3 Ways Our Huntsville Team Prioritizes Service

For nearly 70 years, Maxwell Roofing has based our business on five core values: quality, teamwork, integrity, professionalism, and service. While many businesses create values only to set them aside to collect dust on the proverbial shelf, our team is constantly striving to find new ways to integrate them into our work every day.

3 Ways Our Huntsville Team Prioritizes Service in Every Project

For our team, service means facilitating relationships to understand client needs and provide an exceptional customer experience. We recently reached out to our Huntsville Service Account Manager, Brian Mecomber, to get his take on what it means for his team to prioritize service for our clients in Northern Alabama daily.

Here are a few specific ways Maxwell Roofing’s Huntsville team works to understand the needs of our clients and provide an exceptional experience through extraordinary service:

  • Rapid response time. Our team recognizes the importance of working quickly to install, repair, or conduct maintenance on all our roofing projects. We’re also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency repairs. In addition to providing priority service through our MAXCare program, our Huntsville team has developed a triage system that allows us to rush to the most serious repairs first.
  • Industry-leading professionalism. The Maxwell Roofing team has more experience and expertise than many others in the commercial roofing industry. Each of our trained roof technicians is a full-time employee, which is something that you don’t often find within the industry.
  • Proactive and open communication about issues and repairs. We don’t want any of our clients to be surprised or confused about any of the roofing issues or repairs that are being done. Our team provides detailed photo reports with our recommended solutions and quotes. We work to ensure you and your tenants know when an issue is fixed. We also work to proactively keep roof warranties intact and address any potential issues before a client’s warranty expires.

Having a local presence in Huntsville has given Maxwell Roofing the ability to build a proven track record of quality service. If you’re looking for a commercial roofing partner in the Northern Alabama area, we invite you to learn more about our services or read how we’ve partnered with businesses like yours.

Client Spotlight: JLL-Mars

Providing Trusted and Collaborative Solutions in Facility Management

The Client

JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) has been a trusted partner to corporations across the globe for more than 250 years. As a professional services firm, the company provides one-of-a-kind advice and solutions for organizations of all sizes. Among its many teams includes JLL-Mars, whose main responsibility is to be the complete service facility provider for Mars, Inc.’s Thompson’s Station, Tennessee, headquarters. JLL-Mars oversees the property’s upkeep from the building envelope to the roof, which can encompass everything from landscaping to janitorial needs. JLL-Mars is responsible for mitigating risk through business continuity. The JLL-Mars team has been serving the Thompson’s Station’s site for the past four years since the campus was built and opened. The JLL-Mars team is comprised of five individuals, led by Facilities Manager, Terry LeTourneau, who makes sure daily operations of the site are ongoing, in compliance, and to the highest quality standards of operation.

“JLL values innovation, so the relationship with Mars, Inc. has been a perfect match,” says LeTourneau. The two companies’ mutuality trickles right down to their contractors and permeates everything they do. “Employees at Mars, Inc. live by the company’s Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency, and Freedom—and our JLL team is united and guided by these principles which inspire us to do our best,” adds LeTourneau.

The Opportunity

JLL-Mars first discovered Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. as LeTourneau encountered them through a separate JLL account in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. As Maxwell Roofing was the preferred service provider for this JLL property, LeTourneau had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the steady maintenance and quality service of the Maxwell team. LeTourneau contacted Maxwell Roofing, who came on-site to meet with JLL-Mars and evaluate the facility’s needs. “It seems like just yesterday that we sat down with the Maxwell team and discussed our facility needs and the scope of the work. Three years later, Maxwell Roofing still provides us with repair and maintenance, roof audits, roof inspections, and more,” says LeTourneau, who gives high praise for the ways in which the Maxwell team sets a high bar in service standards.

“Maxwell Roofing’s response time is always impressive. Even when it’s raining, we can always count on them to be here, and especially if there’s ever a business impact emergency,” affirms LeTourneau. JLL-Mars also appreciates the Maxwell team’s attentiveness, copious notes, Google images, building labels, and more. LeTourneau explains, “There’s never been a time when Maxwell Roofing has not been on site within 24 hours. They always make us feel like we’re the most important customer, which gives us a peace of mind when potential roofing issues might occur.”

The Solution

As for what makes the relationship with Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. so good, LeTourneau says, “The first time we met with the Maxwell team, we wanted our relationship to be more than contractually-based. We wanted a vested relationship. That spoke volumes to them. More than just attending to repairs, they also let us know when something else needs replacing or if there are possible warranty issues on the horizon.” JLL-Mars also values that they can always depend on seeing the same Maxwell Roofing service technician who knows their facility inside-out.

When asked how Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. improves the JLL-Mars facilities, LeTourneu explained, “We had a four-year leak in our dry goods warehouse. When the Maxwell team first arrived, they were shocked to see the number of patches (maybe 35). At the time, the account manager gave us a quote to replace unit to unit, and within two days, they had it completely taken care of, and it hasn’t leaked since.” For other businesses in the market for commercial roofing and repair services, JLL-Mars encourages getting to know Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc. LeTourneau affirms, “You should always choose peace of mind over price. We won’t haggle over peace of mind. Companies have the choice of taking the easy way out versus partnering with a long-term, responsive, accessible, and attentive vendor. Choose the latter. Choose Maxwell Roofing.”

How to Know When It’s Time for a Roof Replacement

It’s a surprise no one likes. It’s more than added stress, noise, and disruption. It’s a five- (or six) figure check for a new roof. Like taxes, roof replacements can’t be avoided. No matter how good you treat your roof, you’ll have to replace it eventually. However, it’s possible to plan for a roof replacement instead of being surprised by it.

A Roof’s Lifecycle

A roof falls into four categories during its lifecycle.

  1. 0-3 years: Honeymoon Phase
  2. 3-5 Years: Preventative Maintenance Phase
  3. 5-15 Years: Ongoing Maintenance Phase
  4. 15-20 Years: Re-Roofing Watch

But, don’t be fooled by those categories. Not all roofs make it to 15 years old. Some fall victim to severe weather, others to faulty installation, and many to poor maintenance practices.

Smart Roof Maintenance

All roofs must be replaced eventually, but there are some easy things you can do to make your roof last longer and save money in the process.

1. Perform Roof Inspections Regularly. Regular roof inspections will help you identify potential problems before they turn into actual problems. We recommend hiring a professional to perform these inspections. Unless you have roofing knowledge or experience, you might not know what you’re looking for. If you miss a small issue, it could turn into a big issue down the road. If you decide to perform a roof inspection yourself, take pictures and notes. You want to have a record of your roof’s condition, so if any major problems arise, you’ll be able to provide your roofer with background information.

2. Put Maintenance at the Forefront. A new roof may need preventative maintenance as early as three years after being installed. Be willing to pay a small price for preventative maintenance to avoid paying a big price for repairs.

3. Fix Problem, Not just Symptoms. Imagine your ceiling has started leaking. The leak is the problem, right? Fix it, and the problem is solved. Not exactly. By this point, the problem could be that the insulation is so saturated with water it can’t absorb anymore—along with the fact there is a hole in the roof. In this case, the leak is the symptom, and there are two problems. The first is the hole causing the leak, and the second is the saturated insulation. When repairing issues, fix the whole problem, not just the symptom. It might be more costly at the time, but it will help extend the life of your roofing system and save money in the long run.

4. Budget for Repairs. Budget about $750 for a simple repair. You can estimate the number of repairs on the amount of foot traffic expected on the roof, as well as the number of repairs needed in previous years.

When to Call a Professional

Sometimes, your roof needs special attention. You should call a roofer if you notice:

  • Cracks, blisters, tears, or other blemishes on the roof’s membrane
  • Failing flashing
  • Soft insulation
  • Water stains on inside walls
  • Leaks

An experienced commercial roofer will be able to identify the severity of these issues and recommend a course-of-action to fix them. An experienced roofer can also estimate how much life your roof has left within these ranges:

  • 1-3 years
  • 3-5 years
  • 5 years or more

So, if your roof has an estimated three years left, you can start budgeting for a roof replacement and eliminate the surprise that too often comes with roof replacements.

When Should You Replace Your Roof?

Only a professional can accurately tell you when your roof should be replaced. However, the four major factors that contribute to the necessity of a roof replacement are:

  1. Roof age (How old is the roof?)
  2. Roof usage (Does it experience a lot of foot traffic?)
  3. Maintenance history (Have you performed maintenance throughout the roof’s lifecycle?)
  4. Roof damage (Has the roof experienced major damage from weather or people?)

Not sure how long your roof has left? Just click here to contact us and learn how we can help!

4 Benefits of In-House Roofing Fabrication

Commercial roofing projects are complex, with multiple points where things can go wrong. Pain-free projects happen by minimizing the amount of potential complications and completing the project as cost-effectively as possible.

There are many ways commercial roofing companies work to achieve this—whether it’s how fast they complete the project, how cost-effective they can do it, or how easy they are to work with. While we believe all those things are important, at Maxwell Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc., there’s one thing we do a little differently. But, before we get to that, there’s something you should know about all commercial roofs: They contain sheet metal.

It’s a structurally sound (and cost-effective) material used for gutters, drain boxes, cornices, trim, and even secondary components like wall panels. Basically, any commercial roofing project is going to use sheet metal. Here’s why that’s important:

Maxwell Roofing can fabricate our own sheet metal, and there are a few benefits to this:

1. Lower likelihood of complication or failure in the project. By eliminating contractors, middlemen, and vendors, commercial roofing companies who fabricate their own sheet metal can decrease potential points of complication, miscommunication, or mistakes in a project. In short, in-house fabrication keeps things simple. Direct from the roofing company to your roof, with no riff-raff in-between.

2. Projects move more quickly. Outsourcing sheet metal fabrication adds time to the project’s schedule. This often puts the project at the mercy of a third-party’s schedule instead of your specific needs. Companies who provide in-house roofing fabrication can complete projects more efficiently and work with you on an individualized basis to maintain appropriate timeline considerations. In-house roofing fabrication gives both the roofing company and the client more control over the project’s timeline.

3. More efficient customization. In-house fabrication allows you to work directly with the roofing company to customize your roofing design. By working directly with the fabricating/roofing company, you simplify the communication process and maintain the ability to more efficiently communicate your needs for the project.

4. Projects fit on a smaller budget. Companies who perform in-house roofing fabrication don’t have to pay third-parties for the roofing fabrication process. By completing the fabrication in-house, they can cut out the costs associated with outsourcing such a large part of a roofing project.

Commercial roofing projects can be complex, time-consuming, and, in general, not always inexpensive. Working with a company that offers in-house roofing fabrication lets you simplify your roofing project, reduce potential complications, and receive great service at a cost-effective price.

Interested in working with a company that has its own in-house fabrication department? Just click here to contact us and learn how we can help.