Integris Partners with the Community to Go Green

HOUSTON, TX. January 15, 2010.  Regional “green” commercial roofing company Integris Roofing Services, LLC formally entered into the Houston Multifamily Rehabilitation Market.  With the advent of new roofing codes that call for the greening of city multifamily housing buildings, Integris has started a division dedicated to helping client owners and general contractors economically adhere to the new standards.

Integris historically provides roofing services for industrial and commercial entities – primarily flat roofs.  They use a variety of technologies to provide cool roofs, green roofs, and solar roofs on an economical basis for their clients.  The Houston code provides a new, more difficult standard for most city contractors to comply with.  Historically, shingle roofs, which constitute the majority of multifamily tenant buildings, were considered off limits to green regulations.  But now with new overhauls, the typical money center – the Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is requiring even these projects to go green.

Developers, Owners, and General Contractors have historically relied on the Fair Housing Act’s (FHA) Section 221(d)(4) program which insures mortgage loans to facilitate the new construction or substantial rehabilitation of multifamily rental or co-op housing. In 2008 alone, HUD insured mortgages for 88 such projects with nearly 14,000 units for a total of $1 billion.

Earlier in 2009, HUD and the DOE established a partnership to support coordination of the use of $16 billion in funds appropriated by Congress through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds include $4.5 billion in HUD capital funds for public and Indian housing and $250 million to retrofit privately-owned federally-assisted housing. DOE received $5 billion to fund the Weatherization Assistance Program, $3.2 billion for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants for cities, counties, states and Indian Tribes, and $3.1 billion for State Energy Programs, and additional funds for other programs. On May 6, the two Departments published a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that incorporated energy efficiency and green standards for most projects within the fund. The MOU impacts the eligibility process for residents in approximately 1.1 million public housing units, another 1.2 million privately owned federally-assisted units, and some 950,000 units financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).

Specific to multifamily housing, these new funds create a unique opportunity for Integris.  As a certified small business enterprise and one of the only roofing contractors with access and knowledge of technologies suitable to meet code restrictions, Integris established its multifamily division to specifically address the market needs for energy efficient compliant building practices.

According to CEO, Sidhartha Sen, “City project managers, architects, and contractors are often unsure what ‘qualifies’ as a suitable technology to meet the city and HUD’s standard.  We are able to bring that knowledge and skill set at an affordable price.”

Integris is quick to point out the following issues that may complicate a multifamily project and potentially bar funds:

·         Algae Resistance:  Most shingles on the market use zinc embedded in the granules to provide resistance; however the new codes require level III resistance.  Currently the only technology that provides this superior resistivity is a shingle with copper granules.   Integris is a certified installer of CertainTeed which exclusively provides a copper infused shingle to meet the HUD standard.

·         Wind Resistance:  City’s like Houston require higher than normal wind tolerances for roofs that are higher than 3 stories.  In most cases this will require the use of pre-fabricated ridge caps.  The current industry typically uses “broke bundles”.  This is not sufficient to meet code.  Integris builds their roofs to withstand 110 mph.

Chief Operating Officer and founder, Nelson Alvarado, says “Integris offers more than just access to technology.  Our firm has partnerships with key manufacturers which enable us to offer warranties on shingles that cover the material and labor for up to 20 years – without limit to the client.  This is simply not offered by our competitors.”

Truly Integris has already made a splash in the market place.  Of the first 5 Houston projects under the new HUD program, Integris has either designed or has consulted on 3 of the projects. Furthermore they were selected by one client owner to bid direct rather than through the general contractors.  On another project, the client owner referred their company as a “preferred” vendor to all the contractors up for bid.  

“We are here to help everybody win,” says Kent Reese, Vice President. “We are trying to partner with both owners and general contractors in a manner that helps support the process rather than distract from it.  We see positive traction with our message and hopefully will bring our success from other areas of the commercial roofing industry into the multifamily market.  We’re here to stay.”

About Integris Roofing Services, LLC:  Integris is a locally owned roofing contracting company with expertise in all aspects of commercial roofing from design to building to repair.   Integris is a certified installer of major manufacturers and provides no-dollar loss warranties in partnership with all of their manufacturers.