Mississippi roofing companies dealing with high demand after storm damage and rising cost of building materials

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – After the string of recent storms, the demand is currently high for local roofing companies.

But with the price of building materials also on the rise, it is creating another challenge for those companies and their customers.

“In Mississippi, it’s always storm season,” says Jack Redwood, owner of Redwood Roofing in Starkville. “So any time of year you can have violent weather, hail, tornado, storms, etc.”

That’s why roofing companies like his find themselves so busy, especially during the late spring and early summer.

“Roofs will lose their resistance to both impact in the case of hail or trees, and wind, as they get older.”

And after the National Weather Service confirmed that 15 tornadoes hit the state on May 2nd, there are over 140 homes and businesses across Calhoun, Lee and Pontotoc counties dealing with some level of storm damage.

“If you have a simple puncture, that’s something that we can normally do local repairs to,” Redwood said. “If you’ve got a tree laying on the whole side of your house, then that’s when it’s time to contact insurance.”

As roofing companies work to meet the increased need for their services, they are also dealing with the increased cost of materials in the roofing industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Roofing materials have gone up three times since September,” Redwood says. “And my supplier told me we can expect six to eight more increases this year.”

To combat those rising costs, one thing Redwood Roofing is doing is putting a down payment on materials early.

“Buy them, have them delivered to our shop, and then they’re stored safely until we can get there to do the work,” Redwood explained.

For homeowners dealing with storm damage, he says it could be wise to contract as quickly as possible because of those price increases.

“If you can lock in your price, the sooner the better, because the only thing we know for certain is that it’s going to continue to rise over the course of the year,” he said.