Roofer Madness

Presented by CEI Group

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#NATIONALROOFINGWEEK: What is National Roofing Week?

To raise awareness of the significance of roofs to every home and business, stress the value of professional roofing contractors, and promote the good deeds of the industry, CEI Michigan, LLC will recognize National Roofing Week taking place June 3-9.

Organized by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), National Roofing Week is a reminder that the roof is one of the most important components of every structure. It is the first line of defense against natural elements, such as rain, snow or wind, yet it is often taken for granted until it falls into disrepair.

National Roofing Week enables roofing professionals to engage in their communities and inform the public about the essential role roofs and professional roofing contractors play in every community, as well as the importance about making informed decisions about maintaining or replacing any roof system.

NRCA has planned a social media campaign for all of its members to be involved in. CEI will be participating in the weeks worth of posts to help engage its customers. This week will involve a series of blog post that will give details into how CEI keeps a quality reputation in the commercial roofing industry. It will also give the company a chance to reach out and help the community through charity acts, recognize their staff, provide important information to their customers about roof maintenance and most importantly have some fun taking pictures of the celebration.

To see all the action follow CEI on Facebook, Twitter or Blog

Additional information about National Roofing Week can be found at www.nrca.net/National-Roofing-Week.

Meet Our Founders

CEI Group has earned a reputation as one of the country’s most progressive roofing firms. They pioneered single ply roofs in the late 70’s and 80’s, were one of the first roofing companies to maintain their own sheet metal shop, lead the way in green roofing projects and now is developing a new composite panel shop. CEI was founded in the year of 1969 by brothers, George and John Cook. Together they built up a successful commercial roofing company that can install almost every type of roof and specializes in complex projects. Here is more about our founders-

George J. Cook

Founder and Senior Manager

Since George founded CEI in 1969 he has been a recognized leader in the roofing industry. In the years since he started CEI, he has been involved in all aspects of the business and driven the growth of the company.  In 2010 he gave up the title of President to his son Eric, but as Founder he is still involved in the day to day operations of the business.  George continues to use his vast roofing experience to manage some of CEI’s most complex projects and after the retirement of his brother John in 2014, also focuses on CEI’s international business.  George graduated in 1965 from Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan with a Bachelors degree in sales and marketing.

John C. Cook

Retired Founder

After leaving the U.S. Army in 1973 John joined George at CEI and was involved in all aspects of the development, growth, and management of the company. He was a recognized leader in the roofing industry during his 41 years with CEI.  John’s most recent focus prior to his retirement in September 2014 was advising on the management and operations of the CEI office in Orlando, FL and CEI’s international work. John graduated from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI in 1968, with a Bachelors Degree in economics and business administration and as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army.

Regretfully, John passed away April 24th of 2017 after a long 14 year battle with prostate cancer.

2018 Michigan Historical Preservation Award

A CEI sheet metal project was honored with the 2018 Michigan Historical Preservation Award. CEI along with the rest of the teams on the restoration project were all presented with the award at the end of March. The specific award given to the project was the Preservation Gem Award.  This award is given to completed projects within the last three years that focused on restoring one element of a building. This meaning the entire building is not being restored at the same time. CEI was a project participant on the restoration of the copper lanterns at University of Michigan’s West Hall. CEI worked hard to recreate the Lanterns at their in-house sheet metal shop and then installed them on-site.

MHPN featured the honorees on their facebook page last week.

They wrote,

“Today’s featured award is the West Hall Lantern Restoration, winner of a 2018 Preservation Gem Award. The lanterns marking the Denison Archway on the Albert Kahn-designed West Hall are one of the most prominent landmarks on the University of Michigan campus, ushering students onto the historic Diag since 1904. The copper-clad lanterns had suffered from weathering over the years, making restoration a priority for the University. The original copper cladding was carefully removed, restored, and re-installed over reconstructed and structurally strengthened framing, ensuring the longevity of these iconic lanterns. The restoration of the West Hall Lanterns is a fitting example of a building owner making the investment in a building to preserve its aesthetic and historic character for future generations.

Project team:

Owner: University of Michigan
Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc.
General Contractor: Krull Construction
Sheet Metal Fabricator and Installer: CEI Group Michigan”

CEI Helps With Remembering Mr.Van!

In February, CEI was called on to the roof of the Art Van Headquarters in Warren, MI. They were asked to do something out of the normal scope of work. CEI service crews took to the roof to help hang a poster in remembrance of Art Van Elslander.

Art Van Elslander was a Detroit icon and the founder of Art Van Furniture. Mr. Van worked his way up from humble beginning to owning one of the nations largest furniture companies. He donated a good portion of his fortune to the city of Detroit. He helped keep alive the Thanksgiving parade and well as feeding the hungry and healing the sick.

Art Van Elslander had a big heart for Detroit and will be missed greatly. CEI was honored to be apart of remembering him with helping hang the banner.

Article on Mr. Van 

Leaks Playing Tricks?

Here at CEI we have years of service and have fixed hundreds (if not, thousands) of leaks all year round. We understand that when customers see water starting to drip from there ceilings they always assume it is the roof.

Well, we are here to tell you that it is not ALWAYS the roof!

Many times it is the roof, there are punctures or ware in the roof and the leak is the result. Yet, sometimes (and more commonly than you think) leaks from above your head might have nothing to do with your roof.

Other factors that could contribute to a leak could be

– Plumbing

– Duct Work

– HVAC

and these are only a few.

Regardless, of where the leak is coming from it is always important to get it checked out by a professional. Roofers will be able to identify if the roof is the source of the problem and point you in the right direction if it is not. Scheduling regular maintenance for your roof with prevent leaks in the future. CEI recommends getting your roof inspected every 6 months (Spring and Fall). This can help lengthen the life of your roof and prevent expensive damage.

Tax Cuts on Re-Roofing Projects!

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act approved by Congress in December 2017 expands the definition of qualified real property eligible for full expensing under Section 179 of the tax code to include improvements to nonresidential roofs. Following is more information about Section 179 and the provision to add nonresidential roofs as qualifying property as of Jan. 1, 2018. This information will help you determine if your company is eligible for this preferential tax treatment of improvements to your nonresidential roof.
Section 179
Section 179 allows taxpayers to immediately expense the cost of qualifying property rather than recovering such costs over multiple years through depreciation. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act significantly expands the expensing limits under Section 179, with the maximum amount a business may expense now set at $1 million and the phase-out threshold increasing to $2.5 million. These new limits are effective for qualifying property placed in service in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017, and the amounts will be indexed for inflation starting in 2019.
Addition of Roofs as Qualifying Property
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expands the definition of qualified real property eligible for Section 179. As of Jan. 1, 2018, qualifying a property for Section 179 includes “improvements to nonresidential real property placed in service after the date such property was first placed in service: roofs; heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning property; fire protection and alarm systems; and security systems.”
Given these changes to Section 179 by the new tax law, qualifying taxpayers may now elect to fully expense the cost of any improvements to nonresidential roofs beginning in 2018 and in future years. Essentially, any improvements to nonresidential roofs, including full reroofs of existing buildings, may now be expensed in the year of purchase by any taxpayer eligible to deduct expenses under Section 179.
Please contact us (or contact your tax professional) if you have questions regarding how your company can take advantage of this more favorable tax treatment for improvements to nonresidential roofs in 2018.

Project Spotlight: Saline Recreation Center

CEI completed a re-roof and wall panel project this past year at Saline Recreation Center. The project consisted of a flat roof job with EPDM and metal wall panels. The wall panels are definitely the highlight of the job as the cover about half of the building. The panels were made of a blue insulated metal and were crafted in-house at CEI’s sheet metal shop.

The Saline Rec Center is a host to amazing facilities for the people in the area. CEI was happy to provide a quality roof and wall panels to help keep the facility up to standard.

The Insight: Safety Segment

In the last couple weeks, CEI had their monthly safety meeting. Safety concerns for roofing can come both on and off the roof.  With 12 service trucks on the road, it is always important that we stress safety when driving.
The crew members reviewed some of the basics in safe driving techniques, being in control of the vehicle, being aware of the drivers around you, distracted driving and being courteous on the road. That way they are prepared for anything on the road.
Having our crews be safe drivers protects…
·        Our crews and workers
·        Company vehicles or materials
·        Most importantly, other people on the road.
As we prepare for the busy roofing season, we understand the importance of safety throughout the entire work day and pride ourselves on limiting job site accidents. In 2018 we are striving to achieve even higher safety standards.

The Insight: New Website?

Everyone knows the importance of having a website for any business. Big or small, business around the world have turned to the internet to promote themselves to a larger audience than ever before. To some, it almost seems that if you do not have a website your business does not exist. The technology world is moving and it is moving fast. Having no website means missing opportunities to reach a whole different customer base. Yet, there is another unspoken rule of businesses on the web; It involves the quality of your website.

According to an online Forbes article,

“This said, if you have a bad website it is better to have no website. While no website equals missed opportunities, a bad website can actually be worse since it literally makes your business look bad.”

Over the years, the world wide web has advanced and sometimes faster than businesses that are not technology centered can keep up. It is a whole full-time job just to keep up with internet marketing.

Trying to keep up with the ever-changing web, CEI is launching a new website design! The complete redesign and update will allow for all current and new CEI customers to be able to navigate and see our work or services with ease. CEI would love for you to check out this brand new addition to there online marketing re-vamp at

ceigroupllc.com

As well as, follow CEI on Facebook, Twitter, or  YouTube

Project Spotlight: Comerica Park- Pepsi Porch

Opening day for the baseball season is just over the horizon. For Detroit Tigers fans this means many summer days spent sitting at Comerica Park and for some, it means to be hanging out on the Pepsi Porch!

The Pepsi Porch was a sheet metal project completed by CEI in 2014. The project included panels for the 416 bar rooftop. The renovation was small for Comerica Park and it was a small project for CEI. It was still complex and interesting showing off the sheet metal craftsmanship CEI is known for. The unique and new space for fans to enjoy the game. The improved Pepsi porch added plenty of new seating for fans back in 2014 and has been put to good use since then.

MLB.com did a video about the Pepsi porch back during its construction. It discusses all the features that were included for fans and shows some of CEI’s in-progress work during the time.

CEI is looking forward to warmer weather and baseball season. Go Tigers!

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