Synthetic Roof Underlayment: Faster, Safer and Durable PATH Case Study

Click here to visit the PATH website. The Builder: Jobe Leonard Hearthstone Homes Dandridge, Tenn. Jobe Leonard has been in the homebuilding industry since 1999 and a project manager with Hearthstone Homes since 2005. Founded in 1971, Hearthstone evolved from a restorer into a premier builder of timber frame and log homes. The company builds nearly 300 homes a year across the United States. Builder Type: Large custom builder The Technology: Two manufacturers, Elk Corp. and Grace, offer a Class A or B fire-rated synthetic underlayment. The Project: This four-bedroom, three-bath home in Arvada, Colo., is 4,951 square feet with five different levels of roofing. Why Hearthstone uses synthetic roof underlayment: "We were looking for a better, more weather-resistant alternative to asphalt felt. Synthetic underlayment offers all of that, plus a safer material for our workers. Besides improving the quality of the roof, synthetic roof underlayment also gave us a reliable six-month temporary roof to keep working, even during the winter." Hearthstone Homes recommended synthetic underlayment for this 4,591-square-foot house in Arvada, Colo., for better performance in snow and ice. Leonard's story "Synthetic roof underlayment is an upgrade we offer on all of our homes," says Jobe Leonard, a Hearthstone Homes project manager. "We came across the technology while doing reconstruction work in Panama City. Due to the hurricanes and high winds, we needed something that wasn't going to blow off, and we picked up some of Grace Construction's synthetic underlayment, called Tri-Flex, at Home Depot. We liked it so much that we used it on another roof ... and then another. Then we decided we needed to get in touch with the manufacturer and start offering it on all of our homes. "We offered our client the synthetic roof underlayment because of the snow and ice in northern Colorado. We knew the roof would require something better than 30-pound felt. In this case, the underlayment also gave the home more protection during the early phases of construction in April." A cost solution "The challenge when it comes to synthetic roof underlayment is cost," Leonard says. "This is how we've approached it. When we offer upgrades, we don't charge people a percentage. With the roofing material, it costs about $5 per 100 feet of 30-pound felt and $14.50 for 100 feet of the Tri-Flex. Based on the more common percentage system that other homebuilders use — set at 10 percent — customers pay a $0.50 markup on the felt and a $1.45 markup on the upgrade. That makes the upgrade that much more expensive, even though there are no other real additional costs. "We encourage our customers to use the best products possible by charging a flat rate based on the square footage. No matter what type of roof underlayment you use — felt or synthetic — we charge the same flat rate. We charge for just the cost of the product and not a higher markup on top of that. That way, we get to put better materials into our homes, and in turn end up with a higher quality finished result. The Hearthstone crew had few problems — and no injuries — installing the roof covering, even with five different levels of roof. "We began offering the underlayment in fall 2005, and of the roughly 300 homes we build each year, about 5 percent use it," Leonard says. "That's still not a lot, but we're hoping that as our project managers understand the benefits better, they will be able to help our customers understand them better, too."   1 | 2  NEXT