Every year products come and go within the home improvement market. We compiled our favorite building products to work with regardless of architectural specifications, current home trends, or style of your home. We drafted them in order of their intangibles: cost, quality, appearance, market availability, and longevity. Our company can stand by all these products due to their varying strengths and the manufacturers track record. If you have questions regarding the products please reach out to TRC (We have a ton of samples/literature) or review the products yourself on their webpage.
Round 1
Home-changing Prospects
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Da Vinci Roof Scape Slate Tiles Position – Roofing
- We selected this synthetic product due to it’s unique characteristics, visual appearance, and current lack of market saturation. This product was built to mimic slate/ cedar appearance while maintaining it’s cost advantage over the real stuff. Recommended for premium home builds.
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LP Building Product Smartside Position – Siding
- Is LP the stuff with a product recall in the early 00’s? Yes, Louisiana Pacific had issues in the early 00’s, BUT have reformulated their resin and have not had issues in over a decade. In fact, their exterior product is one of the fastest growing siding products in North America. Recommended for premium home builds or vinyl substate.
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Royal Building Product’s Celect Position – Siding
- The most common siding products in North America is vinyl with the recent growing demand for engineered wood and fiber cement, the vinyl industry created this product. A system that emulates JH and LP appearances, but is much easier for the installer, safer, and maintenance free. This product is raw, but has high upside! Recommended for premium home builds or vinyl substate.
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Polyglass Modified Bitumen Position – Roofing
- Polyglass is owned by the largest sealant/coating manufacturer in the world and is headquarters in Florida. This manufacturer has been widely popular in Florida for it’s coatings and quality, but has entered the midwest market. If you have a modular home, sunroom, or commercial flat roof then this product is the ideal selection. With the correct installer this product can carry a 15 to 20 year product warranty from registered vendors! Recommended for commercial projects and sunrooms.
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GAF Glenwood Roofing System Position – Roofing
- This high-end roofing shingle from GAF manufacturing is one of our favorites due to its overall appearance. It’ll give you’re home a STRONG WARRANTY, but more importantly the Hobbit like appearance. This product has been offered for less than 5 years, but asethically is one of our favorite asphalt based shingles on the market! Recommended for premium home builds.
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GAF Camelot Roofing System Position – Roofing
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- The GAF Camelot’s are the shingle of choice by the owner of Total Roofing & Construction Services, Inc. has on his home. These designer shingles are 50 year warranted products and are HEAVY. If you’re hoping for hail damage on your home these are not the shingles to buy, but if you want to avoid damage then order them today. Extremely durable and have a nice clean finish. Recommended for premium home builds.
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Owens Corning Berkshire Roofing System Position – Roofing
- The Berkshire is equivalent to the GAF Camelot shingle in warranty, appearance, but is a bit more expensive in the midwest market. Recommended for premium home builds
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James Hardie Siding System Position – Siding
- James Hardie has been well known of the last decade for their product appearance and as an alternative to the vinyl/plastic market. This Australian owned company has strong warranties and history of product durability. Recommended for all home builds.
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Worthouse Metal Roofing System Position – Roofing
- We enjoy North American manufacturers and distributers for the local economy. This metal roofing system is based out Illinois and has demand growing throughout the world. A great substrate if you dislike asphalt roofing shingles. The warranties about the same as the premium roofing materials previously drafted. We believe the longevity is here, but the appearance of the GAF & OC products are still ahead of Worthouses. Recommended for all home builds.
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GAF TPO Roofing System Position – Flat Roofing
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Owens Corning Atticat Blown-in Insulation Position – Insulation
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Sunrise Windows – Vinyl Replacement Position – Windows
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Velux Solar opening Skylight Position – Windows
- A high end skylight. No questions about it. Most skylights carry a 10-year warranty. This product does have the 10-year warranty, but it has the ability to opening and close completely off the grid. Recommended for bungalow homes or second story homes with poor air flow.
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GAF Golden Pledge Roof System with Timberline Shingles Position – Roofing
- Most common architectural roofing installed in North America. This is a great pick up with the #15 draft pick. Recommended for all home builds.
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Owens Corning Solar Attic Fan Position – Ventilation
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Behr Marquee Paint Position – Painting
- We do 5-10 interior home painting jobs a year and continue to swear by these manufacturers. These paints are more expensive, but the coats are much thicker and easier to wash throughout the years. We recommend 2 coats, even if the manufacturers states one coat. Recommended for all home builds.
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APA certified 1/2″ plywood Position – sheathing
- We recommend tossing the 3/8″ and OSB plywood off your next project. Whether you’re building a shed, home, or roof please go with a 1/2″ plywood substrate. We do not believe installing the manufacturer minimum is worth it for you. Unless you’re installing a Zip system, this should be your homebuilders starting substrate. If you’re in the process of an insurance adjustment, seek the 1/2″ plywood rather than what was installed in the 1970’s! Recommended for all home builds.
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Owens Corning Duration Roof System Position – Roofing
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Plygem Vortex Vinyl Siding Position – Siding
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Firestone TPO Roofing System Position – Roofing
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Quality Edge Gutter system with Leaf Relief Position – Gutters
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Plygem Camden Pointe DL Siding System Position – Siding
- Similar to Royal Building Products, Plygem is one of the largest exterior building product companies in North America. We believe Camden Pointe is a great pick-up with the #23 pick due to its cost, quality, and available color selections. All styles are available from board & batten, shake, dutch lap, and more! Recommended for all home builds and budget conscious
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El Dorado Stone Façade Position – Siding
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TAMKO Heritage Roofing System Position – Roofing
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Owens Corning Attic Baffles Position – Ventilation Accessory
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GAF DeckArmor Position – Roofing Accessory
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Variform Trim Coil Position – Soffit/Fascia
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Owens Corning ProArmor Synthetic Underlayment Position – Roofing Accessory
- Synthetic Underlayment? Spend the $100 to $400 on a nice underlayment that goes under your shingles. Especially if you’re considering the premium products such as Berkshire, Camelot, Glenwoods, and etc. The building specifications still ask for #15 lb. Felt Underlayment in most municipalities, which has been code for over 25+ years! Building products have improved drastically in 25 years, so why not use the the new products?
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Mi Replacment Windows Position – Windows
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Atlas Pinnacle Roofing System Position – Roofing
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Quality Edge Aluminum Soffit System Position – Ventilation