Tag: commercial roofing (Page 2 of 6)

#NATIONALROOFINGWEEK: Picking a Professional Roofing Contractor

June 8, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

National Roofing Week is coming to a close today! CEI wanted to close out the week with a blog post on the main topic of the week, which is to stress the value of a professional roofer for any project.

CEI is a member of the NRCA. This gives us access to leading industry education, safety information, and programs to keep our company serving at high-quality standards. The NRCA is one of the construction industry’s most respected trade associations and the voice of roofing professional. They are a large source of information for CEI and we are proud to be a member. CEI is a lead company in the commercial roofing industry in the mid-west. Yet, the NRCA has a focus on both the commercial and residential roofing industry’s. It is important to search out a quality roofing contractor, no matter what your project is so that it gets done right the first time. Often times our blog post are more suited for a building owner looking for information but when it comes to selecting a contractor the guidelines can be followed by both home and building owners.

NRCA has consumer-focused resources. Their main source is a blog that is focused on helping consumers be educated on there roof and roofing contractors (everyoneneedsaroof.com). Through their resources, they touch on a hand-full of things to look for in a roofing contractor. To help spread awareness, CEI has compiled the resources for customers on the Roofer Madness Blog. As a company, we want to provide customers with the quality resources to help them make their contractor selection. The following list of qualifications that your roofing contractor should have according to the NRCA’s consumer advisory bulletin.

Permanent place of business
Knowledge of roofing systems
Affiliated with an industry organization
- Ex: NRCA or any other local, state or national organization
Committed to education
Insured and committed to safety
Licensed and bonded
Financial Stability
Application expertise
Insist on a written proposal
Warranties
Completed projects list
References
Provisions for on-site supervision
Professional maintenance program

The video below was created by the NRCA to help explain these points. You can also read more from the NRCA here or visit http://www.everybodyneedsaroof.com/

CEI Sponsorship: Hudson Mills Old Power Club

June 5, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

For 3 years, CEI has helped sponsor the Hudson Mills Old Power Club in their annual tractor pull. With the sponsorship, the company gets entry into the pull. Nick Bosworth- a CEI foreman and member of the HMOPC participated in the pull this year. Last year, CEI’s employee Ron Skrzypek competed and won the pull in CEI’s name. Coming back as defending champions from 2017 pull, CEI came in and won the pull for the 2nd year in a row.

An exciting and fun sponsorship for CEI! They received a plack to hang in the office next to last years.

#NATIONALROOFINGWEEK- Employee Training

June 5, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

Happy National Roofing Week to everyone! Yesterday we kicked off with a wonderful employee appreciation day! All of the CEI team had got pizza or breakfast delivered to them as a token of our appreciation. It was a great start to an exciting week.

Every day this week has a theme or focus to be talked about. Today’s (Tuesday) focus is on Employee Training!

A key part of being a quality roofing professional is ensuring that all members of your team are properly trained. CEI focuses its training efforts in two major areas; safety training and job skills training.

Safety Training

CEI started a bigger push on safety about 7 years ago.

“We had a couple of tough safety years before that and there was also a big push from our Consumers to step up safety. It had always been something we did, but we started to make it something we live everyday.” -Kristine Cook Lindsey, Vice President

CEI always met safety regulations but after those couple of years, they decided it was going to be one of their main goals to excel in safety. They posted a large board that read “Days since an accident”. The goal was to publish what was happening in regards to safety and make everyone responsible for safety on the job.

Joe Fulton- CEI Safety Director

In 2011, they added a full-time Safety Director to there team. He was tasked with keeping up with regulations and revamping the training program.

Jacob Rosiek- CEI Safety Manager

CEI safety standards started to grow and in 2016 they added another full-time position to the Safety Department, a Safety Manager.

In 2017, CEI was awarded the NERI safety excellence award for there efforts. Today, CEI’s safety training looks like this.

Monthly Foreman Safety Committee Meetings- To review how the company is doing and identify where and how to improve. Critical feedback from the field participation is key in these meetings.
Six Company Wide Safety Meetings- Every other month there is a different focus presented by our Safety Director or we bring in guest speakers to keep safety in the minds of the Foremen.
Weekly Toolbox Talks- These also focus on important safety issues but are run by the Foremen to stimulate discussion on safety and provide training opportunities for our crews.
Daily Hazard Identification Checklists
All Foremen are required to be 30hr OSHA Certified
All other workers are encouraged to be at least 10hr OSHA Certified
CEI’s insurance group also has its own Safety Requirements that CEI is annually audited on.

Job Skills Training

The other focus area for training is skills training. CEI as a union contractor is supportive of apprenticeship programs that serve to develop skilled professional Roofing and Architectural Sheet Metal Journeymen. Some of the ways that CEI supports skills development are-

Manufacturer Training- CEI is certified in almost every type of roofing system. CEI sees this as a way to open doors for new and interesting projects. We want to know how to do it all so we can take on any project start to finish.
Local 70 Union Block Training- CEI helps support their local union by participating in block training programs. They often help with the Crane and Lift classes.
Employ apprentices- To provide critical field training experience

Photo of the Month: May

May 17, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

CEI has asked their staff to send in picture and videos of the job sites and happenings around the company. These help us build content for social media and our website. Each month we will be sharing the best or most interesting photo that was sent in by one of our employees. This is also an edition of our company newsletter that goes out internally to all of our employees.

May is the first month that we are starting to add the photo of the month contest. You will be able to view all the monthly photos in our gallery on the Roofer Madness Blog.

May Photo of the Month-

This months photo was sent in by Kristine Lindsey who is our Vice President. She often attends the monthly safety meeting to connect with the foreman and crews on extra safety training. She snapped this (and many more) photos from May’s safety meeting. CEI was visited by Guardian Fall Protection who showed off some different safety equipment and gave a couple short demonstrations.

#NATIONALROOFINGWEEK: What is National Roofing Week?

May 17, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

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.

2018 Michigan Historical Preservation Award

May 9, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

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!

May 3, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

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?

April 9, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

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!

April 6, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

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.

More Information From NRCA

Project Spotlight: Saline Recreation Center

March 30, 2018 / Joaynna Cook

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.

Safety Training

Job Skills Training

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