There are two reasons for this industry being in trouble today:
- recession
- hail damage
Just a few years ago the country enter the worst economy since the Great Depression. Atlanta was lucky in that the initial months didn't seem to affect the economy here. As the housing market slowed and growth to the outer suburbs eased, roofing activity began to slow. This was especially true for residential roofing. People began to try to squeeze another few months, or few years out of their roofs. For roofers, the recession triggered trouble, but it didn't come as quickly for the roofing industry as it did for other construction and home service contractors.
For several years the recession was offset by an steep increase in hail damage to roofs throughout the metro area. This would eventually provide to have unintended consequences.
Impact of Hail Damage:
Just a few years ago the roofing industry was going great. At the time many roofers knew that business was synthetically high. This was because of increased amounts of hail activity throughout Atlanta and North Georgia. As a result of multiple years of increased activity many homeowners were able to get a new roof via filing claims with their homeowners insurance. This resulted in many roofs being prematurely replaced, which is significant since most roofs are designed to last for 20-30 years.
In years that followed have resulted in less roofs naturally needing to be replaced. Also, as a result of a surge in claims, homeowners insurance costs are going up among some providers.
During the years of hail damage, roofers were concerned with "storm chasers." These were less than reputable companies that would come into a neighborhood, solicit business from several of the neighbors, put up a new roof, and then leave for the next neighborhood. Some of these companies did good work and were helpful because of the increased need. Too often there were out of state companies that did low quality work, or worse, scammed homeowners out of money, including unnecessary deposits.
Caption: Roofers throughout Atlanta have seen better days. Many businesses are struggling to get through the recession.
