Building Better – Industry Innovation

If you’re the type of person who likes to improve yourself or your projects each time you do one, you’ll appreciate our approach.  Building Better explains how we do things — every project, like every class or seminar, is an opportunity to improve.  We ask ourselves, how could this have been done better?

Skepticism toward new product innovation

Decades of experience have shown us exciting innovations in materials and methods of installation.  Some have been good and we have been leaders in working with those materials and practices, and some have caused us to raise an eyebrow so we have adopted a “wait and see” approach.  This has proven to be helpful since some of those “brow-raising” products have just not performed and our skepticism, coupled with our understanding of the building sciences, has paid off.

Flat Roofing Products

If something is so fascinating that we cannot imagine any possibility of something going wrong, we are not frightened to take a chance. As an illustration, one of our customers had a back porch with a unique surface. In some places, it almost appeared like flawless black glass, while in others, it appeared rough, like roll roofing. Now, installing a membrane roof like an EPDM (black rubber) or TPO (white PVC-based) membrane would have been the industry standard. Another choice was a covering made of silicone that would make the entire surface appear smooth. The company representative we spoke with reassured us that the silicone, which we have successfully used on hundreds of other roofs, will perform brilliantly. We adhered to the manufacturer’s instructions, and it did look great—for an entire year and a half. Then, for some reason, the layers covering the shiny bits began to flake off. Simply put, we provided the customer with a free EPDM roof replacement.

New innovation technique for Intake Ventilation

Other times we have seen amazing results from unconventional products.  We were one of the first companies to start using smart vents like the Lomanco Deck Air System for hard-to-ventilate roofs.  Now there are many ways to install this product and many installation methods that can cause disastrous results, but with a combination of research and inspections, we’ve developed a system to not only establish opportunities for intake ventilation in these houses but also to avoid interior damage to walls and ceilings if best practices are not applied.

Energy Masters “Hands-On” Approach

Now it’s important to understand that best practices, even sometimes based on manufacturer recommendations, are not going to perform the same in all climates.  Something that may work wonderfully in Missouri or Illinois, could be a disaster here in Southeastern Wisconsin. Therefore, we’ve tested many products with all of our tests based on the needs of the areas we service.

5-Star Ratings don’t tell the Whole Story

Surprisingly, agencies that are often associated with product reviews aren’t always the most reliable as they miss key regional elements.  For instance, one of those agencies rated a gutter (leaf) protection system and gave the highest ratings to one of the least effective products for Wisconsin.

We hope that this has helped.  Whether you are in Wisconsin or elsewhere, choosing a contractor who shares these values will give you a sustainable project that will pay dividends in savings for decades to come.

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