Enterprise Profile
“When we began offering the same quality, with lots of colour and texture selection, it was very popular among homeowners and contractors. And once they replaced the roof on their house, they came back looking for material to do a shed, gazebo or maybe a cottage.”
Almost from the day Joe and Derek Malec opened London Eco-Roof, customers began asking them if they could buy material directly from them for smaller roofing and renovation jobs.
Beginning Monday (September 24, 2012), after two years of planning and preparation, they can finally say: “Yes.”
Monday Malec opens Eco-Roof Express, a retail store at 1682 Dundas Street East, where homeowners, contractors and anyone else can buy material to install metal roofs.
“We’ve had so many customers who wanted to buy directly from us for their projects, and now we have a place where they can see all our products on display and purchase everything they need for their project,” Malec says.
London Eco-Roof has made a huge impact on the local roofing business in the last two years by offering durable, stylish metal roofs at affordable prices. Guaranteed for 50 years, they are a great alternative to traditional shingles that typically wear out after 7 -12 years.
“Metal roofs are a great solution, but they also are more expensive,” Malec says. “When we began offering the same quality, with lots of colour and texture selection, it was very popular among homeowners and contractors. And once they replaced the roof on their house, they came back looking for material to do a shed, gazebo or maybe a cottage.”
“We weren’t set up to sell material directly to people for those kinds of projects, but now we are at our Eco-Roof Express location.”
The new store will sell a variety of metal roofing material, including a 29-gauge version that sells for only 92 cents per square foot. It’s ideal for small projects like sheds and garages. It comes in fewer colours but comes with the same 50-year warranty as the thicker material used on house roofs.
In addition to the metal sheeting, the new store will sell all the material and tools needed to do the job, everything from screws to snips, nibblers to drills, not to mention instructional videos, brochures and work sheets.
Because so many roofing projects include skylights, the new store will also sell a wide variety of skylights and related materials. SolaTube skylights are particularly popular because they take light from a convenient location outside and direct it to any room, through a fixture that looks just like a pot light, in 10 or 14 inch sizes.
“Skylights can be a lot of work but these SolaTubes deliver all the light you want and are much easier to install and maintain,” Malec says.
All this week, the new store will feature opening week deals and prizes, including a draw for a barbecue. It will be open from 9-5 weekdays and 9-2 Saturday.
If demand for the new store is what Malec expects, he plans to take the concept to the other cities across Ontario.
“Metal roofs make so much sense, and now we can give our customers exactly what they want, selling directly to them, “ he says. “We’re looking forward to serving our customers with this new concept.”
Eco-Roof Express
1682 Dundas Street East
Toll Free: 1-855-838-9393
www.ecoroofexpress.com (look for improved website coming this fall)
Originally published in The London Free Press, Home section on Saturday, September 22, 2012.
