The BE Blog | Building Enclosure

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In the world of solar roofing, the solar panels commonly output direct current (DC), which is commonly channeled to an inverter, which converts it to alternating current (AC). One company looking to eliminate wiring to a large central inverter is Akeena Solar (www.akeena.com), headquartered in Los Gatos, Calif.

The concept is fascinating: You just send in the address of a residential or commercial building, and you receive a detailed report with an aerial photo and line drawings of the roof with length, pitch and area noted for easy and accurate estimates and professional presentations.

I’m amazed at how fast the decline of the U.S. economy has impacted our lifestyles. We are buying far fewer goods and services that we now consider luxuries, and we are slowing the pace of our lives in the process.

OK, times are rough and tough. We're all feeling it. But, I truly believe that at least part of it is a function of the weather. I'm excited for the spring thaw.

If you’ve been by the EternaBond booth at a trade show, perhaps Chris Margarites has flagged you down and given you this demonstration: He uses his EternaBond roofing tape to join a piece of metal to a piece of EPDM to a piece of PVC to a piece of just about anything and dares attendees to pull them apart.

If there is any advantage to the current economic recession it is that it gives us the time and opportunity to reinvest in ourselves. In today’s fast-paced business cycle, we often lack the sufficient time for training in new materials and methods. Now is the perfect time to devote to continuing education.

As part of our State of the Industry survey, we asked an open-ended question of our contractor participants: “What advice would you give a roofing contractor in order to ensure they have a profitable and successful future in the industry?”

I had heard that Las Vegas construction was in huge trouble. According to the reports, the financial meltdown had broken the city’s back. The cranes were idle, the jackhammers silent and the workers sent packing. Put a fork in all those huge building projects--they're dead.

As part of our State of the Industry Survey, we asked roofing contractors about sales volumes across product categories.

The biggest roofing show of the year - the International Roofing Expo - got off to an auspicious start Tuesday when the scheduled keynote speaker, NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton, was given doctor’s orders not to travel because of a bad back.