Contractor Corner - Absolute Construction

In this edition of Contractor Corner, we speak with Connor Wood, a partner at Absolute Construction with 11 years of experience in the roofing and reconstruction business. Wood heads the specialty division handling high-end residential and commercial projects, with particular expertise in metal, synthetic slate, and tile roofing systems.

Give us a quick background about yourself and Absolute Construction.

Absolute Construction has been in business for about 21 years. I've been in the roofing and reconstruction business for 11 years. Before joining Absolute Construction, I owned my own roofing company. After experiencing the challenges of wearing all the hats, I sold my equity and came to Absolute as a managing partner. My role here is running the specialty division - anything high-end residential or commercial that's not regular single-ply goes through me. If it's fun, I get to do it.

Is your focus on residential or commercial projects?

I do some commercial projects, but primarily when it's not low slope. When it's single-ply, we've got guys for that. But if it's tile, slate, or something more exotic than run-of-the-mill commercial stuff, that's where I step in.

What are your most common projects?

In Texas, the three most common projects I work on are metal, synthetic slate, and tile. About 95% of what we do is reroofing. We'll get into new construction from time to time, but we're not really set up for that.

RECENT PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Do you have any exciting projects you're working on right now?

I just finished a beautiful home on Cedar Creek Lake, about two hours west of Dallas. It was a client's lake house managed by a luxury property manager I work with. I was initially called to look at a leak, and I found significant hail damage in the process.

It was an ultra-modern home with all three sides backed up to the water. You could stand at the front door and see nothing but lake through the back glass. There's a lot of glass, some stucco, and lots of metal, predominantly how most ultra-modern homes are built. It really stood out in the neighborhood and was a fun project.

METAL ROOFING MISCONCEPTIONS & BENEFITS

What are some common myths or misconceptions you see with homeowners when it comes to metal roof projects?

I think a lot of people, especially in Texas, feel like metal is not as durable as it actually is. When many think of metal, they don't always think of standing seam—they might think of a barn or lean-to with exposed fastener metal. There's nothing wrong with that—every metal has its place. But when we're installing metal on a home, we suggest standing seam because of the longevity.

People have the misconception that metal is just as damage-prone as other roofing types. But when installed correctly with the right gauge and from the right manufacturer, you're not running into many problems with metal.

How do you address these concerns?

I ask a lot of questions to understand where their information is coming from. If they have an uncle in Oklahoma who has a 29-gauge barn retrofitted to live in, I will try to get all that information before I start educating them on the differences between exposed fastener metal and standing seam. Once those questions are answered, I spell out the big differences.

When recommending a roof, do people ask for specific materials, and do you push them in one direction?

Every client is different, so I ask a lot of questions: What kind of insulation is in the attic? How long are you planning on staying here?

More often than not, people's main concern is they either have a shingle roof or another material that's been replaced multiple times. They might say, "I just want to get out of this and put something on my house that I don't have to mess with ever again". People are often three or four roofs into a 12-year span and tired of dealing with it. That's typically how the conversation of upgrading to a metal roof comes into play.

SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS

How do you choose suppliers, and what are the most important factors when deciding which ones to work with?

It really depends on the quality of people at the supplier—the people on the ground and the products they put out. If they provide a lot of technical information and testing data readily available, that's something I'll explore further. If they're just like, "Here's our stuff, take it or leave it," I usually don't put much thought into that manufacturer.

For example, McElroy Metal has extensive literature on their website, and their staff is super knowledgeable. When I have technical questions, they have a specific department I can usually reach someone in the same day. Their customer service has been at the top compared to other metal manufacturers I've dealt with.

When dealing with specialty criteria, that's a huge focus because most manufacturers typically carry the same finish warranty and offer similar products. Metal's metal. The main difference is customer service, which is what I focus on when selecting a supplier.

SALES PROCESS & MARKET TRENDS

Is the ability to sell a project changing? Is it getting easier or harder?

It's a combination. Selling has gotten easier for me personally because of my experience—there are only so many objections I've had to overcome over my career. But the climate we're in with rising material prices and insurance companies paying less makes other aspects harder.

Insurance companies used to pay for everything except the deductible. Now they're adding exclusions and percentages where they're only paying a certain amount depending on the age. That's not every policy, but it's becoming more common.

Is the longevity of metal roofing a selling point against these insurance challenges?

Yes, insurance companies definitely classify metal roofing differently than asphalt shingles. It lasts longer, and they typically give homeowners a cosmetic waiver that says up to a certain size hail will only cause cosmetic damage. Therefore, they lower premiums because you have a wind and hail-resistant product. I've seen homeowners get 25% off their annual premiums depending on their zip code.

On the flip side, once a metal roof is actually damaged, it can be more difficult to get an insurance claim approved because of that cosmetic waiver. You have to prove without reasonable doubt that the damage isn't just cosmetic.

With standing seam, it's easier to demonstrate functional damage when 2.5-3 inch hail hits the seams or locking mechanisms. But it's still a challenge dealing with insurance companies because they don't want to pay.

COMPANY DIFFERENTIATION

What makes your company stand out in the industry?

The primary way we stand out is our longevity. More than two decades in Texas under the same name, with the same office and clientele, without shifting around, is uncommon. There may be 7,600 roofing contractors in Dallas alone, not counting the rest of Texas.

In Texas, there's no licensing required for roofing contractors. You don't need to be licensed—there's voluntary licensing through organizations like ARCAT and NTRCA, but you don't need anything to be a roofing contractor. With a truck, an LLC, and a ladder, you're a roofer.

INDUSTRY CHANGES

What changes are you seeing in the roofing industry since you started?

Around the time COVID hit, when everyone was at home, and they stopped sending field adjusters out, I started seeing insurance companies using less qualified people. When I first started, I learned about insurance claims and construction from adjusters who had 20-30 years of experience. These old-school adjusters knew more about roofing and construction than I would ever know, and they would give straight answers.

Now, insurance companies use third-party people who just take photos but can't make coverage decisions. I can't tell you how many times I've met someone on-site from the insurance company who asks, "What kind of roof is this?" as one of their first questions.

A funny example: A few years ago, I was on a cedar shake roof with an engineer. He was straddling a plumbing exhaust pipe and said, "Man, these wood roofs! Do they always smell this bad?" He had no idea what he was doing—he was breathing in plumbing fumes and thinking the cedar shake had that smell.

That presents a big problem in our industry. Many people inspecting homes don't have proper education about roofing systems, correct repair methods, or how to do the job right.

CURRENT TRENDS

Do you see any specific trends coming this year or next?

I've seen metal pickup steam lately. I don't know if insurance agents are pushing it or what's happening, but I've noticed more people asking about and choosing metal roofing.

STAFFING CHALLENGES

How do you find people? Is it harder to find the right team?

We've always kept a good staff. The hard part is finding and keeping people who align with the company's ethics—we hire and fire by them. We might have a candidate who's great at what they do, has attention to detail, but if their ethics don't line up, we won't hire them.

Just yesterday, someone walked in saying, "I've researched your company, and I'm tired of driving trucks. I want to give selling roofs a shot." So we don't have as much trouble keeping the company staffed as we do maintaining the quality of staff.

A big issue is hiring from other companies that train people incorrectly or unethically. People come with bad habits, and while we hope to break them of those habits, it doesn't always work.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

Where do you get most of your new job inquiries?

A lot of mine specifically come from word of mouth. I've been doing this for a long time and have had many clients over the past decade. I've even worked for other roofing contractors on high-end projects they didn't know how to handle. I'm blessed to have a phone that rings.

Also, when I'm working in a specific area for 3-4 weeks, I'll canvas the neighborhood. It's easy to have conversations with surrounding neighbors, and most are having trouble getting insurance to cover their roof replacement. It's a natural segue, and since high-end residential homes tend to be clustered, I work with a few people in an area, then a few more, and it snowballs.

So, old-school door-knocking still works?

That's how I got my start in the industry! They gave me a ladder and said, "There was a hailstorm in this neighborhood. Go knock and set some inspections." I didn't know anything about roofing then, but the more I did it and got trained, the more natural it became. A lot of the important information I learned early in my career came from people with 20 years in the industry—coworkers, adjusters, and supply house staff. The more you ask, the more information you get.

PROFITABILITY FACTORS

What drives the profitability of your jobs?

With insurance claims, I make sure everything's priced correctly. In estimating software like Xactimate, there are multiple line items for metal roofing, and an uneducated adjuster might just put "metal." But when you're doing a double-lock standing seam, there's more labor involved, so generic metal pricing doesn't align with the actual profitability needed.

For example, with a low-pitch roof, having manufacturer specs that recommend double-lock seams and ice and water shield underneath is important. Having that knowledge upfront ensures the scope includes everything needed and it's paid for correctly.

The biggest factor in profitability is experience. On my first jobs, I made mistakes—didn't factor in enough dumpsters and got a $5,800 bill I hadn't accounted for, or underestimated job duration and equipment rental. A lot comes from learning from past experience, but also from planning the job from beginning to end: "When I start here and do this, what will I need?"

For instance, if there's stucco, to replace the through-wall flashing, we'll have to cut into it. If we're not compensated for stucco repairs, we can't do the project right—and if we can't do it right, I won't do it. Understanding how everything comes together and walking through the process from beginning to end helps with profitability.

TECHNOLOGY & FUTURE OUTLOOK

Any final thoughts about big changes or trends? Does AI affect your work?

AI doesn't really affect me directly, but I've found it to be a helpful tool. I won't use it for client interactions because personal connection sets me apart. But I recently used AI to write an inspection report, and it detailed everything in a way that impressed me. It took something that would normally take an hour and a half, and I did it in about three minutes.

Of course, I had to edit it and put my spin on it, but the more I interact with AI, the more I realize it's going to be a huge time-saver for certain tasks. There are parts AI will never take over—customer service isn't something you can farm out to AI. However, for somewhat mundane tasks like inspection reports or back-end work, AI can absolutely save a lot of time.