In the past, when you walked into their homes, prospects might have known what three-tab shingles were. You probably would have had to explain that architectural shingles are heavier, can take more heat, and look better. And then they'd want to know if there would be a Dumpster and whether or not the plants would get ruined.
Recently, Jeff Rainey noticed that the price of the 20-yard containers his company uses for construction debris had risen again, this time to about $425 per drop-off and pull.
Massachusetts roofer Jim Lydon once got a call from a client complaining that the roof Lydon had installed was "leaking like a sieve." When he arrived to inspect, Lydon found that the homeowner, hoping to save money on her fuel bill, had plugged up all the soffit vents.
Young remodelers are challenging conventions.
All across the country, roofing companies have seen materials prices go up, up, up. An April story in The Philadelphia Inquirer found that the wholesale price of nails in 50-pound quantities had jumped from $13.95 to $20.95 and that the 4x8 sheet of plywood that cost $8.32 in 2003 now cost $17.92.
