Siding jobs take time. At Southwest Exteriors, in San Antonio, owner Scott Barr estimates that a (fiber-cement) job could take anywhere from two to four weeks by the time siding and painting crews are finished.
Don Granger, director of marketing and sales for All-Weather Seal, a Michigan siding and window company, says that one of its vinyl siding jobs can take three to 10 days to complete, depending on complexity. At Twin Cities Siding Professionals, in Minnesota, a siding job ? usually pre-coated fiber cement ? typically takes a week to a week and a half.
Thirty Eyes
At All-Weather Seal it is policy that every siding job gets cleaned up daily. "You have 30 eyes on you every day," Granger says. "You're basically auditioning for the next job in that neighborhood." At Twin Cities Siding Professionals, daily clean-up is also policy, though use of tarps to catch tear-off and debris make clean-up minimal.
Barr says that his company long ago learned the value of "a squeaky-clean jobsite." He has also learned to market it. On jobsites where Southwest Exteriors uses a Dumpster, workers hang a banner that reads: Another Squeaky Clean Job Site by Southwest Exteriors. "It has evolved over time as we recognized the value of that in building our brand," Barr says.
When It's Done, Is It Done?
For Southwest Exteriors, wrapping up the job starts when substantial completion is done, which is when one member of the installation crew begins attending to caulking and anything that might need to be re-hung.
Twin Cities Siding Professionals uses a field supervisor ? a full-time position at the company ? who inspects every job. Using a pre-printed list, he looks for what's hiding in plain sight, such as shutters that are re-hung but not straight or a piece of weather barrier poking out from under a bottom course of siding. Co-owner Terry Stamman says that it's "the small things" that might escape the attention of crews and that the field supervisor is likely to catch. That extra layer of supervision helps the company sell its jobs.
At Southwest Exteriors, every siding job has a project manager who wraps up by moving through a 20-item checklist. At All-Weather Seal, salespeople are required to revisit the job and inspect it with the homeowner. That is, Granger points out, the opportune time to ask for referrals or to discuss the possibility of additional work. Satisfied customers are open to suggestion.
