April 27th, 2020
During the fall of 2019, two years after hurricane Irma, we started to notice other roofing companies going under. The same thing happened after we were hit hard in 2004 and 2005. Hurricane events greatly accelerate the replacement of roofs due to damage. That disrupts the regular cycle of replacing commercial roofs every 15-20 years.
For all intents and purposes roofers in Florida did 10 years worth of reroofs in the two years after Matthew and Irma. We started to see a significant reduction in reroof opportunities in Q1 2019. By the fall smaller roofing companies started going out of business. Manufacturer reps started commenting on the contraction in our industry in Q4 2019 and by Q1 of this year there were reports that over 30% of roofing companies in Florida had closed up.
The Coronavirus crisis has delayed many roofing projects or cancelled them all together. Some customers are proceeding with repairs that are not long-term solutions, but they’re understandably reluctant to put out large sums of money with so much uncertainty in the economy. This will further accelerate the reduction in roofing companies in Florida.
We’ve been in business for 72 years and have survived every imaginable calamity. We have a lot of on-going contract work for larger entities that will proceed regardless of the disruption caused by the Coronavirus. We’re also diversified more than the average roofing company. We own a gutter company, have one of the largest sheet metal shops in Florida and sell software that we developed in-house to other construction companies. Nobody is 100% insulated from the current crisis but thankfully the strategic moves we made while the economy was booming is serving us well now.
Replacing a commercial roof is one of the most expensive infrastructure costs for most businesses. Choosing a smaller contractor is a roll of the dice. Not only are there no guarantees they’ll be here to look after you in the long run, it’s highly likely more than half of Florida roofers won’t survive according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce. They co-released a report last week with Governor Desantis that predicted upwards of 87% of construction workers will lose their jobs as a direct result of the Coronavirus pandemic. If so, that will translate into the majority of Florida roofing companies closing their doors.
At the end of the day R&R is the oldest roofing company founded in Florida, the first state licensed roofer in Florida and we’ll be here for you in the long run.
Click HERE to request a FREE no-strings-attached commercial roof inspection which includes a FREE one year no leaks guarantee.
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