By Emma Peterson. 

Explore the articles that generated the most interest this month. 

In the last month, over 250 articles have been published on RoofersCoffeeShop.com. That’s a lot of reading to keep up with, especially for busy contractors who are going between the office and the field. To make it easier to keep up, we’ve looked at those hundreds of articles and picked out the most popular ones to showcase.  

In this list, there are a couple of articles authored by Heidi J. Ellsworth, the president of The Coffee Shops™. In one article she highlights how the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) is expanding mental health support through suicide prevention training, made possible through a collaboration with LivingWorks. The other article dove into the importance of awards and recognition during the current artificial intelligence boom.  

Our friends over at Cotney Consulting Group also contributed a few articles on our top 10 list, including one about crystalline silica exposure and another about creating an operational preparedness plan to navigate the current global political environment.  

Our number one article of the month showcased FMI Corporation’s 2026 Q2 North America Construction and Engineering Outlook Report and was written by Emma Peterson, senior content developer for The Coffee Shops™. This was not the only article of Emma’s that made the list, as her articles about turning data into business strategies, taking on leadership roles and the development of the metal roof retrofit industry were also featured. 

July 2026’s top articles 

10 - Eagleview warns emergency managers: A below average hurricane season is not a safe season by Eagleview. 

9 - NRCA expands mental health support with free suicide prevention training by Heidi J. Ellsworth. 

8 - NRCA Gold Circle Awards: Why recognition matters more than ever in the age of AI by Heidi J. Ellsworth. 

7 - When global events reach the rooftop by John Kenney, Cotney Consulting Group. 

6 - Building the metal roof retrofit industry by Emma Peterson. 

5 - Finding opportunity in every position by Emma Peterson. 

4 - ARCA’s Lotería Night brings fun and connection to the roofing community by Alex Tolle. 

3 - Connecting the dots between data and strategy by Emma Peterson. 

2 - The silica citation nobody sees coming by Cotney Consulting Group. 

1 - Construction growth expected in the next year by Emma Peterson. 

Company releases 2026 Atlantic hurricane season preparedness briefing, urging full readiness despite below-average forecasts from NOAA, Colorado State University, and AccuWeather.

Eagleview, an industry leader in geospatial intelligence (GeoAI) delivering AI-powered property intelligence solutions, today released a 2026 Atlantic hurricane season preparedness briefing with a direct message for emergency managers: a below average season does not equal low risk. Despite projections from NOAA, Colorado State University (CSU), and AccuWeather pointing to a below-average season, the company warns that seasonal storm counts are a poor proxy for understanding community-level risk and that every landfalling hurricane demands full preparedness regardless of the forecast.

The case is grounded in history. The 1992 Atlantic hurricane season produced just six named storms, well below the 30-year average of 14.4, yet generated Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm that destroyed more than 63,000 homes in South Florida and caused $27.3 billion in damage (equivalent to approximately $67 billion in 2026 dollars). Andrew remains among the most destructive natural disasters in American history, and its season ranks among the quietest on record.

“It only takes one storm to create a catastrophe. The agencies that respond most effectively after a hurricane are those that prepared before the first advisory was ever issued,” shared Robert Locke, president of Eagleview’s Government business unit.

Fast Facts: 2026 Hurricane Season at a Glance

The following data points are drawn from publicly available forecasts and historical records.

• 2026 forecast (NOAA, May 2026) - 8-14 named storms, 3-6 hurricanes, 1-3 major hurricanes
• 2026 forecast (CSU, July 2026) - 9 named storms, 4 hurricanes, 1 major hurricane
• 30-year average (1991-2020) - 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, 3.2 major hurricanes
• 1992 season storm count - 6 named storms, well below average
• Hurricane Andrew (1992) - Category 5; 63,000+ homes destroyed; $27.3B in damage (~$67B in 2026 dollars)
• El Niño effect on hurricanes - Historically produces ~40% fewer Atlantic hurricanes than La Niña years
• Pre-event baseline coverage - Eagleview’s 96% of U.S. population coverage helps agencies access pre-storm high-resolution imagery of impacted areas for comparison and documentation
• Post-event capture - Eagleview’s high-resolution aerial imagery is rapidly captured and delivered to clients once airspace safely opens

Why below-average forecasts still demand full readiness

Three compounding factors ensure that any landfalling hurricane in 2026 will be more consequential than a comparable storm a generation ago:

• Rapid intensification: Research published in Nature Communications and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society documents a significant increase in rapid intensification events, defined as a gain of 35+ mph in sustained winds within 24 hours, since the 1980s. A tropical storm at 8 AM can be a major hurricane the following morning, compressing warning timelines for coastal communities.
• Rising sea levels: Mean sea level along U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts has risen measurably over recent decades, per NOAA tide gauge data. Storm surge now rides atop a higher baseline, meaning a Category 2 hurricane in 2026 can produce surge impacts equivalent to a Category 3 in 1990.
• Coastal population growth: U.S. coastal county populations have grown substantially since 1970 (NOAA). More people, more structures, and more critical infrastructure are now concentrated in hurricane-vulnerable zones than at any point in history.

Pre-event preparation as an operational necessity

Eagleview maintains the most comprehensive library of high-resolution aerial imagery in the United States and Canada, covering 96% of the U.S. population with multi-angle oblique and orthogonal captures. This imagery provides the pre-event baseline emergency managers need to conduct rapid, defensible change detection after a storm.

The company’s dedicated Weather Team monitors tropical development throughout hurricane season and coordinates with Eagleview’s Disaster Response Team to pre-position aerial capture assets ahead of anticipated impact zones enabling post-event imagery delivery to clients typically within days of landfall.

Post-event AI-powered damage classification enables side-by-side pre- and post-storm imagery comparison at scale, supporting Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) workflows, FEMA Public Assistance documentation, and resource allocation decisions at a speed ground teams alone cannot achieve.

Availability

The full white paper, “Below Average Does Not Equal Low Risk: A 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season Preparedness Briefing for Emergency Management Professionals,” is available for download here. Emergency managers interested in pre-disaster agreements for rapid post-event imagery and analytics can contact Eagleview’s Disaster Response Program directly.

About Eagleview

Eagleview is an industry leader in geospatial intelligence (GeoAI), delivering AI-powered property intelligence solutions that enable customers across a broad range of industries to accurately explore properties and structures, identify and implement solutions today, and find tomorrow’s opportunities. For more than 25 years, Eagleview has built proprietary property imaging technology earning more than 300+ patents and generating over 3.5 billion high-resolution images resulting in a library that encompasses 96% of the U.S. population. With Eagleview’s trusted insights, customers can make business decisions that matter.

The resolution brings the matter to a close and allows both companies to focus fully on their respective business priorities and customers.

Eagleview and Nearmap have reached a settlement resolving their litigation pending in the United States District Court for the District of Utah dating back to 2021. The parties have agreed to mutually acceptable terms that conclude a dispute relating primarily to roofing measurement patents and other intellectual property matters. The resolution brings the matter to a close and allows both companies to focus fully on their respective business priorities and customers. As part of the settlement, all pending disputes between the companies are resolved. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential.

“We are satisfied that this matter has been resolved,” said Piers Dormeyer, CEO at Eagleview. “We look ahead to advancing our mission and serving our customers.”

“This resolution allows both companies to focus on what matters most — delivering innovative solutions to our customers,” said Andy Watt, CEO at Nearmap. “We are pleased to put this matter behind us and move forward.”

About Eagleview

Eagleview is an industry leader in geospatial intelligence (GeoAI) delivering AI-powered property intelligence solutions that enable customers across a broad range of industries to accurately explore properties and structures, identify and implement solutions today, and find tomorrow’s opportunities. For more than 25 years, Eagleview has built proprietary property imaging technology, earning more than 300+ patents and generating over 3.5 billion high-resolution images, resulting in a library that encompasses 96% of the U.S. population. With Eagleview’s trusted insights, customers can make business decisions that matter.

About Nearmap

Nearmap is a global property intelligence company redefining how organizations understand and act on the built environment. By owning the entire intelligence value chain — from high-recency geospatial capture powered by patented camera technology to accurate AI-derived analytics and guaranteed building materials data — Nearmap delivers a single, trusted source of truth for property decisions.

By SRS Distribution.

Do the math once. Never do it again. That’s the power behind Custom Measurements in Roof Hub.

Every contractor calculates differently. Some build waste into their measurements while others layer it on top. Some markets require ice and water on valleys only while others include valleys and eaves. And for many teams, those rules live in spreadsheets, notebooks or tribal knowledge in someone’s head.

At SRS Distribution, we recognized that manual math takes valuable time away from the pro. Custom Measurements was built to solve that. It allows contractors to embed their own rules directly into ordering templates, so calculations run automatically across every estimate and order. Instead of rebuilding formulas on every job, your business logic applies consistently in the background.

Bring your measurements in and let the system work

Custom Measurements works seamlessly with the measurements you already rely on. In Roof Hub, you can pull measurement reports directly from partners like Eagleview, HOVER and GAF QuickMeasure or enter your own measurements manually. Once measurements are in place, your custom rules automatically calculate quantities across the template with no extra steps.

The result is a streamlined workflow that starts with trusted data and ends with accurate estimates and orders.

Build once. Scale everywhere.

Estimating should not mean repeating the same math. With Custom Measurements, you define your calculation rules once and apply them everywhere. Whether based on total roof area, hips, valleys or other job-specific factors, calculations run automatically within your templates.

This drives consistency across teams, improves speed and reduces costly mistakes.

Your workflow. Your standards. Built in.

No two contractors run their business the same way. Custom Measurements gives you the flexibility to build templates around how you calculate, price and execute jobs. By embedding your standards directly into Roof Hub Estimator templates, every estimate stays aligned with your process while scaling accuracy across your operation. The result? Less math, fewer mistakes and faster execution.

Start customizing your templates now.

The company that captures nearly every residential and commercial property across the United States is bringing two-plus decades of property intelligence to the Agentic AI revolution to solve the real challenges of working with properties and structures; targeting a $1 trillion+ market across insurance, construction, government and property management.

Eagleview, the only company whose fleet of 100 aircraft has spent over two decades imaging nearly every property in America, today announced the launch of Eagleview HorizonTM, an agentic geospatial intelligence (GeoAI) engine. Eagleview Horizon leverages the company's unparalleled property data and aerial imagery platform, Eagleview OneTM, to supercharge the capacity for construction, insurance, government, infrastructure and property management firms looking to solve real world challenges. Further, Eagleview Horizon’s agent-to-agent capabilities enable external AI systems to directly integrate Eagleview’s comprehensive analyses and geospatial data. Eagleview Horizon represents an entirely new interface that allows customers to leverage AI agents to explore properties and structures, identify and implement solutions today and find tomorrow’s opportunities.  

"We've spent more than twenty years building the most comprehensive property dataset in the country. Eagleview Horizon is transformative; it leverages our proprietary imagery and property intelligence at a scale we know no competitor can replicate," said Piers Dormeyer, chief executive officer of Eagleview. "Eagleview Horizon represents unrivaled advancement in a geospatial intelligence engine. It helps power more trusted decisions. And, because every answer traces back to verified data built on our industry-leading, high-resolution imagery, Eagleview Horizon can be trusted with every business decision that matters. " 

How this impacts core industries 

With Eagleview Horizon, 

• Roofing contractors can request a color-coded canvassing map of every roof over 15 years old within two miles of last night's hailstorm, filtered by roof type, roof area, roof age and roof condition.  
• Insurance claims managers can now ask which properties in a storm-affected region should be inspected first, ranked by damage likelihood and claim severity.  
• Property managers can identify which assets in a 50,000-unit portfolio are approaching maintenance risk and can prioritize and schedule maintenance and repairs.  
• Residential solar installers can enhance their sales effectiveness by leveraging Eagleview Horizon as a virtual geospatial analyst to help improve solar site prospecting, enhance lead qualification and enrichment and prioritize prospect outreach. 
• Government assessors and planners will be able to utilize Eagleview Horizon to predict areas that might be more severely impacted by weather, growth or complex logistical challenges.  
• Commercial roofers will more easily pinpoint structural changes, more safely and efficiently complete annual inspections and more quickly and confidently identify prospective projects. 
• Infrastructure managers will better manage their assets by analyzing and reviewing changes over time to more effectively identify and manage needed maintenance or upgrades. 
• GIS professionals will accelerate their interactions with geospatial intelligence to perform more sophisticated and comprehensive analyses. 
• Users with non-technical backgrounds will also be able to take advantage of geospatial analyses due to the democratizing power of GeoAI. 
• Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) professionals will search parcel characteristics at scale across geographic areas to optimize site selection, even screening for historical weather impact or intersection with flood zones.  
• Landscapers and other home services firms will be better able to prospect for new customers, more rapidly and accurately deliver project estimates, and better identify and conduct ongoing maintenance. 

Eagleview Horizon includes multiple Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations and more than 20 tools enabling agentic workflows that span property identification, filtering, scoring, and export in a single session. Unlike generic AI platforms, Eagleview Horizon is designed to identify opportunities users didn't know to look for. The proprietary aerial imagery and property intelligence found in Eagleview One are fused with curated and trusted external data sources, and customer-owned datasets into a single agentic experience. 

The platform is designed to empower industries that collectively represent more than $1 trillion in annual US economic activity: 

• Property and casualty insurance, where US direct premiums crossed $1.05 trillion in 2024 and where homeowners’ insurance losses surged more than 30% in the first half of 2025 alone as catastrophic weather events accelerated. 
• Roofing and construction, a $28 billion US market served by more than 100,000 contractors, the overwhelming majority of whom currently rely on manual workflows to identify storm-damaged leads. 
• Property management, a $120 billion global industry overseeing more than 45 million rental units, where the median occupied home is now over 41 years old.  
• Government and tax assessment, where $797 billion in property tax revenue depends on assessment accuracy that aerial change detection can materially improve. 

Eagleview Horizon combines both superior geospatial AI agents and extensive property intelligence derived from the company’s proprietary imagery library. The company generates aerial imagery that is among the highest-resolution available for North American properties with verified measurements, property intelligence and machine learning-generated condition signals now available. Change detection across the entire country will be available in the model shortly.

"Eagleview Horizon is not just a natural language-based search engine. It is a powerful agentic partner transforming how our customers will be able to work with geospatial intelligence all along their workflows," said Tripp Cox, chief technology officer of Eagleview. "And as a result, Eagleview Horizon delivers high-confidence operational efficiency and improved business outcomes. These are real results based on accurate and verified data and actual property intelligence." 

Bert Hess, CEO of Florida Roofing and Gutters, shared, "Identifying prospects for roofing projects used to take hours and required bouncing between three or four different tools and technology platforms. Eagleview Horizon does this in one place and does it better. It delivers those qualified prospects in just a few minutes. The targeting and time-saving capabilities are a game-changer for more effective canvassing." 

Availability and access 

On June 1st, Eagleview Horizon will be available by invitation only through Eagleview One, the company's unified customer-facing platform at www.eagleview.com/eagleview-one. Interested parties should visit www.eagleview.com/horizon (not yet live) for more information and to join the waitlist for early access. 

About Eagleview 

Eagleview is a leader in geospatial technology, providing solutions that transform the way our customers work. Eagleview is renowned for its geospatial data and its 3.5 billion+ imagery library which encompasses 96 percent of the U.S. population. Eagleview’s unique technology portfolio comprises more than 300 patents, enabling it to offer highly differentiated software, imagery and analytics products for multiple industries.

New York City. Times Square. Today.

We've been working on something — something we truly believe will change everything. And we're not just sending an email about it.

We're announcing it LIVE, from the heart of NYC. 

📍 Times Square, New York City

📅 Today - Tuesday, April 21st

🕑 1:30 PM ET

💻 Watch Live, Anywhere in the World 

Get notified when we're live on Facebook!

Now Eagleview One customers can reduce or even eliminate time on site by accessing remote 3D models that offer walls, windows and doors measurements for residential and commercial properties, and customizable data sets.

 Eagleview, a leading provider of aerial intelligence, today announces the launch of 3D property intelligence including high-accuracy walls, windows and doors measurements for residential and commercial properties directly into Eagleview One. The new technology dramatically reduces or even eliminates the need for site visits by providing high-accuracy measurements (98.77% accuracy) derived from ultra-high resolution ortho and oblique imagery giving customers even more ways to evaluate and harness residential and commercial property data as they prepare for jobs.  

Now customers across businesses, governments and communities can understand, evaluate and act on the built environment in ways that were previously unimaginable. 

“Today, we’ve dramatically improved one of the most time-consuming parts of work faced by industry professionals: the site visit,” said Piers Dormeyer, CEO of Eagleview. “Now, Eagleview One’s 3D models offer virtually all measurements and penetrations needed by both residential and commercial professionals in an interactive and intuitive user interfaceincluding the ability to isolate elements of the structure for analysis and part vs. whole report generation.” 

The newly enhanced experience enables virtual collaboration by multiple stakeholders across a range of residential and commercial property-related workflows. This technological leap means faster decisions, fewer site visits, greater cost predictability and a dramatically improved ability to plan, assess, insure, build and manage properties at scalebecause customers can have access to residential and commercial roof, wall and door measurements at a universal standard with the capacity to manipulate thousands of elements directly from their computer, tablet or smartphone. 

The Eagleview One interface allows customers to extract only the property data they need when they need it, which enables them to support these various workflows from a single source of truth, all without an increase in pricing. The solution is delivered through a flexible, subscription-based model, giving customers predictable costs, adaptability as usage grows and continuous access to new features as the platform evolves. 

“We’re giving customers a continuously usable, interactive digital representation of the property that replaces fragmented data, manual workflows, unnecessary site visits and outdated records with real intelligence they can act on immediately for their routine and complex projects,” said Tripp Cox, chief product & technology officer of Eagleview.  

This solution is for customers who want trusted data, delivered to their fingertips and the capacity to manipulate that data for anything they envision. They can trust in Eagleview’s:  

• Ultra high-resolution imagery 
• Measurement quality which includes 98.77% accuracy  
• Both ortho and oblique imagery from an industry-leading authority in residential and commercial property image capture 
• Technology forward and friendly tools like the ability to generate custom data sets  

Across industries, customers are already seeing transformational impact: 

• Construction & remodeling - Eagleview One is allowing for faster bid cycles, with fewer or no site visits leading to more predictable margins. Teams can now perform full exterior material takeoffs remotely, reducing delays, labor costs and project risk. 
• Insurance & risk management - Eagleview One is leading to improved underwriting speed, more accurate assessments and defensible, auditable property data without requiring physical inspections. 
• Government & public sector – Eagleview One is offering scalable property assessment, streamlined permitting, improved transparency and reduced field workloads — powered by consistent, aerial-based data. 
• Energy, sustainability & infrastructure – Eagleview One is driving new capabilities for envelope analysis, retrofit planning, resilience modeling and climate adaptation strategies. 
• Smart cities & AI innovation – Eagleview One is providing foundational data for predictive maintenance, valuation modeling, risk analysis and next-generation AI systems. 

This launch represents a significant milestone in Eagleview’s long-term effort to deliver a unified property intelligence ecosystem that supports business applications, integrations and innovation across the global built environment. 

“This platform doesn’t just change how properties measurements are delivered,” added Cox. “It ensures our customers receive superior value and results from the aerial insights Eagleview generates so they can make better decisions.” 

Eagleview will showcase its transformative 3D digital property technology in an upcoming Eagleview One live event scheduled for March 12th, 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. To participate in the live event, please register here. 

Eagleview is also taking the show on the road. To demonstrate the power of its 3D living, interactive property models, Eagleview is launching a multi-city tour that will provide in-real-life opportunities to trial Eagleview One and its interactive, full-exterior property intelligence. Details will be announced during the Eagleview One live event on March 12th. 

About Eagleview 

Eagleview is a leader in geospatial technology, providing solutions that transform the way our customers work. Eagleview is renowned for its geospatial data and its 3.5 billion+ imagery library which encompasses 94 percent of the U.S. population. Eagleview’s unique technology portfolio comprises more than 300 patents, enabling it to offer highly differentiated software, imagery and analytics products for multiple industries. 

By Jenny Yu.  

Heidi J. Ellsworth has been elected as one of the new NRCA directors. 

Here at The Coffee Shops™, we are proud to share that our president and CEO, Heidi J. Ellsworth, has been elected as one of the new National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) directors. The announcement was made as part of the NRCA's 139th Annual Convention, held from January 18 to 22, 2026, in Las Vegas.  

“It is a true honor to be nominated and selected to serve on the NRCA board of directors,” Heidi shared. “What the NRCA does for the roofing industry is critical to advancing professionalism, supporting contractors and protecting the long-term strength of our trade. The association’s leadership of technical services along with their commitment to career technical education and advocacy continues to move the industry forward. I am excited to contribute at a higher level.” 

With over 30 years of service to the industry, Heidi has developed the experience, connections and leadership skills that make her an invaluable voice and advocate for the roofing community. From holding positions with Malarkey Roofing Products®, Carlisle Construction Materials and Eagleview to serving on the boards of Western States Roofing Contractors Association (WSRCA), National Women in Roofing (NWIR), METALCON and the International Roofing Expo (IRE), Heidi is more than ready to help guide NRCA through an evolving landscape. 

“Having been actively involved with NRCA for more than 20 years, I look forward to supporting not only the U.S. market but also the organization’s growing global initiatives,” Heidi said. “RoofersCoffeeShop® has a long history of supporting NRCA by amplifying its educational efforts, promoting workforce development and elevating the issues that matter most to roofing professionals.” 

NRCA’s board of directors focuses on strategy and accountability, keeping the interests of its members at the forefront of its work. Heidi will serve a three-year term from 2026 to 2029, starting June 1, alongside eleven other newly appointed board members.  

“By standing together as one voice, we can expand opportunities and build stronger businesses for our contracting community while also better serving the consumers,” Heidi expressed. “Everyone needs shelter, and I am proud to be part of an industry that provides the ultimate protection — the roof.” 

Learn more about the mission of the NRCA and its vision for the future of roofing.

In this Read Listen Watch®, Heidi J. Ellsworth sits down with Peter Cleveland from Eagleview and Fred Castonguay from Reworked.ai to discuss how high-quality data is optimizing marketing and sales. As contractors head into a new year with tight pipelines and fresh budgets, this conversation explores why traditional lead-generation methods are falling short and how data-driven marketing is changing the game. The panel breaks down the role of data quality, the difference between need and intent, and how practical AI can be used without the hype. Attendees will learn how better information sharpens targeting, improves decision-making and transforms sales conversations from persuasion to education — helping contractors focus on the right opportunities and drive more consistent results. 

Register today!