while requiring smaller crews, less labor intensity and significantly faster completion times. 

Key Findings from the APOC Roof Restoration Index Include:

• Significantly higher profit productivity: Restoration projects generated approximately 85% higher gross profit per crew day—due to smaller crew sizes and fewer days needed to complete a job—compared to reroofing benchmarks, with average returns of ~$8,000 per crew day versus ~$4,300.
• Major time savings: Restoration projects averaged ~8 crew days for a 30,000 SF roof, compared to 13 for recovery and up to 30 for tear-off, enabling faster project turnover and increased annual capacity.
• Improved labor efficiency: Restoration required up to 85% less labor intensity than tear-off methods and could be completed with crews approximately one-third smaller.
• Stronger, more consistent margins: Restoration delivered average gross margins around 43%, with typical ranges between 30%–60%, outperforming many reroofing scenarios.

Access the full report for free!

In this CoatingsCoffeeShop™ Coffee Conversations, host Megan Ellsworth is joined by John Kenney from Cotney Consulting Group and Johnny Walker from APOC to examine market research into the profitability, challenges and opportunities shaping commercial roof restoration today. Drawing on insights from the APOC Roof Restoration Index and years of industry experience, the discussion examines how restoration is helping contractors address labor shortages, improve efficiency, create new business opportunities and deliver greater value to building owners. Watch this episode for some surprising numbers!

Listen to the podcast.

Watch on demand!

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. 

CCS Influencer Johnny Walker says that successful roof restoration begins with a thorough evaluation of the roof’s condition, maintenance history, moisture levels and the building owner’s goals to determine whether restoration is truly the right solution.

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Johnny Walker of ICP APOC. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Emma: Hi everyone, I'm Emma Richardson. I'm here with CoatingsCoffeeShop.com and our Coatings Influencer Johnny Walker of ICP APOC. Johnny, how are you?

Johnny Walker: I'm good. Emma, how are you today?

Emma: I'm doing just fine, thank you. Well our topic for August is knowing when restoration is the right option for a roof. Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share?

Johnny Walker: Man, lots of thoughts. You know, restorations are great, but they're not meant for every roof. So you you need to start with evaluation, knowing the roof condition, the age of the roof, moisture content in the system, and also understanding what the building owner's looking for. What's their long term, short term goals on this? You know, sometimes they're just looking to sell the building and maybe they're going to be tearing the building down. So knowing what their objective is is important, but then also knowing the roof condition. Is there moisture in the roof? What's the makeup of the roof? Can we have what systems on it now and can we properly bond to it? Is there a lot of ponding water? So all of those types of things are going to come into determining if this is a viable option for that particular roof.

Emma: Awesome. Thank you so much. That's a great answer. And what would you say people are looking for when they do a roof inspection that might flag it for being good or bad?

Johnny Walker: Yeah, so one of the biggest flags is when we block these roofs and they're just horribly maintained. Every roof system, I don't care what it is, needs to be inspected twice a year. After every major storm, somebody should be looking at that, cleaning drains, removing debris and doing minor repair and touch up. Doesn't matter whether that's a modified built-up roof, a single ply roof or a metal roof. They have to maintain those roofs. Poorly maintained roofs are going to have more internal problems. They have leaks that have occurred. You could have potentially more wet insulation in there. So the big red flag for us is on day one we're going to walk that roof, look at the maintenance, we're going to walk on the inside. How many active leaks do they have? Those types of things are going to give us a real idea of what the internal structure of the roof is.

Emma: Awesome. Thank you so much, Johnny. And we will catch you next month for September.

Johnny Walker: Sounds great, Emma. Thanks for having me on.

CCS Influencer Johnny Walker says that regional weather patterns, seasonal conditions and cure-time requirements should guide coating selection to avoid installation issues and deliver long-lasting roof restoration results.

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Johnny Walker of ICP APOC. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Emma: Hi everyone, I'm Emma Richardson. I'm here with CoatingsCoffeeShop.com and our Coatings Influencer Johnny Walker of ICP APOC. Johnny, how are you?

Johnny Walker: I'm wonderful. Having a beautiful day. How about you, Emma?

Emma: Same here. Well we're chatting about our September topic today, which is installation challenges when it comes to weather and climate and what ponding considerations and design responses might be involved there. What what would you like to share?

Johnny Walker: Yeah, well, when we're looking at a restoration, or any roofing project, we always have to keep weather considerations in there. We have lots of different polymer families, whether they be acrylics, asphaltics or silicones, or even some of the more high ends, urethanes, BMAs, more expensive products. They all have weather requirements, certain amount of cure time, open time and those things. Some of them can't get wet for 24 to 48 hours, some of them can get rained on within 45 minutes for high-end silicone. That's great weather resistance.

The other thing you can think about is the time of the year and the freezing issue. Your waterborne products, you're not going to be able to use them if you're going to be dropping below freezing. Basically we look at forty-five degrees and rising and it must stay that way for a minimum of 48 hours so that the roof can actually dry. Those are evaporative products where the water has to come out. And if it freezes on the roof, it'll damage it. We have to think about storage of the product as well. A lot of products, asphaltics, although they work fairly well in cold climates, the colder it is, the stiffer they're going to be. So the more difficult they can be to work with. So those particular products might have to be stored indoor or even what they call tenting or hot boxing on the roof where they're going to keep it warm until it's applied. So we always want to look at those types of things.

And we think of the opportunities that we see here is in the dry seasons, acrylics are going be fantastic. They're great products, they're highly reflective. But when we also think about whether we also think about location, right? Is this a regional climate impact? You know, in Arizona they have monsoons, but they have a very dry climate outside of that. So once the rain's done, the roofs are dry in a very short period of time. Acrylics are fantastic there. They're highly reflective and they work.

Areas like a Florida market, for example, where we say, 'Hey, if the roof is wet for more than 72 hours after the rain stops, that'd be consider pond and water area. Well, in Florida, during the summertime, we may not get 72 hours where we don't get rain, and we're certainly not going to get 72 hours where there isn't a dew drop every night with the high humidity. So those roofs will literally be wet for six months or more. In those situations, using a silicone that can get wet after 45 minutes, can get poured down on for a reasonable amount of time, and you don't have to worry about the dew dropping out overnight. Whereas an acrylic needs four to six hours before the dew drops, 24 to 48 hours before it gets rained on, that's not going work in that market. So when we're trying to figure out what's the right product for that particular restoration, we have to think about the region and the regional climate, and the time of year. Are we in the dry season, are we in the wet season, are we in the monsoon season, are we in the hurricane season? We don't want to leave these roofs open. Everything we do should make it more watertight, but we don't want to put something on there that could potentially wash off quickly and cause more damage to the to the building other than just a simple leak.

Emma: Yeah. I think that paying attention to the details, making sure you're looking at the forecast and picking the right stuff. Awesome. Thank you so much, Johnny. This was really helpful and we will catch you for October.

Johnny Walker: Great. Thank you so much.

By Emma Peterson. 

A slower hurricane season offers contractors and property owners an opportunity to improve roof performance with products like APOC’s Polyset AH-160 tile adhesive system. 

This Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet so far. As Alex Schneider reported at the beginning of September, “Historically, about ⅔ of all Atlantic hurricane activity occurs between August 20 and October 10. This is only the eighth time in the satellite era that we've started September with no hurricanes in the Atlantic.” But the current quiet we are experiencing is not a reason to let our guards down. In fact, a Yale Climate Connections article stated that “recent research suggests climate change could supercharge swings between quiet years and hyperactive seasons packed with dangerous storms.” 

So, how do we prepare for this? Use the time we have when it’s quieter to prepare for the busier, more dangerous seasons. An example of what this might look like is roofers proactively installing APOC’s Polyset AH-160 onto their clients’ roofs.  

What is Polyset? It is roof adhesive that adheres concrete or clay tiles more strongly than nails, screws, mortar or wire tie system. How? Polyset utilizes a two-component, low-pressure polyurethane foam formula to adhere each individual tile in place. Not only does this provide improved wind resistance and stronger holding power, it also virtually eliminates the creation for roof deck penetrations to hold tile in place, reducing potential pathways for water intrusion. 

Polyset has been approved by Miami-Dade, the Florida Building Code and the Texas Department of insurance, as well as certified by NEMO. Overall, if you are looking to build stronger roofs that are ready to face whatever the next storm season has in store, APOC’s Polyset is a crucial addition to your toolbox. 

Prepare for storm season with Polyset.

In this CoatingsCoffeeShop™ Coffee Conversations, host Megan Ellsworth is joined by John Kenney from Cotney Consulting Group and Johnny Walker from APOC to examine market research into the profitability, challenges and opportunities shaping commercial roof restoration today. Drawing on insights from the APOC Roof Restoration Index and years of industry experience, the discussion examines how restoration is helping contractors address labor shortages, improve efficiency, create new business opportunities and deliver greater value to building owners. Watch this episode for some surprising numbers!

Register now!

A new benchmark study from APOC and Cotney Consulting Group is highlighting the growing business advantages of commercial roof restoration compared to traditional reroofing. Analyzing 118 commercial roofing projects, the report found that restoration projects generated nearly twice the gross profit per crew day while requiring smaller crews, less labor intensity and significantly faster completion times. 

Key Findings from the APOC Roof Restoration Index Include:

• Significantly higher profit productivity: Restoration projects generated approximately 85% higher gross profit per crew day—due to smaller crew sizes and fewer days needed to complete a job—compared to reroofing benchmarks, with average returns of ~$8,000 per crew day versus ~$4,300.
• Major time savings: Restoration projects averaged ~8 crew days for a 30,000 SF roof, compared to 13 for recovery and up to 30 for tear-off, enabling faster project turnover and increased annual capacity.
• Improved labor efficiency: Restoration required up to 85% less labor intensity than tear-off methods and could be completed with crews approximately one-third smaller.
• Stronger, more consistent margins: Restoration delivered average gross margins around 43%, with typical ranges between 30%–60%, outperforming many reroofing scenarios.

Access the full report for free!