A roofing innovation built from 20 years of friendship

By Jesse Sanchez. 

Two best friends traded a life of stunts and cameras for shingles and startups, leading to the  creation of one of roofing’s most talked-about products. 

When Eric McIntosh left behind a decade-long career in film and television, he didn’t expect to end up on rooftops, let alone co-founding a business in the roofing industry. But that’s exactly what happened when he joined his longtime friend Heath Hicks at AVCO Roofing, marking the beginning of a partnership that would lead to the creation of The Catch-All. In this Roofing Road Trips® podcast episode, they explore the creation of their innovative debris containment system designed specifically with roofers in mind. 

“I convinced him, begrudgingly, to let me come on at AVCO,” Eric said. “I’d never done sales or project management, but I guess I convinced him that I could do it. I think he took a leap of faith on me.” Heath, who had already pivoted from a career as a stuntman to a roofing company owner, took that chance, despite warning Eric that roofing sales wouldn’t come easy. “It was the hardest thing I've ever done for sure,” Heath admitted. “He was succeeding, but it was harder on him than it would be on someone who was a more natural salesperson.” 

That struggle led to a pivotal conversation which eventually became a product idea that would reshape their careers. “He was like, ‘What can I do to get out of roofing sales?’” Heath recalled. “And I had a list of ideas.” 

One of those ideas became the Catch-All, a containment system that protects landscaping and property during roofing projects, a simple but powerful solution born from their own frustrations in the field. “I wanted it on my jobs because I was stressed out every dang day,” Eric said. Eric explained that the idea stemmed from the daily stress he felt managing jobs in high-end neighborhoods like Holly Tree, where even minor issues could trigger major concerns. The pressure to deliver flawless results made him realize how badly he needed a better solution on-site. 

The duo leaned into experimentation and prototyping. “We had paint poles and we had nerf footballs that we cut in half,” Heath said, recalling the earliest makeshift models. The breakthrough came when they figured out a way to support the nets without attaching them to the home. Heath noted, “We can literally put this on any upright structure.” 

What started as a weekend project in their spare time has since grown into a full-fledged manufacturing business, with Heath and Eric co-leading product development while managing separate focuses. Their story is a rare example of a friendship-turned-business that hasn’t just survived but thrived.  It simply started with two people willing to bet on each other. 

Listen to the podcast to learn more about how they moved from creative concepts to production and why they believe being best friends was both a challenge and a secret weapon!