Posted on: Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Demand for roofers sky-high
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Patricia Cline knows that after begging and pleading, she's one of the lucky ones.
Unlike untold other Hawai'i homeowners, Cline will get her leaking roof fixed today in 'Ewa Beach.
Hawai'i's $30 million-a-year roofing industry is humming with work for the estimated 85 to 100 roofing companies statewide, about 65 of which are centered on O'ahu. Some of them are expecting record revenues this year by focusing on large-scale residential and commercial projects, and even smaller jobs removing and replacing existing roofs.
But with so much emphasis on larger projects, individual homeowners like Cline are scrambling to find anyone to come out and patch the irritating leak or two that's sprung up after the recent rains.
"Our members are very, very busy," said Tim Lyons, executive director of the Roofing Contractors Association of Hawaii. "The reports we get from homeowners is they're having difficulties finding qualified roofers."
Companies will still re-roof individual homes for anywhere between $4,000 and $20,000, Lyons said. But homeowners with smaller, isolated leaks often are left waiting.
"Everybody's swamped," said William Hale, the owner of Five Star Roofing LLC. "The entire industry's busy."
Just as Hawai'i's construction industry heated up with new commercial and residential developments, Hale said, homeowners who had neglected their aging roofs suddenly found themselves with leaks during the past few storms.
"People put their roofing problems on the back burner because we've had very mild winters for the last four years," Hale said. "So the people that needed a new roof suddenly got caught when all of these winds and rains came. We're now three times as busy because everybody waited so long."
Business 'booming' Charlie Beeck, the owner of Tropical Roofing and Raingutters Inc., called the roofing business "craziness. It's booming."
"Before this year, people were procrastinating," Beeck said. "But we've had extraordinary, massive amounts of rain in a short period of time. It literally forces its way into anything it can possibly get into. That means that, more often than not, that pesky leak will come out."
Beeck focuses on re-roofing entire homes and estimates that business is up 25 percent this year. If the pace continues, Beeck expects to have his best year financially since he started the business in 1986.
"It's a wonderful time," he said.
Even for people wanting for an entire new roof, the waiting list is still at least six months long. And customers who want rain gutters repaired or installed could wait even longer.
"Yeah," Beeck said, "the raingutter business is even busier than roofing. They built all of these new houses in Hawai'i Kai, Makakilo and Kapolei, but they didn't come with raingutters. So we install them when we can."
Do your homework Just as larger, longtime roofing companies are enjoying record business, Lyons of the Roofing Contractors Association worries about less-reputable roofers who are filling the niche to repair individual leaks, which can still cost several hundred dollars.
"Unfortunately, the problem is that when roofing companies get real busy, a lot of other people come out of the woodwork and (homeowners) get desperate and live to regret it," Lyons said. "I feel sorry for them because they're in a desperate situation where the roof could be leaking like a sieve. Getting a roof repaired is just not as much fun as buying new furniture or putting in sexy, new flooring. But people have got to do research and their homework. Re-roofing your house is an expensive proposition and deserves your time."
Lyons recommends that homeowners check companies' complaint histories with the Better Business Bureau or state Regulated Industries Complaints Office Web site, www.ehawaiigov.org/serv/cms. A lesson learned
Cline got a taste of shoddy repair work in March after a leak appeared above the living room of her 'Ewa Beach home during wind and rain storms.
She got one company to repair the roof, but the work was guaranteed leak-proof for only 30 days.
Then on Friday, Cline's living room wall was damp again, all the way from the ceiling to the soaked carpet.
"Now I know why that other company was so available," Cline said.
As rain continued to fall over the weekend, Cline had no luck getting anyone to even come out to offer an estimate.
"Everybody was so bombarded with calls and work," she said.
Workers who had restored Cline's damaged wall after the March work urged her to call Hale at Five Star Roofing, who sent out the company's top employee for an estimate, Hale said.
Hale mistakingly thought Cline wanted her entire roof replaced and apologized for the confusion, then tried to back out of the job.
Ultimately, he gave in.
"She did a better sales job than me," Hale said. "Now I'm sending out my No. 1 guy to fix her leak."
Cline appreciates that Hale is keeping his word and knows that the work is relatively minor. But, she said, it will eventually pay off in a bigger project for his company.
"I told him that in another seven or eight years I'm going to need a new roof," Cline said. "I said that I'll definitely use him then, too."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
