Tornado damage creates work for many roofers, contractors

Fri., Jan. 25, 2008

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

VANCOUVER, Wash. – A rare tornado that blasted across a four-mile swath from the west edge of town through Hazel Dell has been a windfall for roofers and other housing contractors.

Some businesses that had been hard-hit by a homebuilding slump now have all the damage repair jobs they can handle. The twister that hit Jan. 10 stripped shingles from buildings, uprooted trees and ripped fences out of the ground.

Tornado damage has resulted in more than 100 insurance claims valued at more than $500,000, according to the Northwest Insurance Council, a nonprofit industry group.

“There’s not too many roofers that aren’t busy,” said Mike Warner, 38, owner of Warner Roofing & Construction Inc.

Warner is working on a third roof replacement in west Hazel Dell with three more jobs waiting. He has offered bids for work on about 30 homes and expects his 13-member crew to remain busy through the winter.

The work could not have come at a better time. Homebuilding, as indicated by single-family home construction permits, normally provides about a quarter of his work but declined by about 20 percent in Clark County last year.

“This is a kind of a bonus for roofers because there’s a lot of work in that area right now,” said David Roewe, executive director of the local Building Industry Association, which represents more than 1,000 home builders, subcontractors and suppliers.

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