Many building codes now mandate intake and exhaust ventilation for attics. It’s easy to see why. A properly ventilated attic can save energy, eliminate excess moisture, prevent mold, and prevent ice damming in winter. And, by minimizing heat buildup in the attic, proper ventilation can even prolong the life of the roof system.

Frank Farmer, president of American Metal Roofs, detailed his process for obtaining leads and converting them into sales in his METALCON presentation, “Building a Profitable Metal Roof Company While Others Struggle.”

Chuck Howard, P.E., president of Metal Roof Consultants, was in the metal roof contracting business for almost 30 years, and he now serves as a consultant to contractors, architects, engineers, and building owners. He gave a presentation about metal retrofit roofing at METALCON titled “Do it Right the First Time.”

“When it comes to metal roofs, details are where your money is made or lost,” said Vaughn Bacon, manager of Technical Services for MBCI NCI Building Systems, during his METALCON seminar titled “Metal Roofing: The Devil Is in the Details.”

I was on hand for METALCON 2008, which was held Oct. 1-3 at the Baltimore Convention Center, and on the first day of the show the latest products and services in the metal building industry took a back seat to stirring presentation.

In May and June of this year Roofing Contractor conducted a survey of contractor subscribers on the metal roofing market, and we published the results in the September issue of the magazine.

In the last decade, conventional wisdom held that metal roofing has been a relatively small but fast-growing segment of the market. This year, in the midst of a slumping economy, how has the metal market fared?

Today’s topic comes courtesy of Brett Hall of Joe Hall Roofing Co., Arlington, Texas, who alerted us to a potentially life-threatening problem that’s gotten some notoriety on the Dallas/Fort Worth evening news.

Service and maintenance problems might differ based on what part of the country you’re in, but when you encounter companies that have a great reputation for service, you see a lot of similarities.

In the late 1970s, John Burt, a pool installer and the owner of Tri-City Vinyl, used a piece of thermoplastic material to patch a hole in the roof of his building, and the idea for his company was conceived. John Burt passed away in 2003, but his vision and philosophy continue to guide and inspire the employees at the company he founded 30 years ago - Duro-Last Roofing, Inc., headquartered in Saginaw, Mich.