Interview with John Senac, Name That Shingle Founder, on Roofing Mistakes That Can Cost You Thousands

Roofing Sales in a Changing Market

What has changed about selling roofs?

You used to be able to build a storm restoration pitch around an opportunity: a homeowner might have an insurance claim, and the cost to them might be low. That approach is losing ground. Claims are handled differently, deductibles can be higher, and you cannot assume the opportunity itself will make the sale.

You need a sales process. That means qualifying leads, understanding what a homeowner wants, explaining what they need, and developing actual selling skills. I started out talking about the chance to file a claim, too. It took time to recognize that I was not always learning enough about the person I was trying to help.

Have homeowners changed as well?

Absolutely. You have a phone in your hand, information is easy to find, and communication moves fast. People who once relied heavily on a phone book, an advertisement, or a referral can now search for answers immediately. A short piece of content may have only a few seconds to earn their attention.

That does not make the technical side of roofing less important. It means you have to communicate it clearly and quickly enough for someone to care.

How can a roofing company make technical work interesting to customers?

From a homeowner’s perspective, roofing can be boring. Most people are not walking around admiring the details of their roof. I happen to love codes, installation instructions, and specifications, but you cannot expect every customer to share that enthusiasm.

You can still build strong systems for sales and production, then turn what you know into useful, approachable content. Explain a common problem. Answer a question someone is already asking. Make the subject understandable without stripping out the truth. That is an opportunity to build brand awareness and trust before someone needs a roof.

Is that how Name That Shingle grew?

It started with a simple pattern: people in roofing groups kept asking someone to identify a shingle. We created a Facebook group dedicated to those questions, and it grew into a community of more than 40,000 members. The group expanded beyond shingles to include roofing, siding, and more.

At first, I wrote the reports myself out of my garage while people shipped in samples. We eventually opened an office and built a business that now processes more than 20,000 samples a year, including materials such as tile and siding. You can find the business at Name That Shingle.

The lesson for your roofing company is not that you need to start a material identification group. It is that you can earn trust by answering questions and sharing what you know. Then your work has to live up to that trust. For us, the reports have to reflect the same commitment to accuracy that brought people to the group in the first place.

Codes, Instructions, and the Details That Prevent Expensive Mistakes

What is one roofing code issue contractors often argue about?

Material reuse is a good example. The residential code discussion identifies conditions under which certain roof coverings, including slate and clay or cement tile, may be reused. It also addresses components such as flashing and vents, and it raises questions about aggregate-surfaced materials. People can spend a lot of time debating where asphalt shingles fit in that last category.

My advice is to read the entire applicable provision, not just the phrase that supports your argument. Pay attention to which materials it identifies and the conditions attached to each one. Then check the code adopted where you work. If an interpretation is still unclear, a code commentary can help explain the intent behind the language. Sometimes that explanation will challenge the roofer’s preferred reading, too. That is better than building a job around a guess.

Which manufacturer instructions deserve more attention?

Underlayment instructions are a big one. Crews can miss requirements for overlaps and placement because they know the shingles will cover the underlayment soon. But a covered mistake can still become a leak.

I dealt with a roof where the underlayment overlap was short and a decking clip had been bent. After about a year under the shingles, that clip worked its way through. Water found the vulnerable overlap and entered the house. We had to remove nearly a square of roofing to find the source.

It was not a mysterious product defect. It was an installation detail. If the underlayment had been installed correctly, water would have been better directed down the roof. You do not want to discover the importance of an overlap by paying to track down a leak later.

What should you know about the decking before installation day?

Know what you are going to uncover. If you have suitable attic access, take a look at the underside of the deck. When appropriate after the job is signed, a small exploratory opening can also help you assess what is there.

You may find a deck that appears sound and meets the relevant requirements. You may find a few areas you cannot verify yet. Or you may find a problem that needs to be discussed before the crew arrives. Any of those conversations is better than surprising a homeowner with a major decking issue during tear-off.

That surprise can damage trust, complicate the sale, and turn construction day into a bad experience. A few minutes of investigation and an honest explanation of what you know, and what remains uncertain, go a long way.

Ventilation and Insulation Need a Plan

Why is an automatic upgrade to ridge vent a problem?

Because ridge vent is not automatically an upgrade. Sometimes a roofer removes existing box vents or turbines and installs ridge vent because it is part of their standard roof package. But you need to assess the attic and calculate the ventilation before deciding whether that change helps.

Think about a steep hip roof with only a short stretch of ridge at the top. There may not be enough space for adequate ridge exhaust. A more complicated roof can fool you in a different way: it may have several lower ridges that appear to provide plenty of vent length, but a lower ridge vent can act as an intake for an exhaust vent higher up. Air does not necessarily move the way you intended.

You also have to know whether the attic sections are connected or separated. Do not assume the roof shape alone tells you how air can move through the space. If your proposal says everything will be installed to code, ventilation should be part of the conversation, not an afterthought.

What concerns you about spray foam on the underside of roof decking?

Spray foam is not a shortcut you should choose without understanding the entire attic assembly. You need to account for how that space is designed to function, including moisture, insulation, and air movement. I have seen poorly thought-out installations associated with warped or buckled decking, moisture problems, and damaged shingles.

That does not mean spray foam can never be done well. I saw a properly planned installation in a house with a roughly 20-year-old roof that was in excellent condition despite hail damage. The homeowner had learned from an earlier house and made sure the system was designed correctly when this one was built.

The point is to make an informed decision about the whole roof and attic system, rather than assuming a layer of foam alone will improve it.

Has the purpose of underlayment changed?

Underlayment has long been part of the roof assembly, but the materials and installation requirements have evolved. Modern synthetic products have specific overlap requirements and play an important role in managing water that gets beneath the roof covering. That is another reason the small installation details matter.

There is also a historical explanation you may hear: that underlayment helped keep sap from wood decking from affecting shingles. It is an interesting theory, but I would not rely on it as your explanation of what today’s underlayment needs to do. Read the current product instructions and build the roof in front of you.

Think Beyond the Next Roof

What can a century-old slate roof teach you?

I have seen a slate roof that was more than 100 years old. Natural stone can be remarkably durable when the roof is cared for and people avoid damaging it by walking on it unnecessarily.

Slate can have a high upfront price, but you should consider cost over the life of the roof, not just the installation price. A roof that serves a building through multiple owners without being replaced every couple of decades gives you a different way to think about value.

If you were starting a roofing company, what would you understand first?

You are entering a project-based business. You need projects to generate cash flow, especially at the beginning. But if every relationship ends when a roof is finished, you will always be looking for the next project from scratch.

Build a way to stay useful to customers through service, maintenance, and annual inspections. Over time, those relationships give you a base of people who already know your work. If a major storm comes through and you have hundreds of established service or inspection customers, you are in a very different position from a company introducing itself for the first time.

Those relationships matter if you ever consider selling the business, too. A company with completed projects and an ongoing customer base has a different story to tell than one that can point only to last year’s jobs.

How do you keep those relationships from slipping through the cracks?

Use a tracking system you will actually maintain. A spreadsheet can work, and many customer relationship management systems can set reminders. What matters is recording the customer, the commitment you made, and when you need to follow up.

For annual inspections, I would group the work into a defined window, such as January through March, rather than scheduling each visit exactly one year after its original project date. That gives your team a focused period to complete the inspections instead of scattering them across the calendar.

You can decide how to structure or charge for a service program. Start by treating the relationship as something worth planning for. Get into the long-term game on the same day you start pursuing the short-term projects.