A PDF of the Annual Roofing Survey can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
Key findings of the roofing survey
- Respondents named metal (56%) and EPDM (50%) as the roofing systems they (or their firms) employed most in projects. However, the results show that they used a wide variety of roofing types, including built-up, shakes and shingles, modified bitumen, TPO, PVC, and tiles.
- Insulation choice was also spread among several product categories, with polyisocyanurate leading the way (62%) and EPS, XPS, and sprayed polyurethane foam also showing support.
- More than half of respondents (53%) said their roofing projects were essentially all low-slope jobs (2/12 rise or less), but nearly a third (31%) said steep-slope roofs (>2/12 rise) comprised all or almost all of their roofing-related projects.
- New construction and retrofits were fairly evenly split among respondents’ roofing-related projects over the last couple of years.
- Initial cost is not the most important factor in choosing a roofing system. That honor went to durability and reliability, at least from the experience of respondents and their perception of their clients’ priorities.
- In a related finding, it is not surprising that “leaks or failures” (42%) was the single biggest concern or worry expressed by respondents, along with such related factors as “quality/performance” (17%) and “incorrect installation” (11%). Again, cost was not the key concern, with only 13% of respondents checking it as their number one worry.
- In terms of “green” factors, energy efficiency (52%) is far and away the crucial component of a roofing system, followed distantly by life cycle cost (25%).
- Building information modeling is still largely in its infancy in respondents’ roofing-related projects, with less than one-third (32%) saying that they used BIM. However, the use of BIM is expected to grow to about 59% over the next two years or so.
- Only a small percentage of respondents (4%) said they (or their firms) have made extensive use of photovoltaics on roofs in the last two years, but three in 10 (30%) had used PVs in a few projects. The upside is that 57% plan to do so in the next 18-24 months.
- Similarly, the extensive use of green vegetative roofs is limited (2%), but 23% of respondents (or their firms) have tried them in at least a few projects in the last two years, and 38% said they intend to do so in the next 18-24 months.
Survey Methodology
The survey was emailed to a representative sample of BD+C’s subscriber list. No incentive was offered; 263 qualified returns were obtained. The majority of responses (52%) came from architects and designers, a group that represents half of BD+C’s subscriber base; however, respondents were spread across the professions and included nearly one-fifth (18%) from among owners and facilities directors. In terms of location, respondents’ roofing-related projects covered the entire U.S. (and a bit in Canada), although the Mid-Atlantic region may have been underrepresented (8%). A margin of error of 6-7% at the 95% confidence level can be applied in most cases.
Note: Some of the tables refer to “Top % rank,” the percentage of respondents who rated the factor as their single most important factor. “Weighted score” was calculated by tripling the number of respondents who rated the factor #1, doubling those who rated the factor #2 by 2, multiplying by one those who rated the factor #3 by 1, and dividing the sum by three to obtain the average.
Download a PDF of the Annual Roofing Survey below
Related Stories
| Mar 11, 2011
Holiday Inn reworked for Downtown Disney Resort
The Orlando, Fla., office of VOA Associates completed a comprehensive interior and exterior renovation of the 14-story Holiday Inn in the Downtown Disney Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The $25 million project involved rehabbing the hotel’s 332 guest rooms, atrium, swimming pool, restaurant, fitness center, and administrative spaces.
| Mar 11, 2011
Renovation energizes retirement community in Massachusetts
The 12-year-old Edgewood Retirement Community in Andover, Mass., underwent a major 40,000-sf expansion and renovation that added 60 patient care beds in the long-term care unit, a new 17,000-sf, 40-bed cognitive impairment unit, and an 80-seat informal dining bistro.
| Mar 11, 2011
Research facility added to Texas Medical Center
Situated on the Texas Medical Center’s North Campus in Houston, the new Methodist Hospital Research Institute is a 12-story, 440,000-sf facility dedicated to translational research. Designed by New York City-based Kohn Pedersen Fox, with healthcare, science, and technology firm WHR Architects, Houston, the building has open, flexible labs, offices, and amenities for use by 90 principal investigators and 800 post-doc trainees and staff.
| Mar 11, 2011
Blockbuster remodel transforms Omaha video store into a bank
A former Hollywood Video store in Omaha, Neb., was renovated and repurposed as the SAC Federal Credit Union, Ames Branch. Architects at Leo A Daly transformed the outdated 5,000-sf retail space into a modern facility by wrapping the exterior in poplar siding and adding a new glass storefront that floods the interior with natural light.
| Mar 11, 2011
Historic McKim Mead White facility restored at Columbia University
Faculty House, a 1923 McKim Mead White building on Columbia University’s East Campus, could no longer support the school’s needs, so the historic 38,000-sf building was transformed into a modern faculty dining room, graduate student meeting center, and event space for visiting lecturers, large banquets, and alumni organizations.
| Mar 11, 2011
Mixed-income retirement community in Maryland based on holistic care
The Green House Residences at Stadium Place in Waverly, Md., is a five-story, 40,600-sf, mixed-income retirement community based on a holistic continuum of care concept developed by Dr. Bill Thomas. Each of the four residential floors houses a self-contained home for 12 residents that includes 12 bedrooms/baths organized around a common living/social area called the “hearth,” which includes a kitchen, living room with fireplace, and dining area.
| Mar 11, 2011
Oregon childhood center designed at child-friendly scale
Design of the Early Childhood Center at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore., focused on a achieving a child-friendly scale and providing outdoor learning environments.
| Mar 11, 2011
Guests can check out hotel’s urban loft design, music selection
MODO, Advaya Hospitality’s affordable new lifestyle hotel brand, will have an urban Bauhaus loft design and target design-, music-, and tech-savvy guest who will have access to thousands of tracks in vinyl, CD, and MP3 formats through a partnership with Downtown Music. Guest can create their own playlists, and each guest room will feature iPod docks and large flat-screen TVs.
| Mar 11, 2011
Construction of helicopter hangars in South Carolina gets off the ground
Construction is under way on a $26 million aviation support facility for South Carolina National Guard helicopters. Hendrick Construction, the project’s Charlotte, N.C.-based GC, is building the 111,000-sf Donaldson Hangar facility on the 30-acre South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center, Greenville.
| Mar 11, 2011
Texas A&M mixed-use community will focus on green living
HOK, Realty Appreciation, and Texas A&M University are working on the Urban Living Laboratory, a 1.2-million-sf mixed-use project owned by the university. The five-phase, live-work-play project will include offices, retail, multifamily apartments, and two hotels.
