Building Business With HOA Projects
Low Maintenance Composite Roofing Creates Versatility in the West
by Marcus Dodson, Publisher
From amenities to location to security, there are a variety of reasons people decide to purchase their residence in an association-controlled community. One of the chief explanations is reduction of maintenance hassles, which is driving many condo and homeowner associations to select and invest in composite shake and slate roofing products.
According to the Foundation for Community Association Research, as of 2024 more than 77 million Americans resided in homeowner associations, condo communities, cooperatives, and other planned communities. All of these locations, more than 369,000 nationally, share a few essential goals: preserving the nature and character of the community, providing services and amenities to residents, protecting property values, and meeting the established expectations of owners.
“When it comes to making replacement roof decisions, property managers and homeowner associations evaluate the total cost of ownership for a project,” said Mike Vaughn, Western Regional Sales Manager for DaVinci® Roofscapes. “They’re determining which products have the greatest return on investment from the standpoint of durability, longevity, low-maintenance costs, and aesthetics. This type of analysis plays favorably for composite roofing products that resist impact, fire, severe weather, insects, splintering, cracking, mold, and algae.”
The West Coast: Where HOAs Rule
Western roofers can’t afford to ignore HOAs, their boards, or restrictions. Colorado and Nevada are two of the highest states in the country with HOA residents, with more than 40% of homeowners belonging to an HOA. In California, Washington, and Arizona, those numbers are still incredibly high at more than 30% of homeowners.
Roofers who understand and sell the advantages of composite slate and shake are those who walk away with contracts. This happened for condo owners at Horizon Pass Lodge in Bachelor Gulch, Colorado. That’s where owners decided to replace real cedar shakes on their 30 units with fire-resistant synthetic shake.
While the shakes were still in fair condition, they were a fire liability. Plus, gaining insurance on the massive real wood shake roof was becoming a problem. Owners approached Jamie Pappas, President of Borne Consulting. They asked Pappas to review alternative roofing options and obtain competitive bids for the project.
“Based on my experiences with reroofing projects throughout Colorado, the DaVinci Roofscapes product has held up as one of the best options,” said Pappas. “I’ve seen other composite roofing products fail. However, DaVinci’s multi-width product is really good. We’ve worked on numerous projects over the years for resort communities on the western slope of Colorado. Our team believes the DaVinci Multi-Width Shake product holds up the best in this snow country environment.”
Made of virgin resins, UV/thermal stabilizers, and a highly-specialized fire retardant, all DaVinci products require little to no maintenance. An added bonus of resistance to freeze-thaw cycling conditions add to the longevity of the durable composite tiles. The Borne Consulting team selected Arapahoe Roofing and Sheet Metal Inc. for the Horizon Pass Lodge project. The Louisville, Colorado, based roofing company has a long history of successful DaVinci project installations, including the Highlands Slopeside condo community, Denver West office park, and Elk Track town homes.
Helping HOAs Gain Insurance Coverage
Adco South Roofing and Waterproofing in Orange, California, won a 90-unit oceanfront HOA reroofing project by offering DaVinci products as a multi-level solution to a heavy, sagging roof.
“We discovered that DaVinci Single-Width Slate tiles have a Class A fire rating, which is critical for our geographic area and to secure insurance coverage for our HOA,” said Dennis Torres, HOA Board President at the time, and a resident of Zuma Bay Villas in Malibu, California. “In addition, it’s lightweight, yet durable. I could tell we’d never have the weight problem on our roofs again with this product. That’s also important because of the earthquakes we experience here in Malibu. Every time the earth shakes, the previous weighty tiles were shifting and cracking.”
According to Brian Ricci with Adco South, “Our company does 90 percent of our business on HOA roofing projects. Most HOAs we reroof are about this size or bigger and they all generally want to go back to the same heavy tiles they already have. That’s a shame because the lightweight nature and durability of the DaVinci products make them an extraordinary option, just as Zuma Bay Villas has discovered.”
Coastal Challenges
On the Pacific Coast, it’s not just earthquakes and wildfires that residents of Mai-Kai condos in Newport Beach, California, had to worry about. Their challenge a few years back was that the real wood shake singles on their roofs were deteriorating due to salt air and sea spray exposure.
“We needed a durable material that could stand up to our oceanfront location, plus be walked on by various trades people who would need access to the roof in the future,” said John Adler, a member of the Mai-Kai condo Board of Directors. “The strength of the composite roofing product from DaVinci really impressed us and helped influence our decision.”
Roofs on the 34 units gained an enhanced appearance, lower maintenance, and easier access for tradesmen servicing chimneys, satellite dishes, gutters, and HVAC units. With composite roofing, there’s no concern with potential wear and tear on the tiles by vendors.
Composite Roofs Equals Peace of Mind
In western states, where secondary HOA homes are oftentimes ski or seaside location properties, specification of composite roofing products is on the rise. At Sunrise Ridge Condos in Big Sky, Montana, there are 14 duplexes, ten triplexes, and a clubhouse. After deteriorating real cedar failed on the 58 homes, a decision was made to invest in composite shake roofing.
“Our community wanted a roofing product with a long life and warranty, positive environmental aspects, and fire-resistancy,” said Charles Dubroff, the association’s Lead Board of Directors member on the reroofing project. “We live in an area with extreme climate conditions. That’s tough on roofs. We worked with Roof Top Solutions out of Rigby, Idaho, to locate and test out DaVinci Multi-Width Shake tiles in our community. We liked that they’re both Class A fire and Class 4 impact rated.”
“There was a trial with the products on a couple of buildings and the composite roofing held up well to environmental conditions. After that we pushed forward to have them installed on all the condos and the clubhouse.”
Due to the weather extremes experienced in Montana, the Sunrise Ridge Condo community took extra precautions during the roof installation. They had the team at Roof Top Solutions install snow breaks, snow guards, a state-of-the-art snow melt system, snow clips, and bridges on their units. “When our residents are here they don’t want to think about the snow on their roofs, just on the mountains,” said Dubroff.
Being a part of an HOA is supposed to bring peace of mind to homeowners, not additional stress. That’s why it is important that HOAs reduce maintenance hassles and choose the best products for their roofs from the get go, no matter where they are located in the West.
