April 23, 2025 • 47 mins
In this Episode Jeremy Dulebohn of Dulebohn Dog Training talks about his journey in training dogs and how his expertise in working with police officers and their dogs in search and rescue, and narcotics and bomb detection led him to use those same foundational abilities that dogs have in using their noses to apply to dogs to being trained for children with elopement tendencies and epilepsy. In the second half Matt Nichols and Doug of Great Lakes Home Remodeling talks about how they got into remodeling, personal experiences that led to founding Great Lakes Home Remodeling and what drew them to the company and his passion for introducing new innovations like stone-coated metal roofing to homeowners.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lafever and
along with Lane Mons, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:26):
Better Business Bureau has a Heart for Business. Now here's
Lane Months and.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thank you Fred. Welcome audience. We appreciate you listening in
today on a Heart for Business. This is episode number eleven.
I'm Lane Monts in the studio behind the microphone with
Jeremy Dulaban from du Laban Service Dogs and of course
Fred Lafever behind the big board keeping things running as
smoothly as we can possibly make them.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I'm not making any promises today.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
It's not very smoothly given my lack of experience, but
Fred does. He trains me a little bit every time.
So Jeremy Duleyba Jeremy Dulabon from Dulabon Service Dogs out
of Wapacnetta or Wapakanetta, depending on how you say it.
Yep wa Wapacinetta. So thank you for making the drive
up today. I'm very excited. To have you on the
(01:12):
program because we do have a lot of contractors and
home remodelers and landscapers and stuff on the program. They're
a big part of our economy. They're a big part
of the Better Business Bureau. You have a very unique
business and a unique story. So I'm excited to hear it.
I think the audience will like it today.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Sure, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah. What we do is we uh we breed, raise,
and train service dogs for children, veterans, and adults with disabilities.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
So what does that mean for people? So people hear
service dogs a lot of times they think the police
dog and they might think seeing eye dogs. To help
us understand a little bit more, go a little deeper.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
For us, Sure, there's lots of different types of service
dogs out there. Everybody, you know, almost everyone is familiar
with the seeing eye dog. They you know, the first
seeing eye dog came in the United States in nineteen
twenty eight. But since then, we have done a lot
of different tasks for people with disabilities. So just a
(02:10):
few of the disabilities that we work with are autism, epilepsy, diabetes, PTSD,
down syndrome, hearing impaired, and then of course mobility disabilities,
so picking up dropped items, opening doors for someone that
uses a wheelchair.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So the mobility assistance is really the only part of
that I'm familiar with. And when I was in private
practice a young layer, I had a client who was
a chaplain and she had a joint disorder and needed
a mobility assistance dog to help her open doors. But
it sounds like there's a whole lot more to it
that dogs can do for people. Oh.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Absolutely, We're constantly creating new training techniques, new tasks that
we can help someone with. One thing that we do
is we don't put people in categories. We look at
the individual and how can we help the individual with
their disability.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So you and I talked a little bit before the program.
You have a deep background in dog training, don't you.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I do. We've been doing it for just over thirty
two years.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Thirty two years, so I guess you know. We're here
in the heart for business. Let's hear your origin story.
How did you get from where you were to where
you are now?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Well, it goes all the way back to when I
was in third grade. When I was in elementary school,
I saw a demonstration with the police officer with his
canine unit as his service or his dog did a
narcotics demonstration. I was pretty much hooked ever since then.
So how old were you I was in third grade,
so probably eight years old.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So where'd you start to actually then follow that path?
Is that something that you can actually go to school
for and learn or did you have a mentor.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Actually I sought out a dog training school in nineteen
ninety three. There's only three in the United States.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Really, yep.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
I went there and I studied dog training. That's what
we got certified in. And we did a little bit
of everything, obedience, behavioral problem solving, service dogs, police, canine work.
And then I started my own business after.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
With a lot of different breeds at the dog training school.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, at the dog training school we worked with all breeds.
I started my own business in Wapakanetta, and after two
years I was invited back to the school and I
actually taught people how to become dog trainers for a living.
So we had six classes a year of about sixteen
students in a class.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Is there a trick to it? Because you know, people
watch Caesar Sure, I can't remember his last name, but
they watch him do it and it seems so simple,
you know, like he takes control. Is it really that
simple or is there a trick to dealing with different breeds?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I don't know if it's I mean a trick for say,
just a lot of trial and error for sure. Because
when we started in the service dog world, you know,
in the early two thousands, there was no such thing
as an all TI as an assistance dog. In two
thousand and six, I created the training technique to teach
dogs to pre alert to epilepsy. Oh really so yeah?
(05:10):
A lot of it is cutting edge. And the other thing,
a lot of service dog agencies refused to work with children,
so they would help families when a child reached fourteen sixteen,
you know, eighteen years of age, but no one was
helping the young children with the disabilities. So we utilize
what we call a three unit team because of course
(05:32):
we need someone to handle the dog. So you know,
a young child is always with an adult, so the
adult takes the role of the handler, the child receives
the benefit of the dog, and of course the dog
is trained to do specific tasks for the child.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Is that a different kind of training though, because normally,
you know, if you were training a dog for me,
for instance, if I were had a site problem or
a hearing problem, I'd be working with the dog as
an adult. So how do you get the dog to
focus in and bond with a child when you've got
other people involved with the training?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, so I talk extensively with the parents about really
shining a light on the child. The breeds that we
use for children, we use a lot of Labrador Retrievers,
a lot of Golden Retrievers, a lot of Doodles, and
they're kind of the the all American.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Dog, right. Why is that? Why do you choose those breeds?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
One because they accept change so easily and they love people.
So obviously a service dog working out in public, they're
seeing lots and lots of people. They go from environment
to environment and it makes the transition a little bit smoother.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
So there is a difference in temperament there, absolutely, Okay, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah, So the main breeds we use the Labrador Retriever,
Golden Triver, Doodles, and then for our veterans we use
the German Shepherd a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah, And are so the kid who's getting trained and
bonding with that particular dog, how did they ween as
they get older, how does that dog ween off of
the adult that's involved in the training and stay with
the child.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Then it really depends on the disability and the child.
Some of our children, even in their thirties and they're
on their second or third dog, they will always have
an adult handler, Okay, yeah, or because what we need
for the team is we need somebody that one hundred
percent of the time as a handler is going to
(07:28):
make proper decisions. So some of the kids, they would
be a great handler eighty percent of the time, but
we have to make sure that one hundred percent of
the time they can understand, you know, where the dog
needs to be, what command the dog needs to be in,
and making sure the dog doesn't sniff anybody inappropriately.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And I got to believe that good luck with that.
I got to believe that when the child needs the
dog the most might be the time that the child
is not going to be able to be as actively involved. Right,
that's going to be a problem, I would think, Right.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Not necessarily, because the relationship we really work to establish
as the child, we nurture a best friend relationship. The
parents or the adult focuses on more of a adult
child relationship. So everything that we do outside of obedience
is game based. So whether it's tracking for a child
(08:23):
with autism that wanders away from home, that dog isn't
quote unquote working. They're playing a game. If I follow
this child scent, you know, I get my treats, I
get my toy. So that best friend relationship is really
really critical for all the tasks that we do.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Describe the process, because it can't be automatic, can't be
short term, It's got to be long, I think. So
to describe the process of creating that three three entity
team dog, parent child, How long does that take?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Depending on the tasks, it'll take approximately a year to
two years. We start with the puppies at birth. We
breed our own dogs. When we start working with them
at a very very young age at eight weeks, they
go off into a foster, which is typically a family
or a college student. The volunteers for us, and what
they're helping us out with is socialization, potty training, house manners,
(09:21):
helping us raise that puppy kind of through puppy hood.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Get a baseline of behavior going yeah, sure.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
And we work with the fosters teaching them kind of
the does and don't of proper not just service dog behavior,
but dog behavior in general. So no wrestling, no people food,
no tug of war, you know, all these things that
you know, can kind of hurt a service dog out
in public because you know, obviously, once we give a
(09:49):
dog people food, you can't take that memory away a
pet dog, it really doesn't, you know, make that big
of a difference. Maybe if somebody feeds their pet dog
people food, but for service dog that's going into restaurants,
that could be very, very problematic.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
But isn't there a problem too because don't I mean,
puppies want to play. Sure, so you know you mentioned
tug of war for instance. You know they want to
do that kind of stuff. How do you how do
you Well, obviously you don't get them into that in
the first place, so you don't have to break them,
But how do you control that behavior that's innate in them,
isn't it?
Speaker 3 (10:22):
For the most part, certain breeds more so than others,
you know, like a German shepherd. Sure, they're very you know,
kind of mouthy when they're puppy because they're hurting dogs.
So we just channel it into an appropriate, you know,
activity like fetch, So we play ball with them, going
out in public socializing. I mean, that's a lot of
mental stimulation. So sure a shepherd puppy, if we don't
(10:47):
channel it and you know, teach them an appropriate activity,
sure they're just going to grab you know, pajamas and towels. Hey,
let's play this game.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Well. I've always shard too that each breed as a
job that they like to do. And when you get
a dog, even if it's a pet dog, you got
to give them something to do, whether it's running out
in the backyard to pick something up, or your job
is to chase squirrels. I see the squirrels in the backyard,
go outside and get them now, or you know something,
(11:16):
So you take that into consideration, I would assume when
you're doing the training.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Yeah, absolutely, For you know, hundreds of years we've trained
dogs exactly what you said to do different jobs. And
that's why some people will say, you know, I want
a really small dog as a service dog. How about
a terrier. Unfortunately, terriers, although they're wonderful dogs, they've been
bred to chase small animals. Yeah, so you know, they
could be focusing on their job and there's a squirrel
(11:42):
and they're like everything in my body says, they'll get
that squirrel.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
And catch it. Yeah, you can't bring that out right right.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
So yeah, the labs, the Goldens, they're definitely retrievers by nature.
I mean, that's what they've been bred to do, is
go get a bird and bring it back to us.
So we just channel that to appropriate you know, active
that he's like the ballure.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
So you said you're breeding your own, so how many?
How many are you always in a breeding stage?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Is there like a pipeline for lack of a better word,
We place twenty five to thirty service dogs a year,
so typically we're going to have maybe two to three letters.
So we're very selective with our breeding. So we don't,
you know, mass produce puppies by by any means. We
(12:26):
just breed what we need. And a lot of people
will ask, you know, why don't you get shelter dogs,
why don't you you know, rescue dogs and trained dogs,
and it sounds very noble, but the problem is sometimes
it's unfair to the dog because a lot of dogs
at the shelter were raised as pets and it's unfair
to take them, you know, to Disney World. It's overwhelming
(12:47):
to them to take them on an airplane or you know,
a shopping center, things like that.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That's how I felt about my kids at Disney World.
It was overwhelming to them, and then it was overwhelming
for me as well.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Sure yeah, well also in a case like that, like
you said, it's an honorable thing, but you have a
lot of bad habits then that you have to break
in in order to do that. There's a lot of
discipline going into that, where if you're raising them yourself
like you do now right from a puppy. Although there's discipline,
it's a different kind, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Sure Sure, And a lot of is just setting it
up to where again, the dogs learn appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
Inappropriate shoe toys. A lot of people never think about it,
so they give their pet dog an old shoe and
old sock. Sure, I'm an old stuffed animal. Things we
don't do with the service dogs. They never get plush
toys because a lot of the children have plush toys
(13:39):
thought of them. You know, if we give our dog
an old shoe to chew on, of course they're going
to chew on our new shoes. So you know, we
give them appropriate toys from the beginning. They never get
people food. And of course, you know I know how
I am. Once you you know, taste a bite of
a steak, you know, you can't you can't forget that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
It's hard to forget.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, So when you when you place them then, because
I've been watching this show on TV with the smugglers,
and they always use the service dogs to sniff.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Out every shure.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I never see them give the dog a treat. After
the dog, you know, focuses on the marijuana or the
cocaine or whatever, they give them some kind of long
tube like a rubber tube. That is there a reason
that you wouldn't always treat them? Is it because you
then you have to keep treating them constantly.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Well, a lot of times as people, we think of
treats as food, but that tug that you're seeing on
the show a treat to them. It's a treat to them.
It's a treat. So there's different breeds for like police dogs,
the Belgian Malinois, the German shepherd. Sometimes their ultimate reward
is a game of tug or a ball, So we
(14:48):
will use that for the police dogs, but for service
dogs because they're labs and goldens usually food is the
highest reward that we can find for them.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Interesting, it's like a to those of us they're not
in the business, Jeremy's you know that there has to
be a process which we have no understanding of. It's
almost like magic. We don't really know what you're doing.
That's why I was so glad to hear that you
were interested in coming on the podcast, because I know
that's what how most people feel. They're like, something's happening
and we don't know what it is, but it works,
(15:17):
and we're like pulling back the curtain a little bit
here to hear what really goes into training a service dog.
Did you say early on that there really were no
training facilities for children that they shied away from that right?
Did you blaze a path there?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Or yeah, we really did. I worked. I was a
training director for probably the largest service dog agency for
children in the world. Right before I left, we were
replacing one hundred and twenty eight service dog teams a year. Wow.
But clear back in two thousand, there was no such
thing as an autism assistance dog. So I had the
(15:56):
task of figuring out, one, what can we train these
dogs to do to really assist someone with autism. You
know seizure alert dogs, I will say seizure response dogs
have been around for a long long time. These are
dogs that will alert once a client has a seizure.
But in two thousand and six, I took the knowledge
that I had with the police world training dogs to
(16:19):
find explosives and narcotics, and said, if we could train
a dog to find explosives and narcotics, why can't we
teach a dog to smell out a seizure. So I
worked with clients.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
You can smell out a seizure because I was going
to ask how do they know? How do they know
these things?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
They can smell out diseases, It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Yeah, we have five million all factory cells in our nose,
and this is what enables us to discriminate sense. So
if you go to grandma's house, you can smell food,
it's most wonderful. But if you pay attention, after about
forty five seconds, your all factory cells are completely full.
You can no longer discriminate sense. The average dog has
about one hundred and twenty five million, So if they
walked into Grandma's house at Thanksgiving, their nose would separate
(16:59):
every thing they could tell you everything on the menu.
So we've just really tapped into that. I worked with
clients to gather the seizure scent and again a lot
of trial and error, but that was in two thousand
and six.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Is it the same thing with like a diabetic shock
or other things like that? Because I wondered how they
can tell I figured it probably was something.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
That happens in It's a chemical change. So if diabetics,
we actually have them when their blood sugar drops below seventy,
will have them saturate some cotton swabs in their mouth
to collect that scent and they send it to us.
And that's what we utilize is our training aid to
teach the dog to.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Is that individualized to that person too, or it is
because it has their scent on it as well. That's
so one one for John going into a diabetic shock
or a pre epileptic seizure is going to put off
a slightly different scent than a Julie.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Sure because john scent's on there. So we have the
control scent you know, that's in between seventy and three hundred.
We have highs above three hundred and we have lows
below seventy. So we teach the dog to alert to
the below seventies above three hundred, So.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
The dog's reality what they experienced the world is just
completely different. Really, Yeah, they're living in a different world.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah, I know. The folks up here are the acoustics
for autism folks and a project i AM which deals
with all the acoustic or all the autistic kids up
in this area have dogs as companions because they're finding
out that a lot of autistic kids might be nonverbal,
but they can learn how to take care of a
(18:34):
pet dog and do some bonding in that way. Are
the dogs that you're training trained for something specific other
than if the child wanders away?
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Yeah, So we train dogs on a couple of different things.
One is tracking, which you just mentioned. You know, in
case a child would elope, the parents always have an
on call search and rescue dog, but to be preventative
on that, we teach the dog what we call tethering,
so that the adult would have control of the dog.
The dog would be in a heel and the child
(19:07):
is actually tethered to the dog so that they can't elope,
they can't take off through a parking lot, okay, to
keep them safe. The other thing we train the dogs
in is what we call behavior disruption or redirection. So
a lot of parents will say, you know, if a
child sometimes they'll have a six hour meltdown, but the
presence of the dog teaching the dog to redirect, say
(19:28):
a meltdown, will drop that under ten minutes. So if
a child is melting down, we teach the dog to
go over and intervene.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Melting down could just be a behavior that they're not
normally doing, waving their arms around.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
They're really frustrated and they can't communicate, so the dog
will go over and redirect them. And the nice thing
is the dog is one of the very very few
things in a child's life that has no agenda. A parent,
a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, everybody's trying to get
the dog or child to do something. The dog is
(20:03):
just a best friend.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, and the dog's not having a bad day. Ever.
The dog didn't just have an argument with his wife
or husband, you know, about the kid's behavior. The dog
isn't trying to deal with twenty five other students or
anything like that. The dog is just there for that child, right.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
The dog didn't tell his co host not to touch
the equipment. In the studio for instance, the.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Right the other huge thing that kind of cutting edge
because everybody's always heard you should never touch a service dog,
you know, in public. But one thing that a lot
of times children with Down syndrome, children with autism, we
use the dog to help build a social bridge. So
we do allow people to pet the dog because a
lot of times the child, you know, with a disability
(20:47):
can be kind of left behind by their peers. So
maybe peers won't approach the child if the child is
just with a parent, But you throw a beautiful Golden
retriever a lot with them, who's not going to come up,
you know, to the dog and be like, oh my gosh,
that's so beautiful. Can I pet them?
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, Jeremy, I hear these stories. You're doing God's work
with this. I mean, I know you're making a live
in doing it, but it's fantastic to hear about these stories.
How far is your service area You're you're done in Wallpoc.
We're a little distance away. Would you do you place
dogs and build teams more than just in your area?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah? Absolutely, Because I was with you know, like I said,
the Service Dog Agency, I worked with over fifteen hundred
families from all over the world. So a lot of
the families, I would say fifty percent of the families
come back for a second dog. And a lot of
them are, you know, reaching out to me because I
worked with them. So even though we're in small Wapakanet, Ohio, Yes,
(21:42):
we've placed dogs all over the globe.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Well before we close up, tell folks how they can
get a hold of you, what ways they can get
your services.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
They can reach out on the website due labonservice Dogs
dot org.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
You might want to spell them.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Sure das and dog u l e he as a
boy Ohn service dogs dot org or on Facebook Bulevan
service Dogs. All right, and your phone number it is
four one nine three zero three eight four four eight.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
You don't call your own phone number that often. I
see you looking down for it. People ask me that
about the BBB, and I do. I had to. I
had to learn it because I don't call the BBB.
I'm always there, you see, you know, so I notice
you looking down empathetically.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I love this idea of what you do, and I'm
going to make sure that I pass this information long
to our friends up here with the autism society because
of a feeling there's going to be a connection there
because they're always looking for different ways to help the
kids who are on the spectrum, and some of these
ways are not covered by insurance absolutely, and so we
(22:49):
provide scholarships for those kids to be able to take
those services.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Fred is a little bit connected in the community. Just
a little connected in the community. All right, Hey, thanks everyone,
and for listening to this first segment. We'll be back.
Second segment is Great Lakes Home remodeling, where we're going
to learn about a fascinating construction topic, stone coated metal roofing,
stone coded metal roofing. Thank you. A thousand businesses, some
are old, some are new, but they all have a
(23:14):
story to tell about why they sell, How someone took
a chance once upon a time, someone with a heart
for business. Hi, this is Laine Monts, the host of
the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We know
a thing or two about our area's companies, after all,
we've been keeping tabs on.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
Them since nineteen nineteen.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Join me in Toledo radio legend Fred la Fever every
week as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and
share a few industry secrets along the way. Welcome back, folks,
Glad to have you on the program. This is a
segment B or segment two of episode number eleven and
with me in the studio from Great Lakes Home Remodeling,
Matt Nichols and Doug Farr. And we'll start with Doug.
(23:53):
I think because you're the owner, so you're the VIP.
I guess, so I guess. So Fred, do you have
any questions?
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Yeah? Why did you bring me out a guy? Then?
Because he is the VP and I'm the one that
got is Ah, all right, well, listen, I've talked to
a lot of home remodelers over the years. I just
bought a place in Wallbridge not that long ago. And
you hear, depending on who you talk to, the roofing guy,
the bathroom guy, the driveway guy, you're going to get
a great return on investment on this, you know, your
(24:23):
biggest investment of your life. So let's start there. What
can people do in their homes inside or outside that's
going to get them the best return on investment because
that's really what they're looking for, especially if they're thinking
of selling in the year or a couple of years.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
So I mean I can start that. It really depends.
I would think if you're looking at the exterior side,
sighting is really big because it completely transforms the appearance
of a house. Windows are really good for energy saving,
So if a lot of people have thirty year old
windows and older furnace, when windows can help save the
(25:00):
money and pay for itself through the years. Roofing is
not a sexy product, but people need it and it
protects their whole entire home. So it really depends on
what you're looking for. But for me, when you look
at what pays for itself first, I would probably say windows, siding,
and then roofing being third in the exterior side.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
And does that matter if I'm going to, like I'm
going to stay in this house. I just got it,
you know, like a year ago. Does it matter if
I'm going to stay in the house or if I
know for sure, you know in five years I'm going
to sell this place. I need to do something right
now to make it more attractive in five years.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Absolutely. Absolutely, If you're going to stay in your home forever,
then it definitely you're looking at what type of quality,
what type of warranty, what type of service that you're
going to get. If you're looking to flip or hey,
I'm going to be in here four or five years,
it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to get
an investment grade product, whether that be siding, windows, or roofing.
(25:57):
It just you know, in that sense of the matter.
But you know, depending on how the house looks. You
see a lot of in the city at Toledo, there's
a lot of people that buy houses. You see those
signs by here, ye will pay your house, and then
they flip it. They come in, they put some money
in it, a lot of contract or great stuff, but
they make that house look beautiful night and day, and
(26:17):
they make good money doing it. But it's also beautifying
the city at Toledo too.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
And as we're going to get into down the road,
they're not putting an investment grade product like yours, and
we're going to talk about that in a minute. You know,
the question about what's going to get you the best
return on investment, there's really two questions and two answers.
So first of all, if something is failing, then your
best return on investment is to fix what's failing. And
there's nothing worse to have failing on your property than
(26:44):
your roof because everything under that is affected by it.
So if you want the best return on investment and
your roof needs replaced, that actually, in my humble opinion,
is where you get your best return on investment.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
And you're a one and fifty percent correct on that.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I work on commission.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
I work on commission.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
I know, in your part time sure about it, shames
about it, Yeah, I mean roofing is a it's a
very competitive space and there's a lot of people that
will always say that they have the best roofing, the
best products, and the best warranties. Matt and I were
just speaking to I think it was an intern outside
and some of the conversations were around what makes your
(27:24):
product different?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Right, we have.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
A stone coated metal roofing product that when it goes
on you couldn't look at it. If someone didn't say
that's metal, you would think it's a traditional fiberglass shingle.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
I just saw video actually yesterday come to you know,
sincere mentioning that I saw an advertisement on TV. Yeah,
and somebody could have been you guys, I suppose holding
up one like segment and said this looks like a
shingle and it did. Yeah, but it's an actual metal roof. Yes,
when did they start.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
To do that, gosh, twenty five years ago?
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Really, yeah, I'd never heard about it.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
It's an amazing product. It's an amazing product. Honestly, if
every homeowner, every every homeowner could afford it, because it
is a premium product. Oh, you're trying to find out.
You're going to hear why in a minute. It should
be on every home if you could afford if everybody
could afford.
Speaker 5 (28:19):
It, And what we try to and why we're here
and doing the podcast. We're trying to educate homeowners. Just
like technology that's around you and your home and in
your life, same thing around products. Technology is changing. So
what may have been the best product on the market
twenty twenty five years ago, companies manufacturers are innovating how
to make the rough more durable, hold up within our regions,
(28:42):
but then also be lighter on the rough, easier to install,
you know, all those things. So you know, we want
homeowners to recognize that just because what maybe work for
your parents, there are new products out there you need
to educate.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
So it's interesting because we talked the biggest barrier to
this product is people aren't even a that it exists.
And Fred knows. I yeah, Fred knows every contractor in
northwestern Ohio and you caught him off guard. So that's
saying something. So let's talk about what is a stone
coated metal roof.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
Well, it is a steel twenty six gauge steel. It
is designed to be, like he just said, very lightweight,
easy to install. The difference between your conventional fiberglass or
standing seam type metal roof. This screws into the decking.
It's it has hidden fasteners so you don't see the fastener,
(29:32):
so it's not gonna rust and there's no water penetration point.
The warranty is two to one, I mean fifty to
seventy year warranty.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
It's gonna out it's unreal.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
Yeah, it will outlive you and me both and probably
our kids. So it's the last roof. When we say
it's the last roof you'll ever own, it truly is
the last roof you'll ever own. You won't have to
worry about the storm's hail damage stuff like that. You
just you don't have to worry about.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
And does the stone you know, because on normal shingles
that's one of the selling points is Oh, you know,
it looks like you're losing a lot of this. You
get that grit in your eavestrop Does that happen with.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
The different the difference between a fiberglass shingle. Fiberglass has
the gromet granules, You're not gonna have to worry about that.
With a stone coated it's baked on. It's almost like
it's glued on. Oh, so you're not going to have
to worry about anything running off.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Do you have some pictures? Just I know you can't
do people listening to the podcast obviously you can't see them,
but I want Fred to see them.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Well, like I said, I saw that video the other
day and I was, I was, and it looked like
it was done in segments. Is that how you do it?
Speaker 3 (30:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I mean it's staggered.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
It goes together, just like a fiberglass roof would go up,
but it's screwed in.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
What's the color fastness? So so you know fiberglass traditional roofs,
they do fade over time. Obviously sunlight gets to almost everything.
How color how fade resistant is this product?
Speaker 4 (30:56):
It's again everything's under warranty, so it's a guarantee fifty
years again fading against it.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Is that pro rated or.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Is that a good question? I don't believe it is
pro rated because we do have what we call our
touchup kits on them, Okay, so we would be required
that if in the event they had damage or something
that caused it, we would have touchupkits that we'd be
able to go out and do it where unlike you're
fiberglass roofing, you don't.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
But today they have.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
That spray that they're doing to try to keep that's
the oil coating. Yes, it's for the granules. It's not
meant to last forever, and it's expensive. If you traditionally,
if you're just spraying your roof, it might you might
get a couple more years out of it, but it's temporary,
like a band aid.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
The reason I ask about the fade resistance is because
I was in the emergency response construction industry for over
twenty years, and during that twenty year time I saw
a change and what insurance companies will cover on roofs.
Back when I started, it was guaranteed replacement costs, no problem.
They would match the color. So that meant if ten
(32:00):
percent of your roof was damaged in one area and
new shingles would stick out to the eye. They would
replace the whole elevation or maybe the whole roof, guaranteed
replacement costs. That was back in two thousand. Niche and
then insurance companies quickly realized that that was just not
going to work for them anymore. And as they really,
anytime they write a check, the first thing they think
of is is that going to work for us anymore?
(32:21):
Or do we need to change something? They've rewritten the policies, folks,
Most roofing policies are pro rated and they're not going
to guarantee to match color. So if you have to
replace part of the roof which is damaged you put
new shingles on, there's a good chance, if your roof
has some age on it, those shingles are not going
to match in color versus the older faded shingles. And
(32:42):
with the stone coated roof, the color fastness is so
significant that you can replace just part of the roof
and not know it.
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Does she work for you, guys, I'm telling you yes,
hard time.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Five o'clock.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Way am I put on my cheerleader out figure, guys
are gonna be blown away.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
So obviously the selling point for a lot of the
guys that we run into at the home shows and
stuff like that is how quickly they can do it,
how easy it is to get the measurement, getting an estimate,
all those kind of things. What's the situation with Great
Lakes home remodeling.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
So we make it convenient. I do want to touch
on his subject of insurance. Insurance companies are now writing
in their policies that they won't warranty your home if
the roof is older than twelve years old with the fiberglass,
and you.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Have to prove that.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
I've heard that people are starting to get letters from
their insurance companies. The tornado that came through Point Place
I think caused some of this. You're seeing State Farm, Progressive,
these big insurance companies that are starting to require it.
What makes stone coded metal roofing different than all of that,
it's the warranty. They if you show them that warranty,
(33:48):
that roof's good for fifty years. Insurance companies, if you
go to sell your house, Fred, they want to know
how old your roof is. One of the first things
that have to get done is replacing your roof. And
that's what catches people off guard, is they have to
they they're not ready for it. And the insurance company saying, hey,
in order to sell your house, you have to put
a new roof on, or you have to get an
(34:10):
estimate and take that off your the cost.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
So you're doing it. You're doing it anyway. I had
a front row seat to the change in the industry
with those policies, and as the company's attorney, I was
arguing all the time about them.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Yeah, it is. It is wiresome, it's times wild to see,
and it's it's frustrating.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
I understand Florida.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
Florida's insurance companies are leaving this state horrible.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
My wife, my now wife, sold her home in Florida,
you know, just to ranch style home. And it was
a couple of years after one of the hurricanes had
gone through, and just like you said, insurance company told
her in the real estate agent told her, you have
to replace that roof. And there wasn't really damaged a
whole lot, there wasn't anything coming in the house, but
(34:50):
you got to replace that roof or we're not going
to sell this house.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
It is it is.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
It is wild and it's not a scare tactic. It's
a fact.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
I mean people can just you can google it and
look it up. We've we've had some customers who wanted
to buy our fiberglass roof. And as great as our
fiberglass roof is, because we are President's Club member of GAF,
GAF is, in my opinion, one of the best manufacturers
warranty wise. You can't find a better warranty. And that's
(35:16):
the other thing that separates Great Lakes.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
When you know you're in Toledo downtown to let do
I do there's a certain company that could have a
rooming hit squad out on you. Doug he actually worked
for them for quite a while.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
So it's interest recording sixteen years. And I mean GAF
does dominate the market, right, They're seventy four percent of
the share in North America. So you know, but you
have two top tier, right, you got gfhones corning gf's
warranties is always something you know, we were looking at
and watching and back to the insurance like, it's a
(35:50):
big problem for manufacturers. Ten sure, if not hundreds of
millions and claims that are coming through because of some
of those problems. So as insurance companies change that, it's
definitely going to impact home owners and really the decisions they.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Need to make as to what they're going to put
on the rim man.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
Would you say, I know that you said that the
stone coated product has been around a long time, but
even I had not really heard of it, and I
was pretty deep in it. Would you say that we
are still in the early adopter phase of this product.
Do you expect to see it become more and more popular.
Do you think it's possible that the manufacturing costs will
(36:24):
come down over time as the product sees more use.
I don't know, just.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
Like anything with supply and demand, but six percent of
North Americas metal shingles, and it's really an education that
has to happen. And I tell you it's a generational
thing as well. So you know, it used to be heavy,
heavy shingles, and so Owen Scorning JAF tackled the heavier
shingle the better and we had to kind of squash
(36:50):
that notion that no, actually you're using fiberglass. Now technology
has changed. The next one is now going to be metal,
which is metals more durable lighter on your roof.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Right.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
So there's a lot of benefits, but the homeowners just
have to be educated and sometimes those generations that are
coming up that are researching at well.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
Part of that goes back to what I was asking, So,
how do you work estimates time it takes to put
the roof on all of that kind of stuff, because
those are selling points for some of the other car
I can get this, you know, done in a day.
I can get you an estimate in five hours all
of that kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
In some cases, we can have a metal roof installed
in one day. So it's amazing. Yeah, these crews that
we have, we've used side by side for quite a
bit and they do they do a fantastic job. They
know what we want. Their crews are are really skilled
in working as a unit and as a team. And
(37:47):
this roof here that we did this is this is
a humongous roof.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
It looks like a big oh crazy audience can't see,
but it's all sorts of elevations. It's cut up one.
Speaker 4 (37:56):
Hundred and thirteen square one hundred and thirteen square them
two and a half days. The homeowner could not believe it.
And it's amazing what the teams can do, so we
can have it done pretty quick. To speak on the estimates,
you know, it becomes challenging because, as Matt said, you're
you're educating the customer who has no idea that this
(38:17):
shingle exists. Right, most people in their mind, we're all
guilty of it. We want the best deal, but we
want the cheapest price, and we know going after metal,
it's we're already in trouble, right because it's not inexpensive.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
We know that.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
But we feel like if we could educate the consumer,
they have a better understanding of the product if they're
gonna live there forever. To replace your roof twice with
a fiberglass, replace it once with metal, it just makes
them most sense.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
I'm just going to say the math should convince most
people if they're willing to look at it, like, look,
I just you know, I just bought my place. I
did have the roof replace. If I had known about this,
I would have looked at it absolutely knowing that I'm,
you know, all, I'm expecting to live at least another
twenty twenty five years, and I'd like it to last
that long. And then the warranty will pass on to
whoever buys the house.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
Right, absolutely, it's it's under It's just a home. So
for example, some warranties you have to transfer it, right,
this is under the address. So if you were to
sell and you didn't have the warranty to transfer, and
somebody knew that's the key, they knew that we did it,
and they were.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
To call in for a service.
Speaker 4 (39:23):
We're servicing that that address, not that the personal custom.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Exactly how does it do for heat disbursement coming down
on the house? Is it? Is it the same? Better?
Speaker 4 (39:32):
Unbelievable?
Speaker 2 (39:33):
So our shingle we didn't prep that question, I promise you,
but I'm wondering ask to because metal doesn't it collect
the heat more?
Speaker 1 (39:43):
And doesn't it collect the cold?
Speaker 4 (39:45):
So what's really wild with the metal is no, it
does not. The ceramic granules that are on there help
reflect the UV rays in the sunlight in it. Our
metal roof goes off the deck probably by a half
an inch. It's actually really enter fish it. Yeah, And
every single.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Roof that we do, we a little air barriers. An
air barrier. Also, the faster something heats up, the faster
it disperses the heat. So metal will heat up faster,
but it also cools down faster. Absolutely, okay, little science.
Speaker 4 (40:14):
And in California for the wildfires, you know wildfires, they
you know, these ambers jump and start these huge fires
right usually by landing on the roof. Usually by landing
on the roof. And we talk about fiberglass and asphalt
roofing especially, that's an oil based product. I mean, that's
going to shoot up, start on fire right away. Metal
you're not going to have that issue. Now, that's not
(40:35):
a huge selling point here. But our metal roof one
hundred and twenty mile hour headwinds has been tested against
hurricane tested down in Florida and Miami Dade County approved.
We're not going to really get those type of winds
here unless there's a tornado coming through. And we have
other probles.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Go down to Bowling Green, they get FROs and we're.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Not immune to those kinds of things. So other than
the roofing, because it says great likes home remodeling, absolutely,
are you doing other jobs? What are the other jobs
you do?
Speaker 4 (41:04):
So we do sighting, windows, gutters, gutter protection, doors, everything
on the exterior portion of the house. Pretty much we
wrap ourselves.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
In and since you're using GAF. You said on the roof, right,
what are your options when it comes to those other products,
because there are names that people recognize, you know, top
in the industry.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Yeah, so we partner up with some. In my opinion,
I look at at a lot of manufacturers. What is
the best manufacturer that is going to fit what our
vision is as in a company, and it's a.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Customer first, Okay.
Speaker 4 (41:38):
So I look at a product that if I'm not
going to put it on my home specifically, I'm not
going to put it on your home, and we don't
have a good, better best. We have one product and
that is it. Our windows are all triple pain. They're
triple pain for a reason.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
So for the.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Energy efficiency, I don't allow our guys to sell double
pain windows. Now, there's a lot of people out there
that will do that. There's a lot of people that
will do a good, better best, So we don't. So
we partner with Sunrise, which is out of Temperance, Michigan.
They've been bought out by m I, which is a
very large manufacturer out east, but they've partnered and built
(42:14):
the window that Great Lakes wants. So we even have
our logo on the window itself, which separates us from
the area and the competition. But I love that because
I do want our name branded to it, because I
trust the product. And the same thing when it comes
to siding and doors, you look at what are the
absolute best. I'm not going to go and get a
contractor great door down at the lumber yard. Yeah it
(42:35):
looks good right now, but in five six years that
door is not very good. Trust me, I had a
house built. He's sixteen, and both my doors be kind,
be kind. So yeah, you know, everything that we do,
and the reason I brought Matt on to the company
is just the vision. You know, we want customer first,
(42:58):
customer oriented, customer service.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
And I know that's cliche.
Speaker 4 (43:00):
A lot of people say that, Yeah, I truly truly
mean that, And in the twenty five years that I've
been in this industry, it's never been that way. It's
always been about, you know, get the job, sell the job,
and that's it. And you look at who's installing it.
You look at when the customer has questions, it doesn't
get answered, and that to me drives me nuts.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Yeah, well, we're to have you, proud to have you
in the better business bureau. I appreciate you, thank you
very much.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
The work you're doing is just so how can people
get a hold of you if they need to have
this stuff done? And when you go in, because it's
got to be hard since you've got this quality standard
to sell that product because they've heard, you know, if
they're smart, they've gotten a couple of other estimates. Yeah,
so they go, oh, man, but I can have the
same thing done for you know, a thousand dollars less.
(43:50):
But it's not the same thing, isn't.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
It is not?
Speaker 4 (43:53):
And that's that's what's neat. So our product is different
from what's on the industry. Now. GAF is GAF. You
have to be certified. We are a Master Elite Certified
contractor with GAF. We're also President's Club member, which is huge.
It's it's one percent of all the GAF contractors in
the country that even have that honor. Matter of fact,
my vice president's actually down in Columbus right now with GAF,
(44:16):
which is which is really neat. Uh So, if you're
trying to get a hold of us, you could call
us at our local number which is four one nine
seven one five ten thirty eight. On our job signs
because we do travel quite a bit. It's one eight
hundred and seventy one five roof you're looking for a
roof product.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
We also have online.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
How far will you go for projects? Guys?
Speaker 4 (44:38):
We oh goodness, So we're we're we go all the
way up to bad Axs, Michigan. Oh no, uh yeah,
Saganaw over to Grand Rapids, Michigan. We're gonna we're opening
an area right now in Cleveland in two months, so
we'll be out in Cleveland, which is an area that
I grew up in the home improvement business and in
in Akron.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
So just south of that.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
So you know, we're in the Great Lakes region, but
we want to grow and stay locally. Great Lakes Region.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
Okay, I got to think if you've got a house
on the lake where the wind comes whipping across right,
and I got I just got to believe that's a
great location. You know, if you got a nice house
on the lake, bo yeah, send me out.
Speaker 5 (45:17):
Do you know one thing for Great Lakes our homeowners,
you have a lot of options to choose from, like
Great Lakes. We know this region. Doug's been doing this
for twenty twenty five years in this industry, So having
somebody that knows which products to pick based on the
challenges that homeowners have. And then also, you know why
I joined Great Lakes. You know, we have a four
point seven four point eight kind of hovering between that
(45:39):
on Google. We're taking care of our customers and that's
really why I came in to continue to educate, continue
to take care of the customers. And that's how we're
going to differentiate because anybody you do business with, one
thing you want to make sure is you're getting the
job done right and you're going to be taken care
of after the job.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Absolutely, what's your online presence so people can track you down.
Speaker 4 (45:59):
So we are Great Lakes Homermodeling dot com. You can
find us there. We are revamping and cleaning up our
website quite a bit, obviously because the market kind of
demands it. Sure right now, our website's a little busy,
so we're trying to keep that simple too.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Gotta be simple for us. You Absolutely, when I go
up there, I want to click on something and see
what I want.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
Click here for new roof, click here for new siding.
By the way, you can also find them on BBB
dot org, slash Toledo.
Speaker 4 (46:28):
Yeah I like that too, Yeah for sure, excellent.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
Thanks everybody for joining. This has been a Heart for
Business with Lane Monspread Lafever and thanks to Great Lakes
Home Remodeling for all the information you provided the audience today.
We will be back with episode twelve next week. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:46):
You can reach out to any of our guests using
the websites they've listed in the podcast. That information is
also available on the Better Business of your website and
be sure to track them down on their Facebook page.
Fore mind On, signed Fred Lafever, Thanks for joining us
this week. Be sure to subscribe and listen to a
Heart for Business on iHeartRadio and wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to a Heart for Business. I'm Fred Lafever and
along with Lane Mons, President CEO the Better Business Bureau
of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, we'll highlight a local
business weekly. You'll discover why these small local business owners
have a passion for what they do and why the
(00:26):
Better Business Bureau has a Heart for Business. Now here's
Lane Months and.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Thank you Fred. Welcome audience. We appreciate you listening in
today on a Heart for Business. This is episode number eleven.
I'm Lane Monts in the studio behind the microphone with
Jeremy Dulaban from du Laban Service Dogs and of course
Fred Lafever behind the big board keeping things running as
smoothly as we can possibly make them.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I'm not making any promises today.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
It's not very smoothly given my lack of experience, but
Fred does. He trains me a little bit every time.
So Jeremy Duleyba Jeremy Dulabon from Dulabon Service Dogs out
of Wapacnetta or Wapakanetta, depending on how you say it.
Yep wa Wapacinetta. So thank you for making the drive
up today. I'm very excited. To have you on the
(01:12):
program because we do have a lot of contractors and
home remodelers and landscapers and stuff on the program. They're
a big part of our economy. They're a big part
of the Better Business Bureau. You have a very unique
business and a unique story. So I'm excited to hear it.
I think the audience will like it today.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Sure, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah. What we do is we uh we breed, raise,
and train service dogs for children, veterans, and adults with disabilities.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
So what does that mean for people? So people hear
service dogs a lot of times they think the police
dog and they might think seeing eye dogs. To help
us understand a little bit more, go a little deeper.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
For us, Sure, there's lots of different types of service
dogs out there. Everybody, you know, almost everyone is familiar
with the seeing eye dog. They you know, the first
seeing eye dog came in the United States in nineteen
twenty eight. But since then, we have done a lot
of different tasks for people with disabilities. So just a
(02:10):
few of the disabilities that we work with are autism, epilepsy, diabetes, PTSD,
down syndrome, hearing impaired, and then of course mobility disabilities,
so picking up dropped items, opening doors for someone that
uses a wheelchair.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
So the mobility assistance is really the only part of
that I'm familiar with. And when I was in private
practice a young layer, I had a client who was
a chaplain and she had a joint disorder and needed
a mobility assistance dog to help her open doors. But
it sounds like there's a whole lot more to it
that dogs can do for people. Oh.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Absolutely, We're constantly creating new training techniques, new tasks that
we can help someone with. One thing that we do
is we don't put people in categories. We look at
the individual and how can we help the individual with
their disability.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So you and I talked a little bit before the program.
You have a deep background in dog training, don't you.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I do. We've been doing it for just over thirty
two years.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Thirty two years, so I guess you know. We're here
in the heart for business. Let's hear your origin story.
How did you get from where you were to where
you are now?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Well, it goes all the way back to when I
was in third grade. When I was in elementary school,
I saw a demonstration with the police officer with his
canine unit as his service or his dog did a
narcotics demonstration. I was pretty much hooked ever since then.
So how old were you I was in third grade,
so probably eight years old.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So where'd you start to actually then follow that path?
Is that something that you can actually go to school
for and learn or did you have a mentor.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Actually I sought out a dog training school in nineteen
ninety three. There's only three in the United States.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Really, yep.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
I went there and I studied dog training. That's what
we got certified in. And we did a little bit
of everything, obedience, behavioral problem solving, service dogs, police, canine work.
And then I started my own business after.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
With a lot of different breeds at the dog training school.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, at the dog training school we worked with all breeds.
I started my own business in Wapakanetta, and after two
years I was invited back to the school and I
actually taught people how to become dog trainers for a living.
So we had six classes a year of about sixteen
students in a class.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Is there a trick to it? Because you know, people
watch Caesar Sure, I can't remember his last name, but
they watch him do it and it seems so simple,
you know, like he takes control. Is it really that
simple or is there a trick to dealing with different breeds?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I don't know if it's I mean a trick for say,
just a lot of trial and error for sure. Because
when we started in the service dog world, you know,
in the early two thousands, there was no such thing
as an all TI as an assistance dog. In two
thousand and six, I created the training technique to teach
dogs to pre alert to epilepsy. Oh really so yeah?
(05:10):
A lot of it is cutting edge. And the other thing,
a lot of service dog agencies refused to work with children,
so they would help families when a child reached fourteen sixteen,
you know, eighteen years of age, but no one was
helping the young children with the disabilities. So we utilize
what we call a three unit team because of course
(05:32):
we need someone to handle the dog. So you know,
a young child is always with an adult, so the
adult takes the role of the handler, the child receives
the benefit of the dog, and of course the dog
is trained to do specific tasks for the child.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Is that a different kind of training though, because normally,
you know, if you were training a dog for me,
for instance, if I were had a site problem or
a hearing problem, I'd be working with the dog as
an adult. So how do you get the dog to
focus in and bond with a child when you've got
other people involved with the training?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, so I talk extensively with the parents about really
shining a light on the child. The breeds that we
use for children, we use a lot of Labrador Retrievers,
a lot of Golden Retrievers, a lot of Doodles, and
they're kind of the the all American.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Dog, right. Why is that? Why do you choose those breeds?
Speaker 3 (06:24):
One because they accept change so easily and they love people.
So obviously a service dog working out in public, they're
seeing lots and lots of people. They go from environment
to environment and it makes the transition a little bit smoother.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
So there is a difference in temperament there, absolutely, Okay, yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah, So the main breeds we use the Labrador Retriever,
Golden Triver, Doodles, and then for our veterans we use
the German Shepherd a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yeah, And are so the kid who's getting trained and
bonding with that particular dog, how did they ween as
they get older, how does that dog ween off of
the adult that's involved in the training and stay with
the child.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Then it really depends on the disability and the child.
Some of our children, even in their thirties and they're
on their second or third dog, they will always have
an adult handler, Okay, yeah, or because what we need
for the team is we need somebody that one hundred
percent of the time as a handler is going to
(07:28):
make proper decisions. So some of the kids, they would
be a great handler eighty percent of the time, but
we have to make sure that one hundred percent of
the time they can understand, you know, where the dog
needs to be, what command the dog needs to be in,
and making sure the dog doesn't sniff anybody inappropriately.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And I got to believe that good luck with that.
I got to believe that when the child needs the
dog the most might be the time that the child
is not going to be able to be as actively involved. Right,
that's going to be a problem, I would think, Right.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Not necessarily, because the relationship we really work to establish
as the child, we nurture a best friend relationship. The
parents or the adult focuses on more of a adult
child relationship. So everything that we do outside of obedience
is game based. So whether it's tracking for a child
(08:23):
with autism that wanders away from home, that dog isn't
quote unquote working. They're playing a game. If I follow
this child scent, you know, I get my treats, I
get my toy. So that best friend relationship is really
really critical for all the tasks that we do.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Describe the process, because it can't be automatic, can't be
short term, It's got to be long, I think. So
to describe the process of creating that three three entity
team dog, parent child, How long does that take?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Depending on the tasks, it'll take approximately a year to
two years. We start with the puppies at birth. We
breed our own dogs. When we start working with them
at a very very young age at eight weeks, they
go off into a foster, which is typically a family
or a college student. The volunteers for us, and what
they're helping us out with is socialization, potty training, house manners,
(09:21):
helping us raise that puppy kind of through puppy hood.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Get a baseline of behavior going yeah, sure.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
And we work with the fosters teaching them kind of
the does and don't of proper not just service dog behavior,
but dog behavior in general. So no wrestling, no people food,
no tug of war, you know, all these things that
you know, can kind of hurt a service dog out
in public because you know, obviously, once we give a
(09:49):
dog people food, you can't take that memory away a
pet dog, it really doesn't, you know, make that big
of a difference. Maybe if somebody feeds their pet dog
people food, but for service dog that's going into restaurants,
that could be very, very problematic.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
But isn't there a problem too because don't I mean,
puppies want to play. Sure, so you know you mentioned
tug of war for instance. You know they want to
do that kind of stuff. How do you how do
you Well, obviously you don't get them into that in
the first place, so you don't have to break them,
But how do you control that behavior that's innate in them,
isn't it?
Speaker 3 (10:22):
For the most part, certain breeds more so than others,
you know, like a German shepherd. Sure, they're very you know,
kind of mouthy when they're puppy because they're hurting dogs.
So we just channel it into an appropriate, you know,
activity like fetch, So we play ball with them, going
out in public socializing. I mean, that's a lot of
mental stimulation. So sure a shepherd puppy, if we don't
(10:47):
channel it and you know, teach them an appropriate activity,
sure they're just going to grab you know, pajamas and towels. Hey,
let's play this game.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Well. I've always shard too that each breed as a
job that they like to do. And when you get
a dog, even if it's a pet dog, you got
to give them something to do, whether it's running out
in the backyard to pick something up, or your job
is to chase squirrels. I see the squirrels in the backyard,
go outside and get them now, or you know something,
(11:16):
So you take that into consideration, I would assume when
you're doing the training.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Yeah, absolutely, For you know, hundreds of years we've trained
dogs exactly what you said to do different jobs. And
that's why some people will say, you know, I want
a really small dog as a service dog. How about
a terrier. Unfortunately, terriers, although they're wonderful dogs, they've been
bred to chase small animals. Yeah, so you know, they
could be focusing on their job and there's a squirrel
(11:42):
and they're like everything in my body says, they'll get
that squirrel.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
And catch it. Yeah, you can't bring that out right right.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
So yeah, the labs, the Goldens, they're definitely retrievers by nature.
I mean, that's what they've been bred to do, is
go get a bird and bring it back to us.
So we just channel that to appropriate you know, active
that he's like the ballure.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
So you said you're breeding your own, so how many?
How many are you always in a breeding stage?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Is there like a pipeline for lack of a better word,
We place twenty five to thirty service dogs a year,
so typically we're going to have maybe two to three letters.
So we're very selective with our breeding. So we don't,
you know, mass produce puppies by by any means. We
(12:26):
just breed what we need. And a lot of people
will ask, you know, why don't you get shelter dogs,
why don't you you know, rescue dogs and trained dogs,
and it sounds very noble, but the problem is sometimes
it's unfair to the dog because a lot of dogs
at the shelter were raised as pets and it's unfair
to take them, you know, to Disney World. It's overwhelming
(12:47):
to them to take them on an airplane or you know,
a shopping center, things like that.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
That's how I felt about my kids at Disney World.
It was overwhelming to them, and then it was overwhelming
for me as well.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
Sure yeah, well also in a case like that, like
you said, it's an honorable thing, but you have a
lot of bad habits then that you have to break
in in order to do that. There's a lot of
discipline going into that, where if you're raising them yourself
like you do now right from a puppy. Although there's discipline,
it's a different kind, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
Sure Sure, And a lot of is just setting it
up to where again, the dogs learn appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
Inappropriate shoe toys. A lot of people never think about it,
so they give their pet dog an old shoe and
old sock. Sure, I'm an old stuffed animal. Things we
don't do with the service dogs. They never get plush
toys because a lot of the children have plush toys
(13:39):
thought of them. You know, if we give our dog
an old shoe to chew on, of course they're going
to chew on our new shoes. So you know, we
give them appropriate toys from the beginning. They never get
people food. And of course, you know I know how
I am. Once you you know, taste a bite of
a steak, you know, you can't you can't forget that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
It's hard to forget.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Yeah, So when you when you place them then, because
I've been watching this show on TV with the smugglers,
and they always use the service dogs to sniff.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Out every shure.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I never see them give the dog a treat. After
the dog, you know, focuses on the marijuana or the
cocaine or whatever, they give them some kind of long
tube like a rubber tube. That is there a reason
that you wouldn't always treat them? Is it because you
then you have to keep treating them constantly.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Well, a lot of times as people, we think of
treats as food, but that tug that you're seeing on
the show a treat to them. It's a treat to them.
It's a treat. So there's different breeds for like police dogs,
the Belgian Malinois, the German shepherd. Sometimes their ultimate reward
is a game of tug or a ball, So we
(14:48):
will use that for the police dogs, but for service
dogs because they're labs and goldens usually food is the
highest reward that we can find for them.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Interesting, it's like a to those of us they're not
in the business, Jeremy's you know that there has to
be a process which we have no understanding of. It's
almost like magic. We don't really know what you're doing.
That's why I was so glad to hear that you
were interested in coming on the podcast, because I know
that's what how most people feel. They're like, something's happening
and we don't know what it is, but it works,
(15:17):
and we're like pulling back the curtain a little bit
here to hear what really goes into training a service dog.
Did you say early on that there really were no
training facilities for children that they shied away from that right?
Did you blaze a path there?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Or yeah, we really did. I worked. I was a
training director for probably the largest service dog agency for
children in the world. Right before I left, we were
replacing one hundred and twenty eight service dog teams a year. Wow.
But clear back in two thousand, there was no such
thing as an autism assistance dog. So I had the
(15:56):
task of figuring out, one, what can we train these
dogs to do to really assist someone with autism. You
know seizure alert dogs, I will say seizure response dogs
have been around for a long long time. These are
dogs that will alert once a client has a seizure.
But in two thousand and six, I took the knowledge
that I had with the police world training dogs to
(16:19):
find explosives and narcotics, and said, if we could train
a dog to find explosives and narcotics, why can't we
teach a dog to smell out a seizure. So I
worked with clients.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
You can smell out a seizure because I was going
to ask how do they know? How do they know
these things?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
They can smell out diseases, It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
Yeah, we have five million all factory cells in our nose,
and this is what enables us to discriminate sense. So
if you go to grandma's house, you can smell food,
it's most wonderful. But if you pay attention, after about
forty five seconds, your all factory cells are completely full.
You can no longer discriminate sense. The average dog has
about one hundred and twenty five million, So if they
walked into Grandma's house at Thanksgiving, their nose would separate
(16:59):
every thing they could tell you everything on the menu.
So we've just really tapped into that. I worked with
clients to gather the seizure scent and again a lot
of trial and error, but that was in two thousand
and six.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Is it the same thing with like a diabetic shock
or other things like that? Because I wondered how they
can tell I figured it probably was something.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
That happens in It's a chemical change. So if diabetics,
we actually have them when their blood sugar drops below seventy,
will have them saturate some cotton swabs in their mouth
to collect that scent and they send it to us.
And that's what we utilize is our training aid to
teach the dog to.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Is that individualized to that person too, or it is
because it has their scent on it as well. That's
so one one for John going into a diabetic shock
or a pre epileptic seizure is going to put off
a slightly different scent than a Julie.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Sure because john scent's on there. So we have the
control scent you know, that's in between seventy and three hundred.
We have highs above three hundred and we have lows
below seventy. So we teach the dog to alert to
the below seventies above three hundred, So.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
The dog's reality what they experienced the world is just
completely different. Really, Yeah, they're living in a different world.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah, I know. The folks up here are the acoustics
for autism folks and a project i AM which deals
with all the acoustic or all the autistic kids up
in this area have dogs as companions because they're finding
out that a lot of autistic kids might be nonverbal,
but they can learn how to take care of a
(18:34):
pet dog and do some bonding in that way. Are
the dogs that you're training trained for something specific other
than if the child wanders away?
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Yeah, So we train dogs on a couple of different things.
One is tracking, which you just mentioned. You know, in
case a child would elope, the parents always have an
on call search and rescue dog, but to be preventative
on that, we teach the dog what we call tethering,
so that the adult would have control of the dog.
The dog would be in a heel and the child
(19:07):
is actually tethered to the dog so that they can't elope,
they can't take off through a parking lot, okay, to
keep them safe. The other thing we train the dogs
in is what we call behavior disruption or redirection. So
a lot of parents will say, you know, if a
child sometimes they'll have a six hour meltdown, but the
presence of the dog teaching the dog to redirect, say
(19:28):
a meltdown, will drop that under ten minutes. So if
a child is melting down, we teach the dog to
go over and intervene.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Melting down could just be a behavior that they're not
normally doing, waving their arms around.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
They're really frustrated and they can't communicate, so the dog
will go over and redirect them. And the nice thing
is the dog is one of the very very few
things in a child's life that has no agenda. A parent,
a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, everybody's trying to get
the dog or child to do something. The dog is
(20:03):
just a best friend.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Yeah, and the dog's not having a bad day. Ever.
The dog didn't just have an argument with his wife
or husband, you know, about the kid's behavior. The dog
isn't trying to deal with twenty five other students or
anything like that. The dog is just there for that child, right.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
The dog didn't tell his co host not to touch
the equipment. In the studio for instance, the.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
Right the other huge thing that kind of cutting edge
because everybody's always heard you should never touch a service dog,
you know, in public. But one thing that a lot
of times children with Down syndrome, children with autism, we
use the dog to help build a social bridge. So
we do allow people to pet the dog because a
lot of times the child, you know, with a disability
(20:47):
can be kind of left behind by their peers. So
maybe peers won't approach the child if the child is
just with a parent, But you throw a beautiful Golden
retriever a lot with them, who's not going to come up,
you know, to the dog and be like, oh my gosh,
that's so beautiful. Can I pet them?
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah, Jeremy, I hear these stories. You're doing God's work
with this. I mean, I know you're making a live
in doing it, but it's fantastic to hear about these stories.
How far is your service area You're you're done in Wallpoc.
We're a little distance away. Would you do you place
dogs and build teams more than just in your area?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah? Absolutely, Because I was with you know, like I said,
the Service Dog Agency, I worked with over fifteen hundred
families from all over the world. So a lot of
the families, I would say fifty percent of the families
come back for a second dog. And a lot of
them are, you know, reaching out to me because I
worked with them. So even though we're in small Wapakanet, Ohio, Yes,
(21:42):
we've placed dogs all over the globe.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Well before we close up, tell folks how they can
get a hold of you, what ways they can get
your services.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
They can reach out on the website due labonservice Dogs
dot org.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
You might want to spell them.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Sure das and dog u l e he as a
boy Ohn service dogs dot org or on Facebook Bulevan
service Dogs. All right, and your phone number it is
four one nine three zero three eight four four eight.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
You don't call your own phone number that often. I
see you looking down for it. People ask me that
about the BBB, and I do. I had to. I
had to learn it because I don't call the BBB.
I'm always there, you see, you know, so I notice
you looking down empathetically.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I love this idea of what you do, and I'm
going to make sure that I pass this information long
to our friends up here with the autism society because
of a feeling there's going to be a connection there
because they're always looking for different ways to help the
kids who are on the spectrum, and some of these
ways are not covered by insurance absolutely, and so we
(22:49):
provide scholarships for those kids to be able to take
those services.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
Fred is a little bit connected in the community. Just
a little connected in the community. All right, Hey, thanks everyone,
and for listening to this first segment. We'll be back.
Second segment is Great Lakes Home remodeling, where we're going
to learn about a fascinating construction topic, stone coated metal roofing,
stone coded metal roofing. Thank you. A thousand businesses, some
are old, some are new, but they all have a
(23:14):
story to tell about why they sell, How someone took
a chance once upon a time, someone with a heart
for business. Hi, this is Laine Monts, the host of
the Better Business Bureaus Heart for Business podcast. We know
a thing or two about our area's companies, after all,
we've been keeping tabs on.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
Them since nineteen nineteen.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Join me in Toledo radio legend Fred la Fever every
week as our BBB superheroes tell their origin story and
share a few industry secrets along the way. Welcome back, folks,
Glad to have you on the program. This is a
segment B or segment two of episode number eleven and
with me in the studio from Great Lakes Home Remodeling,
Matt Nichols and Doug Farr. And we'll start with Doug.
(23:53):
I think because you're the owner, so you're the VIP.
I guess, so I guess. So Fred, do you have
any questions?
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Yeah? Why did you bring me out a guy? Then?
Because he is the VP and I'm the one that
got is Ah, all right, well, listen, I've talked to
a lot of home remodelers over the years. I just
bought a place in Wallbridge not that long ago. And
you hear, depending on who you talk to, the roofing guy,
the bathroom guy, the driveway guy, you're going to get
a great return on investment on this, you know, your
(24:23):
biggest investment of your life. So let's start there. What
can people do in their homes inside or outside that's
going to get them the best return on investment because
that's really what they're looking for, especially if they're thinking
of selling in the year or a couple of years.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
So I mean I can start that. It really depends.
I would think if you're looking at the exterior side,
sighting is really big because it completely transforms the appearance
of a house. Windows are really good for energy saving,
So if a lot of people have thirty year old
windows and older furnace, when windows can help save the
(25:00):
money and pay for itself through the years. Roofing is
not a sexy product, but people need it and it
protects their whole entire home. So it really depends on
what you're looking for. But for me, when you look
at what pays for itself first, I would probably say windows, siding,
and then roofing being third in the exterior side.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
And does that matter if I'm going to, like I'm
going to stay in this house. I just got it,
you know, like a year ago. Does it matter if
I'm going to stay in the house or if I
know for sure, you know in five years I'm going
to sell this place. I need to do something right
now to make it more attractive in five years.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Absolutely. Absolutely, If you're going to stay in your home forever,
then it definitely you're looking at what type of quality,
what type of warranty, what type of service that you're
going to get. If you're looking to flip or hey,
I'm going to be in here four or five years,
it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to get
an investment grade product, whether that be siding, windows, or roofing.
(25:57):
It just you know, in that sense of the matter.
But you know, depending on how the house looks. You
see a lot of in the city at Toledo, there's
a lot of people that buy houses. You see those
signs by here, ye will pay your house, and then
they flip it. They come in, they put some money
in it, a lot of contract or great stuff, but
they make that house look beautiful night and day, and
(26:17):
they make good money doing it. But it's also beautifying
the city at Toledo too.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
And as we're going to get into down the road,
they're not putting an investment grade product like yours, and
we're going to talk about that in a minute. You know,
the question about what's going to get you the best
return on investment, there's really two questions and two answers.
So first of all, if something is failing, then your
best return on investment is to fix what's failing. And
there's nothing worse to have failing on your property than
(26:44):
your roof because everything under that is affected by it.
So if you want the best return on investment and
your roof needs replaced, that actually, in my humble opinion,
is where you get your best return on investment.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
And you're a one and fifty percent correct on that.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
I work on commission.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
I work on commission.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
I know, in your part time sure about it, shames
about it, Yeah, I mean roofing is a it's a
very competitive space and there's a lot of people that
will always say that they have the best roofing, the
best products, and the best warranties. Matt and I were
just speaking to I think it was an intern outside
and some of the conversations were around what makes your
(27:24):
product different?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Right, we have.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
A stone coated metal roofing product that when it goes
on you couldn't look at it. If someone didn't say
that's metal, you would think it's a traditional fiberglass shingle.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
I just saw video actually yesterday come to you know,
sincere mentioning that I saw an advertisement on TV. Yeah,
and somebody could have been you guys, I suppose holding
up one like segment and said this looks like a
shingle and it did. Yeah, but it's an actual metal roof. Yes,
when did they start.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
To do that, gosh, twenty five years ago?
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Really, yeah, I'd never heard about it.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
It's an amazing product. It's an amazing product. Honestly, if
every homeowner, every every homeowner could afford it, because it
is a premium product. Oh, you're trying to find out.
You're going to hear why in a minute. It should
be on every home if you could afford if everybody
could afford.
Speaker 5 (28:19):
It, And what we try to and why we're here
and doing the podcast. We're trying to educate homeowners. Just
like technology that's around you and your home and in
your life, same thing around products. Technology is changing. So
what may have been the best product on the market
twenty twenty five years ago, companies manufacturers are innovating how
to make the rough more durable, hold up within our regions,
(28:42):
but then also be lighter on the rough, easier to install,
you know, all those things. So you know, we want
homeowners to recognize that just because what maybe work for
your parents, there are new products out there you need
to educate.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
So it's interesting because we talked the biggest barrier to
this product is people aren't even a that it exists.
And Fred knows. I yeah, Fred knows every contractor in
northwestern Ohio and you caught him off guard. So that's
saying something. So let's talk about what is a stone
coated metal roof.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
Well, it is a steel twenty six gauge steel. It
is designed to be, like he just said, very lightweight,
easy to install. The difference between your conventional fiberglass or
standing seam type metal roof. This screws into the decking.
It's it has hidden fasteners so you don't see the fastener,
(29:32):
so it's not gonna rust and there's no water penetration point.
The warranty is two to one, I mean fifty to
seventy year warranty.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
It's gonna out it's unreal.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
Yeah, it will outlive you and me both and probably
our kids. So it's the last roof. When we say
it's the last roof you'll ever own, it truly is
the last roof you'll ever own. You won't have to
worry about the storm's hail damage stuff like that. You
just you don't have to worry about.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
And does the stone you know, because on normal shingles
that's one of the selling points is Oh, you know,
it looks like you're losing a lot of this. You
get that grit in your eavestrop Does that happen with.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
The different the difference between a fiberglass shingle. Fiberglass has
the gromet granules, You're not gonna have to worry about that.
With a stone coated it's baked on. It's almost like
it's glued on. Oh, so you're not going to have
to worry about anything running off.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Do you have some pictures? Just I know you can't
do people listening to the podcast obviously you can't see them,
but I want Fred to see them.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Well, like I said, I saw that video the other
day and I was, I was, and it looked like
it was done in segments. Is that how you do it?
Speaker 3 (30:39):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (30:39):
I mean it's staggered.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
It goes together, just like a fiberglass roof would go up,
but it's screwed in.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
What's the color fastness? So so you know fiberglass traditional roofs,
they do fade over time. Obviously sunlight gets to almost everything.
How color how fade resistant is this product?
Speaker 4 (30:56):
It's again everything's under warranty, so it's a guarantee fifty
years again fading against it.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Is that pro rated or.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
Is that a good question? I don't believe it is
pro rated because we do have what we call our
touchup kits on them, Okay, so we would be required
that if in the event they had damage or something
that caused it, we would have touchupkits that we'd be
able to go out and do it where unlike you're
fiberglass roofing, you don't.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
But today they have.
Speaker 4 (31:23):
That spray that they're doing to try to keep that's
the oil coating. Yes, it's for the granules. It's not
meant to last forever, and it's expensive. If you traditionally,
if you're just spraying your roof, it might you might
get a couple more years out of it, but it's temporary,
like a band aid.
Speaker 2 (31:40):
The reason I ask about the fade resistance is because
I was in the emergency response construction industry for over
twenty years, and during that twenty year time I saw
a change and what insurance companies will cover on roofs.
Back when I started, it was guaranteed replacement costs, no problem.
They would match the color. So that meant if ten
(32:00):
percent of your roof was damaged in one area and
new shingles would stick out to the eye. They would
replace the whole elevation or maybe the whole roof, guaranteed
replacement costs. That was back in two thousand. Niche and
then insurance companies quickly realized that that was just not
going to work for them anymore. And as they really,
anytime they write a check, the first thing they think
of is is that going to work for us anymore?
(32:21):
Or do we need to change something? They've rewritten the policies, folks,
Most roofing policies are pro rated and they're not going
to guarantee to match color. So if you have to
replace part of the roof which is damaged you put
new shingles on, there's a good chance, if your roof
has some age on it, those shingles are not going
to match in color versus the older faded shingles. And
(32:42):
with the stone coated roof, the color fastness is so
significant that you can replace just part of the roof
and not know it.
Speaker 4 (32:49):
Does she work for you, guys, I'm telling you yes,
hard time.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Five o'clock.
Speaker 2 (32:54):
Way am I put on my cheerleader out figure, guys
are gonna be blown away.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
So obviously the selling point for a lot of the
guys that we run into at the home shows and
stuff like that is how quickly they can do it,
how easy it is to get the measurement, getting an estimate,
all those kind of things. What's the situation with Great
Lakes home remodeling.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
So we make it convenient. I do want to touch
on his subject of insurance. Insurance companies are now writing
in their policies that they won't warranty your home if
the roof is older than twelve years old with the fiberglass,
and you.
Speaker 2 (33:26):
Have to prove that.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
I've heard that people are starting to get letters from
their insurance companies. The tornado that came through Point Place
I think caused some of this. You're seeing State Farm, Progressive,
these big insurance companies that are starting to require it.
What makes stone coded metal roofing different than all of that,
it's the warranty. They if you show them that warranty,
(33:48):
that roof's good for fifty years. Insurance companies, if you
go to sell your house, Fred, they want to know
how old your roof is. One of the first things
that have to get done is replacing your roof. And
that's what catches people off guard, is they have to
they they're not ready for it. And the insurance company saying, hey,
in order to sell your house, you have to put
a new roof on, or you have to get an
(34:10):
estimate and take that off your the cost.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
So you're doing it. You're doing it anyway. I had
a front row seat to the change in the industry
with those policies, and as the company's attorney, I was
arguing all the time about them.
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Yeah, it is. It is wiresome, it's times wild to see,
and it's it's frustrating.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
I understand Florida.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
Florida's insurance companies are leaving this state horrible.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
My wife, my now wife, sold her home in Florida,
you know, just to ranch style home. And it was
a couple of years after one of the hurricanes had
gone through, and just like you said, insurance company told
her in the real estate agent told her, you have
to replace that roof. And there wasn't really damaged a
whole lot, there wasn't anything coming in the house, but
(34:50):
you got to replace that roof or we're not going
to sell this house.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
It is it is.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
It is wild and it's not a scare tactic. It's
a fact.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
I mean people can just you can google it and
look it up. We've we've had some customers who wanted
to buy our fiberglass roof. And as great as our
fiberglass roof is, because we are President's Club member of GAF,
GAF is, in my opinion, one of the best manufacturers
warranty wise. You can't find a better warranty. And that's
(35:16):
the other thing that separates Great Lakes.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
When you know you're in Toledo downtown to let do
I do there's a certain company that could have a
rooming hit squad out on you. Doug he actually worked
for them for quite a while.
Speaker 5 (35:29):
So it's interest recording sixteen years. And I mean GAF
does dominate the market, right, They're seventy four percent of
the share in North America. So you know, but you
have two top tier, right, you got gfhones corning gf's
warranties is always something you know, we were looking at
and watching and back to the insurance like, it's a
(35:50):
big problem for manufacturers. Ten sure, if not hundreds of
millions and claims that are coming through because of some
of those problems. So as insurance companies change that, it's
definitely going to impact home owners and really the decisions they.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Need to make as to what they're going to put
on the rim man.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
Would you say, I know that you said that the
stone coated product has been around a long time, but
even I had not really heard of it, and I
was pretty deep in it. Would you say that we
are still in the early adopter phase of this product.
Do you expect to see it become more and more popular.
Do you think it's possible that the manufacturing costs will
(36:24):
come down over time as the product sees more use.
I don't know, just.
Speaker 5 (36:29):
Like anything with supply and demand, but six percent of
North Americas metal shingles, and it's really an education that
has to happen. And I tell you it's a generational
thing as well. So you know, it used to be heavy,
heavy shingles, and so Owen Scorning JAF tackled the heavier
shingle the better and we had to kind of squash
(36:50):
that notion that no, actually you're using fiberglass. Now technology
has changed. The next one is now going to be metal,
which is metals more durable lighter on your roof.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Right.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
So there's a lot of benefits, but the homeowners just
have to be educated and sometimes those generations that are
coming up that are researching at well.
Speaker 1 (37:10):
Part of that goes back to what I was asking, So,
how do you work estimates time it takes to put
the roof on all of that kind of stuff, because
those are selling points for some of the other car
I can get this, you know, done in a day.
I can get you an estimate in five hours all
of that kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
In some cases, we can have a metal roof installed
in one day. So it's amazing. Yeah, these crews that
we have, we've used side by side for quite a
bit and they do they do a fantastic job. They
know what we want. Their crews are are really skilled
in working as a unit and as a team. And
(37:47):
this roof here that we did this is this is
a humongous roof.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
It looks like a big oh crazy audience can't see,
but it's all sorts of elevations. It's cut up one.
Speaker 4 (37:56):
Hundred and thirteen square one hundred and thirteen square them
two and a half days. The homeowner could not believe it.
And it's amazing what the teams can do, so we
can have it done pretty quick. To speak on the estimates,
you know, it becomes challenging because, as Matt said, you're
you're educating the customer who has no idea that this
(38:17):
shingle exists. Right, most people in their mind, we're all
guilty of it. We want the best deal, but we
want the cheapest price, and we know going after metal,
it's we're already in trouble, right because it's not inexpensive.
Speaker 2 (38:33):
We know that.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
But we feel like if we could educate the consumer,
they have a better understanding of the product if they're
gonna live there forever. To replace your roof twice with
a fiberglass, replace it once with metal, it just makes
them most sense.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
I'm just going to say the math should convince most
people if they're willing to look at it, like, look,
I just you know, I just bought my place. I
did have the roof replace. If I had known about this,
I would have looked at it absolutely knowing that I'm,
you know, all, I'm expecting to live at least another
twenty twenty five years, and I'd like it to last
that long. And then the warranty will pass on to
whoever buys the house.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
Right, absolutely, it's it's under It's just a home. So
for example, some warranties you have to transfer it, right,
this is under the address. So if you were to
sell and you didn't have the warranty to transfer, and
somebody knew that's the key, they knew that we did it,
and they were.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
To call in for a service.
Speaker 4 (39:23):
We're servicing that that address, not that the personal custom.
Speaker 2 (39:27):
Exactly how does it do for heat disbursement coming down
on the house? Is it? Is it the same? Better?
Speaker 4 (39:32):
Unbelievable?
Speaker 2 (39:33):
So our shingle we didn't prep that question, I promise you,
but I'm wondering ask to because metal doesn't it collect
the heat more?
Speaker 1 (39:43):
And doesn't it collect the cold?
Speaker 4 (39:45):
So what's really wild with the metal is no, it
does not. The ceramic granules that are on there help
reflect the UV rays in the sunlight in it. Our
metal roof goes off the deck probably by a half
an inch. It's actually really enter fish it. Yeah, And
every single.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Roof that we do, we a little air barriers. An
air barrier. Also, the faster something heats up, the faster
it disperses the heat. So metal will heat up faster,
but it also cools down faster. Absolutely, okay, little science.
Speaker 4 (40:14):
And in California for the wildfires, you know wildfires, they
you know, these ambers jump and start these huge fires
right usually by landing on the roof. Usually by landing
on the roof. And we talk about fiberglass and asphalt
roofing especially, that's an oil based product. I mean, that's
going to shoot up, start on fire right away. Metal
you're not going to have that issue. Now, that's not
(40:35):
a huge selling point here. But our metal roof one
hundred and twenty mile hour headwinds has been tested against
hurricane tested down in Florida and Miami Dade County approved.
We're not going to really get those type of winds
here unless there's a tornado coming through. And we have
other probles.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Go down to Bowling Green, they get FROs and we're.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
Not immune to those kinds of things. So other than
the roofing, because it says great likes home remodeling, absolutely,
are you doing other jobs? What are the other jobs
you do?
Speaker 4 (41:04):
So we do sighting, windows, gutters, gutter protection, doors, everything
on the exterior portion of the house. Pretty much we
wrap ourselves.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
In and since you're using GAF. You said on the roof, right,
what are your options when it comes to those other products,
because there are names that people recognize, you know, top
in the industry.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Yeah, so we partner up with some. In my opinion,
I look at at a lot of manufacturers. What is
the best manufacturer that is going to fit what our
vision is as in a company, and it's a.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Customer first, Okay.
Speaker 4 (41:38):
So I look at a product that if I'm not
going to put it on my home specifically, I'm not
going to put it on your home, and we don't
have a good, better best. We have one product and
that is it. Our windows are all triple pain. They're
triple pain for a reason.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
So for the.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Energy efficiency, I don't allow our guys to sell double
pain windows. Now, there's a lot of people out there
that will do that. There's a lot of people that
will do a good, better best, So we don't. So
we partner with Sunrise, which is out of Temperance, Michigan.
They've been bought out by m I, which is a
very large manufacturer out east, but they've partnered and built
(42:14):
the window that Great Lakes wants. So we even have
our logo on the window itself, which separates us from
the area and the competition. But I love that because
I do want our name branded to it, because I
trust the product. And the same thing when it comes
to siding and doors, you look at what are the
absolute best. I'm not going to go and get a
contractor great door down at the lumber yard. Yeah it
(42:35):
looks good right now, but in five six years that
door is not very good. Trust me, I had a
house built. He's sixteen, and both my doors be kind,
be kind. So yeah, you know, everything that we do,
and the reason I brought Matt on to the company
is just the vision. You know, we want customer first,
(42:58):
customer oriented, customer service.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
And I know that's cliche.
Speaker 4 (43:00):
A lot of people say that, Yeah, I truly truly
mean that, And in the twenty five years that I've
been in this industry, it's never been that way. It's
always been about, you know, get the job, sell the job,
and that's it. And you look at who's installing it.
You look at when the customer has questions, it doesn't
get answered, and that to me drives me nuts.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Yeah, well, we're to have you, proud to have you
in the better business bureau. I appreciate you, thank you
very much.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
The work you're doing is just so how can people
get a hold of you if they need to have
this stuff done? And when you go in, because it's
got to be hard since you've got this quality standard
to sell that product because they've heard, you know, if
they're smart, they've gotten a couple of other estimates. Yeah,
so they go, oh, man, but I can have the
same thing done for you know, a thousand dollars less.
(43:50):
But it's not the same thing, isn't.
Speaker 2 (43:52):
It is not?
Speaker 4 (43:53):
And that's that's what's neat. So our product is different
from what's on the industry. Now. GAF is GAF. You
have to be certified. We are a Master Elite Certified
contractor with GAF. We're also President's Club member, which is huge.
It's it's one percent of all the GAF contractors in
the country that even have that honor. Matter of fact,
my vice president's actually down in Columbus right now with GAF,
(44:16):
which is which is really neat. Uh So, if you're
trying to get a hold of us, you could call
us at our local number which is four one nine
seven one five ten thirty eight. On our job signs
because we do travel quite a bit. It's one eight
hundred and seventy one five roof you're looking for a
roof product.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
We also have online.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
How far will you go for projects? Guys?
Speaker 4 (44:38):
We oh goodness, So we're we're we go all the
way up to bad Axs, Michigan. Oh no, uh yeah,
Saganaw over to Grand Rapids, Michigan. We're gonna we're opening
an area right now in Cleveland in two months, so
we'll be out in Cleveland, which is an area that
I grew up in the home improvement business and in
in Akron.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
So just south of that.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
So you know, we're in the Great Lakes region, but
we want to grow and stay locally. Great Lakes Region.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
Okay, I got to think if you've got a house
on the lake where the wind comes whipping across right,
and I got I just got to believe that's a
great location. You know, if you got a nice house
on the lake, bo yeah, send me out.
Speaker 5 (45:17):
Do you know one thing for Great Lakes our homeowners,
you have a lot of options to choose from, like
Great Lakes. We know this region. Doug's been doing this
for twenty twenty five years in this industry, So having
somebody that knows which products to pick based on the
challenges that homeowners have. And then also, you know why
I joined Great Lakes. You know, we have a four
point seven four point eight kind of hovering between that
(45:39):
on Google. We're taking care of our customers and that's
really why I came in to continue to educate, continue
to take care of the customers. And that's how we're
going to differentiate because anybody you do business with, one
thing you want to make sure is you're getting the
job done right and you're going to be taken care
of after the job.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Absolutely, what's your online presence so people can track you down.
Speaker 4 (45:59):
So we are Great Lakes Homermodeling dot com. You can
find us there. We are revamping and cleaning up our
website quite a bit, obviously because the market kind of
demands it. Sure right now, our website's a little busy,
so we're trying to keep that simple too.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Gotta be simple for us. You Absolutely, when I go
up there, I want to click on something and see
what I want.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
Click here for new roof, click here for new siding.
By the way, you can also find them on BBB
dot org, slash Toledo.
Speaker 4 (46:28):
Yeah I like that too, Yeah for sure, excellent.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
Thanks everybody for joining. This has been a Heart for
Business with Lane Monspread Lafever and thanks to Great Lakes
Home Remodeling for all the information you provided the audience today.
We will be back with episode twelve next week. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (46:46):
You can reach out to any of our guests using
the websites they've listed in the podcast. That information is
also available on the Better Business of your website and
be sure to track them down on their Facebook page.
Fore mind On, signed Fred Lafever, Thanks for joining us
this week. Be sure to subscribe and listen to a
Heart for Business on iHeartRadio and wherever you get your podcasts.
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