EP 17 · 2021-08-31 · 44:19
Roof Thermal Scans, Material Shortages & the Case for Recapping: Soprema + IRC Building Sciences on Atlantic Canada's 2021 Roofing Crisis
Soprema's Charles McCormick and IRC's Kyle Kennedy diagnose the 2021 supply crunch and make the case for thermal-scan-led roof recaps over full replacements.
CM
Charles McCormick
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:04Introductions and guest backgrounds — Dan introduces Charles McCormick (Soprema, 10+ years, 25 in industry, University of Waterloo environmental studies) and Kyle Kennedy (IRC, ex-Flynn 8 years, civil technology/engineering project management). Kyle describes the Flynn growth arc from 20 to 32+ branches and Manitoba experience.2:58Soprema: company philosophy, R&D and the architectural-rep role — Charles explains Soprema's building-envelope-first mindset, holistic tie-in awareness, lab-based product vetting, laminated Smart Board panels as a labor-shortage response, and the challenge of justifying premium materials by quantifying labor savings to contractors and architects.8:39IRC Building Sciences Group: from roofing consultant to full building-envelope firm — Kyle describes IRC's rebranding beyond 'Industrial Roofing Consultants' since 1992, the four pillars (roofing, envelope, parking/paving, structural), preferred-contractor model, on-site quality-observation cadence, and the value of the Rimkus merger for specialist knowledge depth.14:55Atlantic Canada roofing market: supply-chain crisis and contractor landscape — Discussion of the Halifax construction boom, New Brunswick roofing contractor ecosystem (Flynn, Atac, Evolution Atlantic, BRO), 12-week-plus lead times on ISO insulation and fasteners driven by COVID and the Texas freeze, and how Soprema managed expectations by proactively offering spec substitutions.23:00The repair-vs-replace workflow: thermal scans, recaps and sustainability — Charles and Kyle walk through the thermal-scan-first assessment, the IRC-Soprema collaboration model (spec lead times checked before going to tender), full replacement vs. recap comparison, the Soprema '100-year roof' warranted recap program, and the sustainability argument for leaving good membrane in place.31:10IRC technology showcase: Matterport 3D capture and drone inspections — Kyle details the Matterport camera system for permanent 3D building records with measurable floor plans, accelerating as-built documentation and post-commissioning fault-finding. Alex, a licensed commercial pilot, leads IRC's drone program for high-rise envelope inspections, replacing swing-stage scaffolding.37:56Outlook, Soprema supply chain and closing — Charles forecasts a supply trough through mid-to-late September 2021 before any improvement, notes Soprema's vertical-integration strategy for essential components, and frames the IRC-Soprema partnership as a proactive, community-minded response. Both guests encourage building owners and GCs to act before the construction window closes.
// THE INTRO
Host Daniel Arsenault sits down with two roofing-industry veterans — Charles McCormick (Senior Sales/Business Development, Soprema) and Kyle Kennedy (Project Manager, IRC Building Sciences Group, a Rimkus Company) — to dissect the mid-2021 Atlantic Canada roofing market. The conversation covers: the careers of both guests (Flynn Canada, University of Waterloo/environmental studies backgrounds); Soprema's holistic building-envelope philosophy, laminated-panel innovation, and vertically-integrated R&D from its Drummondville and Sherbrooke plants; IRC's four-pillar service model (roofing, building envelope, parking/paving, structural), expanding technology suite (thermal/IR scans, pull tests, Matterport 3D capture, drone inspections), and the Rimkus merger that extended the network coast-to-coast. The central practical discussion is the 2021 supply-chain crisis — COVID manufacturing shutdowns layered on top of the February Texas freeze destroying insulation-plant equipment — which produced 12-week-plus lead times on ISO insulation and fasteners just as Halifax's multi-unit residential boom demanded peak roofing capacity. The two guests explain a thermal-scan-first workflow that lets building owners defer full replacement and instead recap only wet/damaged sections, reducing material demand and landfill waste while keeping roofs serviceable. The episode closes with a call to the roofing contractor community to be proactive before the construction window closes.
// THE LESSONS
See all 11 lessons ▸Justify premium materials by quantifying the labor they eliminate, not just the product cost — if you can show the expensive membrane saves two layers of install, contractors will buy in.
“if you can justify that price point and make them understand that the labor costs a lot more than material”
Do a thermal (IR) scan before speccing any roof replacement — pinpointing wet sections lets you recap only the damaged 10-20% and save the building owner substantial cost and material.
“if you're proactive enough it might just be 5 10 to a building owner if you can leave 90 of your roof up there”
In a supply-constrained market, check manufacturer lead times and contractor availability before writing the spec — then design around what's actually obtainable.
“what's the lead time what are we looking at and then we'll adjust from there”
Labor shortage is a product-design signal: Soprema created laminated Smart Board panels specifically because fewer skilled hands meant quality-control problems on-site.
“there's a real shortage of labor out there and with that shortage of labor sometimes comes from quality control issues on jobs”
Vertical integration of essential components gives a manufacturer supply-chain control that competitors lack — acquiring upstream suppliers is a deliberate strategy, not just M&A.
“if it's an essential component in our systems if possible we try to acquire the company so that we have control over that vertical integration”
A building sciences firm going 'on site before specking it out' — doing core tests, thermal scans, and leak investigations first — earns the trust of building owners who don't know where to start.
“we're on that project site before we even think about specking it out we're doing core tests we're doing dimensions”
Matterport 3D scanning all in-wall conduit and plumbing before drywall provides a permanent as-built record that eliminates costly drywall tearout when commissioning faults emerge later.
“we can come in do that scan for them when all the conduit all the plumbing all the wiring that you're gonna bury is exposed we'll do that port you have that forever now”
Drone-based envelope inspection of high-rise buildings replaces swing-stage scaffolding — but only works with a properly licensed pilot and compliant equipment, not any off-the-street operator.
“you can't just hire drillable off the street that body is a the proper licensing the parish the safety parachutes all these things”
Regional contractors expanding across provincial borders (NB firms pushing into NS) is a leading indicator of a construction boom outpacing local supply — a market signal for materials and labor forecasting.
“we're seeing a lot of branches that were just in new brunswick kind of coming into nova scotia to help with the workload because it's needed”
When architects refuse a supply-driven spec substitution, push back with equivalence data — in a constrained market, one rigid refusal out of many is acceptable, but blanket inflexibility stalls projects.
“i've had one job where the architect just said no i want this and we ended up accommodating but it wasn't easy”
Aligning your corporate sustainability narrative (reduce landfill, 100-year roof) with a genuine market-constraint solution (recap vs. full replace) gives the business-development pitch authenticity and a second angle.
“the company for a long time has been talking about sustainability and design not replacing things that don't need to be replaced”
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
COVID manufacturing shutdowns layered on top of the February 2021 Texas freeze destroyed insulation-plant equipment, producing 12-week-plus lead times on ISO insulation and fasteners.
Industry sources confirm the Texas winter storm (Storm Uri, Feb 2021) disrupted MDI chemical supply essential for polyisocyanurate (polyiso/ISO) manufacturing, causing lead times that reached 31+ weeks in some markets by mid-2021. The 12-week figure cited in the episode is conservative; actual indus…
SOURCE ▸✓ VERIFIED
Rimkus acquisition of IRC extended IRC's network coast-to-coast and provided specialist forensic engineering knowledge depth.
Acquisition confirmed November 20, 2020. IRC already had 15 regional offices coast-to-coast before the acquisition; Rimkus added access to a global network of 650+ forensic specialists across 70+ offices in US, Canada, and UK. The coast-to-coast claim predates the Rimkus merger slightly, but the for…
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
SOPREMA Canada Inc. ▸IRC Building Sciences Group, A Rimkus Company ▸Rimkus Consulting Group, Inc.Flynn Group of CompaniesCharles McCormick
// PROJECTS NAMED
The Crane Building (Halifax, PMMA roof install)
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · vD8qmB9YPiQ