Longtime roofing company owner will hang his shingle in prison Kansas City Business Journal A former executive at Century Roofing, which goes by the corporate name Canadian West Inc., will hang his shingle at a federal prison for 12 months and 1 day. In a February plea agreement, Tommy Keaton pleaded guilty and admitted to "harboring up to 24 ... |
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Longtime roofing company owner will hang his shingle in prison - Kansas City Business Journal
I recently referred to the Tesla solar roof as the Model S of photovoltaics, largely due to its price tag. A young company called Forward Labs has a solar roof design that rivals the Tesla version in energy production and appearance, at about half the price. Where Tesla's roof will set you back about $22 per square foot, a Forward Labs roof comes in at less than $12 per square foot for the sections that include PV and $8.50 per square foot of the non-PV areas.
Forward Labs' Product Architect Zach Taylor comes from a construction family and has experience in the roofing and building industries. This background provides him with insight on the composition and installation of roofing systems. He designed the roof panels to be inexpensive, made from standard construction materials, and easy to install and replace.
The Forward Labs roof consists of five layers:
A top layer of tempered glass protects the roof from weather damage, including hail.
Optical chromatic cloaking gives the roof its visible colorwhile absorbing very little "usable" light.
Monocrystalline solar cells are the industry standard.
Rollformed galvanized metal panels serve as the base.
The racking system is concealed.
Check out this video to get an introduction to the product, and then read on for more.
After watching the video and poring over the product web site, I still had questions, so I contacted Mr. Taylor for more technical information. Here's the Q&A:
TL: Your video shows that the cabling is in the attic. Are you using microinverters for each panel, or is there a central inverter for the entire array?
ZT: We want to work to develop an architecture that integrates with home batteries as effectively as possible. Although I can't give all the details, I can say a big part of this plan is running DC power to a 48V charge controller on a home battery unit. In the long term, I think DC electric will make sense for end use in most homes. As we transition to a world of the internet of things, home batteries, LED lights and electric cars, we'll start to see that, like it or not, most things are DC powered already. I believe 48V DC will be a really important standard. In my opinion, microinverters belong on home appliances like electric stoves and laundry dryers.
For the time being, we'll utilize a central inverter but I don't see AC power ruling the roost in residential applications for too many more decades.
TL: The video also mentions that the roof will shed snow in the winter, but it didn't explain how. I've seen traditional PV panels on fairly steep slopes that don't shed their snow very well. I'm wondering how you accomplish it.
ZT: Believe it or not, the snow on solar panels gets hung up on that tiny 1/8" lip of the aluminum frame. And if the snow makes it up over the bump up from the glass to atop the aluminum frame, it piles in the gaps between the panels.
Where you might not see snow shedding off a metal roof is in instances where the metal roof has exposed fasteners. This is a corrugated roof, it's a different style. The slightest hang up can prevent an avalanche. Also, in standing seam applications, about 10 years of UV degradation to the Kynar 500 coating can change the coefficient of friction quite a bit, also preventing snow from shedding.
With our solar roofing panels, they're covered in glass. And more importantly, the coefficient of friction doesn't change dramatically over the life of the panel. We're actually worried about the inverse problem in this scenario. Snow sliding off all at once. As it is now, with a home that has a roof with a pitch of 4:12 or greater, the snow will shed before accumulating beyond a 1/4". This prevents large amounts from falling all at once. Commercial applications such as pre-engineered steel buildings present unique challenges as the snow falls at a different rate with their typical low slope. Currently, the best solution is a green area buffer (ie: shrubs) but it's a challenge we have a few ideas for and we're confident we can solve the issue before expanding into colder climates. There is no snow where we are in California.
TL: Are you offering integrated storage? If not, is it compatible with behind-the-meter storage?
ZT: We're currently in talks with storage providers. I can't talk too much about that just yet. We're excited for the announcements we have to make on this front.
TL: In the past when I've written about the Tesla solar roof, I've had questions from firefighters who are concerned with an electrified roof that they can't visually identify. Is there anything that lets firefighters know where NOT to swing an ax?
ZT: So we've got are two different scenarios here: Daytime and nighttime. During the day, a firefighter will be able to discern between our glass covered, solar roofing panels. It will be obvious from a gloss perspective and also because they "change color" as you look at them from above. During the night, this won't be so obvious. We really like our optics around here. It's what gives our panels their color. In this case, it makes the most sense to work with the tools the firefighter has, be it a headlamp or a flashlight. We plan to have a reflective component much like what is used on traffic signs. When the firefighter shines their light to mark a position, they will see the optics reflect back. This makes sense, reflective tape is already used quite extensively to aid firefighters. As such, we'd like to stick to that best practice already in place. TL: Have you done any full-scale testing to verify installation times and energy production levels?
ZT: Yes, they're in New York. We're mum on the details as much of the technology is proprietary.
TL: I see that you're taking preorders. When do you expect to start the first installation?
ZT: I'm fairly certain we'll be getting first preorders installed this year. However, we're telling customers 2018. We'd like to underpromise and overdeliver.
So there you have it: the burgeoning solar roof industry has one Goliath and a few Davids, and I don't mean that in a "bad guy vs good guy sense" - it's just a comment about the relative sizes of the players. If you've read my stuff, you already know I'm a big fan of Tesla and Elon Musk. I'm also a fan of competition, so let the games begin!
Images and video courtesy of Forward Labs
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Tesla Isn't The Only Solar Roof In Town - ENGINEERING.com
Tesla opened orders for its first two styles of solar roof tiles this week and the company plans to start installations within the next two months.
Through its acquisition of SolarCity, Tesla has now access to thousands of installers, but there are significant differences between installing solar panels and a whole roof. Roofing is more labor intensive and Tesla is now looking to train and hire a lot of roofers.
Before being acquired by Tesla, SolarCity put a lotof work into reducing its installation time in order to try to make more than one installationper day per team, but thats not going to be possible for a solar roof installation.
Tesla expects that it will take as long as a typical new roof installation, 5 to 7 days, which is not bad considering its both a new roof and a solar installation.
In order to support this new business unit, SolarCity is currently listing 6 technical training jobs to train new roofers in California and Connecticut. It looks like the company is looking to hire over 50 roofers.
Tesla only confirmed that installation would start in certain regions of the U.S in June, therefore, the locations of the job postings might give us an indication of where Tesla plans to make its first solar roof installations.
Unsurprisingly, most of the roofing jobs are in California, the biggest solar market in the US, but there are also a few in Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut.
For the area of Wilmington-Boston, Tesla recruiterScott Wareing wrote in a job listing for a Roofer I position:
SolarCity is now a Tesla Company. Offering Roofer positions with benefits and an opportunity to work on new Tesla products like the solar roof.
If you are tired of bouncing between projects, were offering Roofers a career track to work on cutting edge projects with a company that is defining next generation homes.
He listed experience in a wide variety of roof types as a plus, including comp, shingle, concrete tile, clay tile, metal, and wood shake.
There are around 5 million new roofs being installed in the US every year and Tesla expects that its new product will be popular. Of course, most of those roofs are made of asphalt, which is not a market Tesla is goingto compete with.
Based on the pricing information released this week, Teslas new solar roof tiles are going to be highlycompetitive, but only in markets where houses already have strong valuations and where electricity rates are high hence why California and Connecticut seem to be on top of the list.
Tesla solar roof products are perfect for homeowners who want solar and need a new roof relatively soon, but a regular solar panel installation is still a good solution for people who dont need a new roof. Solar and energy storage prices are highly dependent on your market (electricity cost, gov incentives, etc.) and your property. We suggest to get quotes from more than one installer to make sure you get the best energy solution for your place. UnderstandSolar is a great free service to link you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates for free.
JOLIET The city is looking at $300,000 in sales tax incentives to bring a roofing and building supplies company to town. A city council committee approved the incentive package after discussing whether it would give an advantage to a new company competing with roofing businesses already in Joliet.
The owners of the prospective Joliet location told city officials last week that Texas-based SRS Distribution wants to move to its 1806 Terry Drive property.
The site needs about $300,000 in improvements for drainage and other problems, said Tom Osterberger, a Joliet attorney who is part owner of the property with Gene Briscoe.
SRS would move into a 27,000-square-foot building on the site. Osterberger said that the improvements funded by the tax break are outside the building.
He said the company expects to do about $6 million in sales in its first year of business, as well as that it would pay sales taxes to the city.
The Joliet City Council Economic Development Committee on Thursday authorized staff to negotiate an incentive package for improvements of the property that would rebate half of the city sales taxes for seven years up to $300,000.
Councilman Terry Morris questioned whether the city was giving an incentive to attract a company that would compete with businesses already in the city.
Its not like this is new tax money. We have other suppliers for the roofers here, he said. Its not like this is a new product that were getting into Joliet.
Economic Development Director Steve Jones said the incentive would be used to improve the property but would not give SRS a pricing advantage.
Theyre not lowering the price of shingles because theyre getting money from the city, Jones said. If somebodys losing business in town, its because theyre not competing in the marketplace. Its not because the citys putting its thumb on the scale.
Morris joined other committee members in voting, 3-0, to direct Jones to develop an incentive agreement, which could come back to the city council for approval by June 6.
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Joliet eyes tax incentive for new roofing supplier | The Herald-News - The Herald-News
ORLANDO A man alleges he was unlawfully terminated by his employer after being hospitalized.
Jude Hilles filed a complaint on April 14 in the 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida - Orange County against Petersen-Dean Roofing & Solar Systems Inc. alleging violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that he was hospitalized in April 2016 for depression. He alleges that when he spoke to his supervisor about returning to work on April 26, 2016, he was terminated.
The plaintiff holds Petersen-Dean Roofing & Solar Systems Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly interfered with plaintiff's lawful exercise of his FMLA rights.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks damages against defendant, back pay and benefits, interest, front pay, compensatory damages, injunctive relief, attorney's fees and costs, and other relief the court deems just. He is represented by Marc R. Edelman of Morgan & Morgan in Tampa.
9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida - Orange County Case number 55092864
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Former employee claims Petersen-Dean Roofing & Solar Systems Inc. unlawfully terminated him - Florida Record
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) Alan Benson has been a roofing consultant for 35 years. He is now the president of Triton Incorporated in Cedar Rapids, a small company that is riding out a trend of liquid solutions for roofing issues that come up.
"We provide a liquid membrane that has no waste, it's spray-applied so there's no waste," said Benson. "The leftover is left in the drum of material that can be used on a future job so we're not filling our landfills full of waste. We're light weight. The material is only eight ounces a square foot so we're able to install on top of existing roofs without having to tear off."
Benson and the staffers at Triton walked us through the tour of their facility, a two-building setup on 33rd Street Drive SE, just off First Avenue. One building is an office and the other is a manufacturing structure where everything is made.
Materials and the tools, an element that is a bit unusual in the business.
"Roof liquid manufacturers in our industry only produce the liquid so you have to buy the technology from somewhere else," said Dustin Brooks, who oversees the company's sales.
Products include the TRITOflex, the TRITOtrowel and TRITOtherm. The TRITOflex is the most recognizable, primarily as a roof restoration product.
"We are pretty proud to represent Cedar Rapids on a global scale," said Brooks. "Our product is used from the Air Force bases in Alaska, the Navy bases in California, the Panama Canal, the mines in South Africa, the jungles of Malaysia, Australia, Ireland it's really cool this solution is being used all throughout the world."
On the late April morning when we visited Triton, the company set up a gravity and product-based experiment. From about 20 feet, they dropped a watermelon with the TRITOflex material sprayed onto it to demonstrate the product's strength under the duress of force and gravity.
This makes for good television but also demonstrated the confidence the company has in the product as more roofing solutions are trending towards a product like this.
"The liquid-applied membranes and coating are gaining more and more popularity in the roofing industry," said Benson. "Right now, theyre about 7% of the market and we see the growth to be in 30 to 35% of the market in the next ten years as they grow in popularity."
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Made in Eastern Iowa: One company behind the liquid trend in roofing - KCRG
Breaking Finance News | Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (BECN) Rating Reiterated by William ... The Cerbat Gem Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN)'s stock had its neutral rating reiterated by stock analysts at William Blair in a research note issued to investors ... Legato Capital Management LLC Has $2.036 Million Stake in Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (BECN) -$0.07 EPS Expected for Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (BECN) This Quarter Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NasdaqGS:BECN): How Does This Stock Score in Terms of Value? |
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A conman using a dead squirrel as a prop has been trying to convince homeowners that their roofs have been damaged by an infestation of the rodents, police have warned.
Officers in Kent were alerted by a resident of Tunbridge Wells who said that the man had demanded 300 to carry out repairs after producing the dead squirrel as proof of the problem. The victim subsequently asked a reputable company to carry out an inspection which confirmed that there had been no infestation or damage.
Yesterday a spokesman for Kent police said: Residents in Tunbridge Wells are reminded to be on guard against rogue traders following reports of a scam involving a dead squirrel. Kent police has received a number of reports about suspicious activity
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 San Times | Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN) Q2 2017 Results - Earnings Call Transcript Seeking Alpha Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Beacon Roofing Supply's Second Quarter 2017 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Alex and I will be your coordinator for today. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded for replay ... Stock Returns: Beacon Roofing Supply Inc (NASDAQ:BECN) is Beating Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) Daily Ratings & News for Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (BECN) Moves Higher on Volume Spike ... |
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Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN) Q2 2017 Results - Earnings Call Transcript - Seeking Alpha
The man authorities accused of throwing roofing nails in numerous locations in retaliation for an earlier arrest and the seizure of his dogs was also in court today.
Lee Miller's hearing was reset for Juneafter the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation. Miller was picked up in February after a WichitaCounty deputy following him from his home in Iowa Park said more nails were thrown on the KFDX parking.
He was arrested and charged with retaliation and jailed with no bond because he was on probation for tampering with evidence in the dog case. The nail incidents started a few months after miller was arrested in October 2015 for tampering with evidence and possible animal neglect in an IowaPark case. Besides news media lots, nails were also found at the arresting deputies home.
Authorities allege Miller was retaliating for his arrest and news coverage about the seizure of around 30 of his dogs for neglect, some of which he took from the Iowa Park shelter, and some of which he hid behind the midway school where he taught at the time.
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Man Accused of Throwing Roofing Nails in Business Parking Lots to - KFDX