SE. 1 EP. 3 | "ROOFING & SIDING"

In this episode of the Homegrown Podcast, Steven Henderson and Coy Walker pull back the curtain on the roofing and siding industry. While most people focus solely on the price tag, Steven and Coy explain why understanding the process is the most critical factor in protecting your home and your investment.

Whether you are an industry veteran looking to sharpen your knowledge or a homeowner preparing for a renovation, this deep dive provides the technical insights and transparency you need to make informed decisions.

Key Takeaways:

• Beyond the Quote: Why the cheapest bid often leads to the most expensive repairs.
• The Installation Process: A step-by-step breakdown of professional roofing and siding standards.
• Material Matters: Choosing the right products for longevity and Indiana weather.
• Industry Standards: What separates a 5-star contractor from the rest.

Connect with Homegrown Construction Co.

As a 5-star rated and A- BBB accredited company, we pride ourselves on quality and community trust.

• Website: www.HomeGrownConstructionCo.com
• Phone: 765-201-0859
• Location: Marion, Indiana

#HomegrownConstruction #RoofingAndSiding #HomeRenovation #MarionIndiana #ConstructionTips #Homeowners #ContractorLife #BuildingStandards #MediaByCanvas

"The Homegrown Podcast" podcast is produced by Frequency Canvas, LLC. All Audio Production (Recording, Editing, Mixing, & Mastering) is done by: Kyren Monteiro of Frequency Canvas, LLC.

Podcast theme music & also theme music for Podcast trailer are produced by: Kyren Monteiro of Frequency Canvas, LLC.

Contact Frequency Canvas at: Office@FrequencyCanvas.com | https://www.FrequencyCanvas.com/ | 765-506-3380

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi, I'm Corey Walker with Homegrown Construction Co. Co-owner. This is Steven. Also, co-owner. Yeah. Steven Henderson. Thank you. Thank you. Homegrown Construction Co. Let's get this one correct. Come on. Hype. Come on. Let's give him a round of applause over there. Thank you. He's pretty amazing guy. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Man, don't be making me blush it up.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Well, it's all about your expertise right now, bud. What expertise would you like to know about? We're coming up, you know, it's getting warm outside. Yeah. So what's people like to make investments on their homes and upgrading your roofing and siding is a good way to increase value, right?

SPEAKER_00 0:38

It's my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Why don't you tell us about it?

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Okay. All right. Well, uh, for the past 10 years, I've been um on the roofing and siding side of things as a production manager. So um you got to really learn why roofs cost the way they do and what all factors into a roof, um, and what you should look out for and why prices may be different between you know three, four different other contractors. You'll I swear you'll never get the same price, um you know, twice. So crazy differences um yeah, I you know, I I love the system to the roof, I guess. Um man, there's a lot more that goes into it than what people think. And um I just I love it. I love all the steps. So from you know, when the roof gets torn off, I I tell every one of our customers it's gonna look like a bomb went off.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

We don't always like all the permitting, but you know you gotta follow the rules.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

No, but you do, yeah. Let them catch you without having a permit. Make sure you guys, you know, whoever you call, make sure they're licensed. Please make sure that they put a permit on your door. Call the building department, they'll tell you if you're required to have one. You should not be the one paying for it, though. Contractor should pay for the permit.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Not every place, not every county requires things.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Not every, yep. City, county, some of them are different. Um, but so from that to then when we get to the tear-off and stuff, getting to really see the amount of layers, the the nails, I mean everything, getting down to that decking is how many was Kokomo?

SPEAKER_01 2:18

We had how many layers? Five. Cedar shake as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah, five total. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Um it was about two more than we estimated, I think.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

And I mean our crew does a great job of making sure that you know we control the mess as we as much as we can, but obviously, if you guys have seen roofs get done or had your roof get done, um, you know it's just it's a it's just a mess. So um so normally during the pre-inspection, um, you should know what you're doing um once the decking or once you get to the decking. If you check the attic, uh you can control, you know, if it's um spaced out one bys or if it's that three-eighths plywood that's super thin.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

That what do we see in Maw Bash? Uh something we never saw before. The one by the thing, but shingles.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Yeah, yeah. Definitely did not have decking on the spaced out wobis. Yeah. Um but that was amazing. Yeah, that was great. You can see a lot of different things, but I I would say, you know, at the end of the day that um once you do your pre-inspection and you know like what's going on and what you're doing from there, kind of taking if you're doing a full deck, re-deck, um, you know, taking that decking off and then just starting starting from scratch again, right? Putting new decking down. Um, once we get our new decking down, ice and water shield goes on the eaves. Uh rule of thumb, if your exterior or your interior wall is 24 inches out, you know, you have a 24-inch overhang. Um, two courses of ice and water shield should definitely be included in that is to prevent ice damming um to help with that.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Just had a problem with the nailwood.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Uh-huh. Well, yeah, customer had a problem, and then, you know, we we addressed it. Yeah, yeah, we addressed it. And I think um, you know, ice and water shield is not the catch-all. I mean, it it's still material that water can get through it.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

The pitch isn't good enough.

SPEAKER_00 4:11

It's still exactly it'll it'll get through it. It's so it's not a like, oh, you got ice and water shield, you're great. No, you still have to make sure you're doing all the other things because roughing is a system, whether people believe that or not. Um it it may be one of those not wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

You replaced that with what was it that we EPDM, yeah, rubber, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Um but yeah, the system to it is there's a reason for everything. And just even going down to it, you know, if it's a zero, one, two, twelve pitch, do not put shingles on it. I don't care if you put full ice and water shield. We personally got to see a roof that had shingles, uh, modified bitumen, which is roll proofing, underneath that, ice and water shield underneath that, and because they put shingles on a 112 pitch, the water still was able to get through all those with Indiana's great weather, it just gets warm and melts a little bit of the snow sitting on your roof, and then it freezes again that night.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Oh, yeah, and then that goes up under the shingles, and the next day, sun beats down on that black shingle and melts that underneath, and it goes down.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Yeah, just straight down. So after the ice and water shield, though, we go with synthetic. Um, usually ours is the rhino synthetic, the U20. Um, really high grade stuff. Uh, so again, that plays into a factor of your prices, you know, again, the products that you're getting on there. Um, there is generic products out there that you can get from a Lowe's or Nord's or whatever. A quality product, yeah, less quality, less expensive. But um, those are like rhino synthetic rhino ice and water shield is what I've been using for the past eight years. So that I trust it, that's what I put on people's roofs. Um, and then from that point, starters go on your eaves and your rakes. Um, and then from there, go to work. Go to work. But I will say, you know, ventilation. I I pressure people on ventilation.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

I do because that it are just not probably ventilated.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

They're not. I mean, your intake is, you know, through your soffit, right? If you don't have soffits, then you should have intake flow vents, which is these blast black strips that go about two, three feet up from the eave line up, and that allows air to get through and then air to go up. So air to go up is your exhaust.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

By eave line, you mean you know the edge of the roof, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, but then when you get to your exhaust, that's your box vents, bridge vents, turbine vents.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Turbine vents.

SPEAKER_00 6:41

I saw one today.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Yeah, they they still make those.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Corey, I was like, wait a minute, Cory, that's I'm that's a turbine vent, right? How how is how are those done again? I had to ask you that, because I you just don't see them very often. So um, so yeah, that is a big, big part to your roofing system, and that's where you know if you're gonna spend your hard-earned money on a roof, um, your breathing system to your roof energy is more efficient for well, yeah. Your insulation in your attic. I mean, people you you will start to hear a lot of contractors in 2026, just to give people a heads up, um, they are starting to understand how important your insulation truly is, and there's uh affordable ways to do it and things like that, and that can help with your energy bills that you were just talking about. You know, so that's a that's a very big thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Efficiency for your home is a big thing for your insurance costs as well.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

Make sure, make sure you get photos from that contractor showing that they did not allow the insulation to cover up your soffit vents. They plugged that up, now your roof is not breathing. That one in Kokomo, for instance.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Lots and lots of mold becomes a problem.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

The detached garage, we walked in there, looked up, and all of the insulation was completely molded. Why? Because they blocked off the soffit vents so the roof could not breathe. All that moisture just goes up there and it sits there and creates mold. So um, so that's a big deal. Um pay attention to those things because your breathing system is a very big part of if your roof's gonna last 10, 15, 20 plus years.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

So if it's not properly ventilated, it can be a problem to your health as well.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Oh, for sure. Yeah. Breathing in black mold, I mean, in the air, all the pathogens and all that crazy stuff. I mean, it can, yeah, it can get a little crazy. So, you know, with that being said, that so that is a lot of like the material on the system side. And then when you start discussing the labor, people need to also understand um it's dangerous to work on a steep roof, right? I mean, it very that's why OSHA has these regulations where you know you have to be harnessed. Um, even like what I think four feet off the ground, you have to be harnessed. And I mean, that's that's not really that tall, but you can imagine dropping four feet what it does to you. So when you have a steep home, that's gonna play a factor into your costs as well, too. Um, obviously the layers if you're tearing off not one but two, three roof systems.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Height, how steep it is, yeah. I mean how many layers are there, yeah. All these are factors.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. So, you know, those are the things that you need to pay attention to um when you're high when you're calling a contractor.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Disposing of shingles and roof waste is not cheap.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Yeah. But I think that's um that's a big thing, you know, is the condition of your home, the size of your home, steepness, um, cut up. You know, if it's cut up, there's going to be required more shingles that are needed.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

More hips, more valleys, more pennies.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Which is more labor because it takes longer, you know. So there's so many different things that go into your roof. And I think that's why a lot of customers will be like, you know, I only have a thousand square foot roof. You know, they got it from an insurance claim or whatever. So now, you know, they know the square footage of their roof, which I encourage everybody to ask your contractors for, you know, hey, how big is my roof?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Get details.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yeah. Contractor, let them know they got 80 feet of ridge vent, um, you know, they got 40 feet in valleys or whatever the case may be. Educate your customer so that way they know in the future, you know, safe.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

They understand what they're putting their investment into.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

Yeah, save a you know, a young couple, for instance, say they buy the house of their dreams, they live there till, you know, they're whatever, and then they need a second roof, and they're probably gonna remember you because you educated them, you taught them about it. You know, I mean, some people don't care, but I like people to know that, yeah, you may have a thousand square foot house, you know, roof, but when I have all these valleys and hips and stuff, you it's like you have a 13-14, you know, square roof because definitely changes quickly. All the extra ways, you know, so so that that's a big deal. Um, just educating people on these things um really matters. And it I would think, you know, if I was in a customer's shoes, if they're explaining to me the price and they're explaining what's factoring into those prices, you know, I don't know. I I think that I would I would be more comfortable um investing that large amount of money. So just because you have, you know, a 26 square roof, for instance, um, you know, it's gonna cost you it can cost you anywhere from twelve, thirteen, fourteen, you know, dollars. It's one of those things that I don't know. Um it's that there's so there's just so much different factors into it, and that's why some people may not like the price or say this person was higher than that. Well, maybe the person that bidded it accounted for everything, caught everything, and the other one didn't necessarily catch everything.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

I think I think you meant thousand dollars. You just said twelve, thirteen, or fourteen.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Sorry, you can't change things now. Um gotta still call you out, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Uh when you can do a real uh talk. Um yeah, so um that was funny. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Yeah, low blows. Uh it's uh all love and brothers, but been with them for a long time. So um so yeah, I don't know. It's I want people to, you know, when you watch this, just take that into consideration. Um when you wonder why prices are so different between different people, make sure that they're catching everything because last thing you want is change orders. Um, you know, it's just a very bad situation to have to talk about.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

They're not checking your addict and yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

I mean it some some will do the right thing and looking behind the sighting before they put it on, you know, go and quote before they even look behind it to see what's there.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Yeah, some will do the right thing and and eat it because it was their responsibility. Some will try to pass that on to you. So just educate yourself that these are things that you know they should be doing um to make sure that everything is accounted for. I mean, obviously, just because um, you know, if you get up on the roof and you walk it properly, most of the time I would say you should be able to tell if it's really soft.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

There can always be the possibility of that one corner somewhere, yeah. On an eave, on an edge, somewhere. Yeah, yeah, and then I mean it's not that big a deal, one piece of plywood compared to redoing the entire thing.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

I mean, surprises happen, they just do. I mean, it's it's part of construction, things happen, things come up. Um, but you do the best to your ability to make sure that you prep the customer and what price you're giving them is the price that's going to stay. Um, for instance, if you bid 10% on your waste and you're short, that's your responsibility. It's not the homeowners, you know. So, you know, those are the things that you should look out for, the things that you need to educate yourself so that way you can make sure that you know people are being fair, people are being honest.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

A lot of bad contractors, but there's also a lot of good ones.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah, but just understand that this is the material, this is the labor side of things. And then obviously every company has you know, company expenses is just is just part of it, part of nature. But um, a lot of what you will see is understanding the material that goes into it, understanding the labor that goes into it.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

What about the shingles and our warranties and the hail thing?

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Yeah, so um, you know, manufacturers do a lot of different things. Um, you know, we use Malarkey a lot. Um, we used to do Owens Corning, but I feel Melarke just offers a lot more. Maybe not all these fancy colors and stuff like that, but you know, with Malarkey, um, they are a class four hail resistant. Um and yeah, class three or class four. And they are actually, you can potentially, potentially, I say that very strongly, potentially look into getting your premiums decreased for your home insurance. Yeah, yeah, because they're great benefit. Yeah, they're thick, they're heavy. Um, the rubber in it to help, you know, bout bounce off um hail is a very big thing. So, you know, a lot of manufacturers, I believe they'll do and cost efficient still. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, but they're limited lifetime warranties, um, rated for 130 plus mile per hour winds. I I believe, you know, the warranties are a very big thing as to what you should pay attention for your costs. I know like Owens Corning has a lifetime warranty. Um and then Melarkey, they have their warranties as well, too.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Both great products.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Yeah, both great products for sure. Absolutely. Um Owens Corning. Depends on what you're looking for. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I mean, some people will swear up and down that Owens Corning never gave them a problem. Um others will say they're, you know, a lot of those.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Just like every product there is there's a lot of great uh shingle products out there.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

And those are our normal go-to's.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Yeah, some people are comfortable, like, hey, I believe in this, I'm gonna go with this. Others will say, no, I I like this.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

And that's where it comes down to working with the customer.

SPEAKER_00 16:20

Yep, that's a preference for sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Some people do, some people don't.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Absolutely. Yep, absolutely. There's you could oh my gosh, you could take a full-size vehicle of products to a customer's dude. Gosh, man, there's just so much out there.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Maybe we should make a mobile that'd be awesome. Van that has like all the it would help, dude.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

It really would. It really would, because my gosh, there's just so much stuff that goes into it.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

We got the van already.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Yeah, we'll turn that into it.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

We can build a mobile product.

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Don't be afraid to show people like the what the ice and water shield feels like, what the synthetic feels like, you know, what a ridge. Yeah, like the ridge shingle. Um, you know, so yeah. Sighting even it's a it's a cool process. I I love roughs. Like I said, I I love them. I love the systems that go into them.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Exterior sample van.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that would that would be really, really good. So um, yeah, that's the things that you should look out for. I do believe that that's one of our, you know, one of our big differences is you know, everything that I spoke about, be more than happy to share with you what um what I found with your roof, what factors into your roof. Um to explain that. Yeah, it it really can. I mean, like I said, some people don't care, some people do care. Um, and that also helps with okay, you s you hear all the things that are happening, and as we do fine financing, um that plays a part into it. Well, you're getting all these things. This is the system that you're getting, and it can be for this monthly payment, right? So I don't know. I I encourage everybody to learn more.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

We work with a couple of different financing companies.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah, yeah, we do. Yeah, we have a lot of different options for every yeah, you know, I'd say just about every situation. So you're always welcome to get your own yeah, you can get your own financing as well, too. So um, but yeah, that's a lot of the roofing. Um, you know, again, and roofs can be installed during the winter as well, too. If you have a leak, it's an emergency, they can be installed um to a certain degree temperatures, but you need to make sure that you leave enough of a space for expansion and contraction. That's a that's a big thing, you know, just to clear the air that roofs can be done during the winter. So keep them in a heated van. Yeah, keep them in a heated van. Um you just I mean, you don't want them to be frozen.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

We can't tell all of our secrets.

SPEAKER_00 18:49

No. I mean, I'm sure roofing's been around for yeah, yeah. So um, but just to you know, again, learn those things, learn for yourself. Um, I encourage everybody to learn more about the systems, and it's not just a shingle. There's things that have to happen to make it a full operating system. So, yeah, that's my intake on roofing. Um, if you guys want to learn any more, you can go to homegrown constructionco.com. Uh, there is a special tab for all the trades that we offer. But you can click on a roof, put your information in, I'll get a notification, I'll call you that day, um, and we'll set up an appointment. I'll bring my products, get my ladder, show you what's going on, you know, present the price, and try to work with you the best that I can to make sure that you guys are taken care of because you know everybody needs a roof.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

So it's definitely the first line of protection to your home.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Yeah, I've seen a roof wide open and a storm hit and it destroyed the inside of their house.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

So very important thing.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Yeah, but yeah, I I appreciate you guys for hopping on here and you know hearing us out, and yeah, we'll check you on the next podcast.