The Roofr Report

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Nov 2026

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Join our host Pete McKendrick as we bring on seasoned guests with hands-on experience to offer their insight on topics like roofing, technology, and entrepreneurship. Brought to you by roofr.com.

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November 4, 202638 min

Labor Shortage? Hire Military Veterans Through SkillBridge

Need labor? Sign up for SkillBridge — a Department of Defense program where the military keeps paying a service member’s salary while they intern at your company. You get 2-6 months to see them work before you decide whether to make an offer. And it costs you nothing in wages. The catch is that not enough employers are signed up, so a lot of qualified people never get the chance. Host Pete McKendrick sits down with Dan from PE Assist to talk about how SkillBridge works, who you can hire through it, and why veterans are such a good fit for growing roofing companies. In this episode: How Skillbridge lets you try out a hire for 2-6 months Why the military covers wages for this period Why not enough employers are signed up Which roles fit: exterior sales, estimating, production, coordination, operations, and leadership How an intern can free you up to run production or sell Why “military-friendly” can be the reason a homeowner picks up the phone What it takes to qualify (3 years in business and a W-2 position at the end) Where to start, and the sign-up deadline To register your business for the program, reach out to Dan Cherry at PE Assist: Email: dan@pe-assist.com Phone: 612.548.4912 Learn more at pe-assist.com .

November 1, 202631 min

Three Generations, One Neighborhood Roofing Company

Jamie Hunt started at SNR Contracting as the (self proclaimed) worst secretary ever. But when her father, the company founder, fell off a roof and got hurt, she stepped into a leadership role. Now she runs the company, and her son Drew rides along with her, just like she rode with her dad. Host Pete McKendrick sits down with our Roofer of the Month to talk three generations of roofers, repairs, and why growth isn't always the goal. In this episode: • How Jamie went from the office basement to running SNR • Riding shotgun with her dad, and now her son • Why she’s keeping the company small on purpose • What it’s like being a woman in roofing • How repairs turn into trust (and repeat work) • Why Jamie is pushing into commercial • How she saved hours on a cut-up roof with Roofr Measurements

October 15, 202635 min

Insights from a Roofing Manufacturer with Larry @ CertainTeed

CertainTeed's Larry Sernick has been selling shingles for almost 30 years, and he's watched the industry shift right in front of his eyes. This episode, Pete and Larry discuss slower storm seasons, Class 4 shingles going mainstream, and solar creeping into roofing's territory — all from a manufacturer's perspective. Larry also shares his thoughts on retail sales, credentialing, and where the manufacturing side of roofing is headed next.‍ In this episode: • Why retail sales skills matter when storm season goes quiet • Referrals are jobs to lose, not jobs to win • How a 25-year-old contractor built a business on repairs • What CertainTeed's credential program actually requires • The 150% jump in Class 4 shingle sales • Why "good, better, best" is backwards for retail sales • Where solar fits into roofing's future

October 1, 202628 min

Cross-Training Crews to Survive Buffalo Winters

Meet Chandler Pedini, our October 2026 Roofr of the Month. Chandler is a sales and project manager at Five Star Roofing in Buffalo, New York. He was on roofs at 10 years old working at the family business, and saw exactly what a life of roofing does to your body. So he tried his hand at accounting, and lasted exactly one day before coming back. Now, he splits his time between job sites and his desk, which turned out to be the perfect balance. Chandler walks us through building a business with 40 in-house crew while most of the industry subs everything out, cross-training crews to survive Buffalo winters, and why Five Star's Instant Estimator leads close at nearly double the rate of their regular leads. If you've ever wondered whether ditching subcontractors is worth the headache, this one's for you. In this episode: • Growing up on roofs (literally, at age 10) • Why Chandler tried accounting and lasted one day • The hard transition from the field to the office • Why Five Star keeps almost everything in-house • The real cost (and the payoff) of ditching subcontractors • Cross-training crews to survive Buffalo's winters • How Instant Estimator generated 35 leads in its first month • Why Instant Estimator leads close at up to 65% • The hidden benefit of looking like a "next level" company • Five Star's 2027 goal: "do less work, make more money"

September 17, 202633 min

Physio Advice for Roofers: How to Prevent Aches, Pains, and Injuries

Roofing is physical labor, full stop. But most of us never talk about what that does to your body over 20+ years on the job. For this episode of The Roofr Report, we're stepping away from our usual roofer spotlights to sit down with physiotherapist Colby Bucci, owner of the Center for Fitness, Health and Performance in Toronto. Colby shares his take on the injuries roofers deal with most, why they happen, and what you can actually do about it. If you've ever pushed through back pain because taking a day off means not getting paid, this one's for you.‍ In this episode: • The #1 injury roofers deal with • Why repetitive strain causes most long-term damage • The "big rope fraying" problem • Three things you can do to prevent injury • Proper lifting technique — back vs. legs • Why hydration affects more than energy • Back braces: helpful tool or crutch? • The tough-guy mindset holding roofers back • Is long-term damage reversible? • Why roofers should train and recover like athletes‍

September 1, 202629 min

Staying Lean, Winning Retail, and the 60 Second Response Time

Owen Atherton almost became a doctor. Five years into a pre-med degree and college baseball career, back-to-back injuries and a new marriage forced a hard pivot. A teammate got him into roofing sales. Three years later, at 23 years old, he launched Rocket Roofing out of Minnetonka, Minnesota. Owen breaks down why he walked away from storm and insurance work entirely to go all-in on retail roofing, and the cash-flow math that made the decision easy. He gets specific on his marketing stack — direct mail, Facebook ads, yard signs — and the "snowball" mentality of showing up in front of homeowners every 30 days without fail, no matter how busy the crews get. Owen also talks candidly about the financial risk of investing in marketing before the business could really afford it, why networking and referral partners quietly outperform cold leads, and how staying deliberately lean — no early hires, no bloated overhead — is the whole strategy behind hitting his revenue targets. In this episode: • From pre-med and college baseball to roofing sales • How discipline from athletics translates to running a business • Choosing retail roofing over storm/insurance work for cash flow • The marketing stack: Staying consistent every 30 days • Betting on ROI: Marketing spend before you can "afford" it • Why referral partners and networking pay off years later • Staying lean: hiring only when there's a real bottleneck • The goal: $750K this year, $2-3M next year, $10M in five years

August 17, 202647 min

Referral Partners and the New Rules of Marketing (with Michael Stearns)

What if your best referral partner isn't a past customer at all, but your pool guy? That's one of the plays Michael Stearns of Ascend brings to Pete in this episode. Michael runs a marketing agency built around custom websites, SEO/AEO/GEO, and Google Ads for roofers. He doesn't sugarcoat where most contractors go wrong: chasing lead volume instead of understanding what it actually costs to land a customer. Michael breaks down the difference between "tag team trades" (HVAC, plumbing, landscapers) and "power partners" (real estate agents, property managers, insurance agents) — and why the second group can feed you leads before a homeowner even knows they need a roof. He also gets into how AI search is changing what "ranking on page one" even means, and why the roofers showing up in ChatGPT results are the ones getting cited as trusted sources, not just optimizing for keywords. In this episode: Why cost per acquired customer matters more than raw lead count Tag team trades vs. power partners — the referral network most roofers ignore Using real estate agents and property managers as a built-in lead source How to actually show up when homeowners search on ChatGPT, not just Google A simple system for batching a month of social content in 90 minutes Where the roofing industry is headed after a slow start to the season

August 1, 202636 min

60 Billboards & Zero Middlemen: How Ken Conrad Built a $20M Roofing Company

Ken Conrad didn't grow up dreaming about roofing. He dropped out in the 10th grade, never got a GED, and spent his early twenties getting doors slammed in his face in Oklahoma City. 18 years later, he's running one of Tulsa's biggest roofing companies — projecting $20-21M this year, in a market with 8,000-10,000 roofers all competing for the same jobs. His approach? Cut out every middleman he can find. Conrad's Roofing private-labels its own nails, felt, sealants, and pipe boots. And they're currently designing their own shingle. Add 60 billboards driving 40-50% of his calls, a "Roof Now, Pay Later" strategy to move homeowners off insurance and onto cash, and a customer experience philosophy borrowed straight from Disney World, and you've got a company that looks nothing like its competitors, on purpose. This one's for any roofer who's tired of competing on price, chasing insurance checks, or waiting on a distributor to tell them what they can and can't do. In This Episode: • Why the name "Affordable Roofing" became a liability • "Roof Now, Pay Later" strategy to move homeowners off insurance • Vertical integration and private-labeling your own materials • Billboard strategy that doubled revenue overnight • The most integral hire Ken ever made (hint: it's his wife) • Ken's "Disney World" philosophy on customer experience • Advice for anyone starting out in roofing today

July 16, 202644 min

Roof Coatings First: How Salus Exteriors Broke Into Commercial (with Juan Rodriguez)

Sallas Exteriors didn't jump into commercial roofing headfirst. They started with roof coatings. And it changed everything. Based out of Houston, Juan Rodriguez and his team launched in early 2024 as a residential outfit. Commercial was always part of the five-year plan. They just got there a lot faster than expected. How? Roof coatings. Acrylic, silicone, and a local manufacturer relationship that meant materials showed up when they needed them, not weeks later. That low-risk entry point taught the crew how to evaluate a roof, understand NDL warranties, and eventually graduate into TPO and modified bitumen. Now they're chasing high-rise and mid-rise multifamily work, still lean, still small, and still winning against companies ten times their size. This one's for any residential roofer eyeing the commercial side and wondering where to even start. In This Episode: • Why roof coatings are the lowest-risk way into commercial work • Acrylic vs. silicone — and when to use which • How manufacturer partnerships (and NDL warranties) win jobs • The cost of underestimating material and labor on commercial bids • Why referral partners matter more in commercial than residential • Competing with commercial companies while staying lean

July 1, 202632 min

Changing the Game: 95% Retail Jobs, 100% W2 Employees (with Quintin Wilsford)

E.N.G. Roofing is changing the game. Based out of Waller, TX, Quintin Wilsford and his team are flipping the script on how a roofing company operates. We're talking W2 employees across the board (yes, even the door knockers), hourly pay + commission, and a marketing machine that spans TikTok, LinkedIn, TV commercials, and 1.5M-follower local media partnerships. In just a few months, E.N.G. has grown from ~8 employees to 50+, hit nearly $400K in roofs in a single month — almost entirely retail — and are gunning for $10M this year. This isn't your average roofer story. In This Episode: • How to build a W2 team that sticks around • Winning in a saturated market • Why retail-first beats storm chasing • A multi-platform marketing playbook • Diversification done right