Back in the dark ages of roofing distribution where I got my start, things were pretty simple. We had a limited product offering to a limited group of customers. I fondly recall those simple days when the average roofing distributor carried a few lines of shingles, some asphalt and felt, maybe some fiberboard and a few metal products. Truth is, this was not all that long ago - you only have to travel back in time 25 to 30 years to find that simpler time. Yes, those were the good old days when the only question was what color shingles you wanted to order because all that was pretty much available was 20 year three tabs. On the commercial end, pretty simple.  Felt, asphalt, a little fiberboard and some 90# for flashing.

Back then, roofing distribution was pretty simple as there were a few staple products and the only color choices were white, black, brown and maybe green once in a while. Then something interesting started to happen. I remember witnessing it but at the time, I had no idea what I was witnessing. I had a customer that came up with the idea of promoting a 25-year three-tab shingle when at the time the only product readily available was a 20-year. This was quite an upgrade. And, 25-year three-tabs were a 'special order' and there was no reason to stock the things  because all the roofers ordered were 20-year three-tabs in white, black, brown and maybe green once in a while.  But this roofer was looking for an edge and figured if he was selling a 25-year shingle when his competition was only offering 20-year, he would have a competitive advantage. 

He also figured the homeowner might pay a little more for a better warranty. This guy made a killing and ended up as one of my biggest customers. His great idea was so great that within a few short years, every roofer in our area was selling 25-year shingles as they were tired of losing jobs to that guy. What this innovative roofer did not realize was he was a trend setter. His risk that the consumer would pay a little more for a better product paid off and for a short time, he had the advantage - then market forces took over and everyone was offering 25-year three tabs.  Pretty soon, most distributors were stocking 20- and 25-year shingles. As time went on, most only stocked 25-year as there was no demand for the 20-year shingles. And then there is the whole dimensional (or architectural) shingle trend - now reported to be at least 75% of the steep slope market. Someone, somewhere started that trend and look where it went!

I saw the same trend on the commercial roofing side. I got my start in that side of the business and it remains near and dear to my heart. I remember (faintly) being a young kid, right out of school in my first job in the roofing industry designing tapered roof insulations systems. Back then, this was a new concept - use insulation to create drainage on an otherwise flat roof, thereby extending the life of the roof by keeping it dry. This was a new trend way back then. Well, it caught on and nowadays virtually every commercial roof has some type of drainage system engineered into it. Then there was  those early 'rubber roofs'.  A new concept back in the early 80's but as with any trend, it has to have a starting place. Now, single-ply roofs, particularly the newest trend - TPO, are the main product of choice of commercial roofs nation-wide. 

Trends can be subtle changes. Take for instance simple things like valley metal. We had another roofer that decided that he would offer for a small upcharge valley metal to accent the color of the roof shingles - rather than galvanized, bare metal. It took off for him so well that he stopped offering it as an upcharge and made it part of his standard installations. Before long, you guessed it - we were stocking painted metal