The Ins and Outs of Exterior Remodeling! - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Randy Kruse and Steve Kruse from The Kruse Brothers. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Megan Ellsworth: ... hello, everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth, and this is the AskARoofer podcast. Welcome back, we are so excited to have the one and the only Kruse Brothers with us today, Randy and Steve. Hi, how are you doing?

Randy Kruse: Still good.

Steve Kruse: We're doing well. Thank you for having us.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, we're so excited to have you back. So today we're going to be talking about the ins and outs of exterior remodeling, which you guys are professionals in. So let's dive right in, and have you each just introduce yourselves.

Steve Kruse: All right, I'm Steve Kruse. I am a co-owner of The Kruse Brothers. We are brand ambassadors for products such as LP SmartSide, and other manufacturers as well. We've been in the siding business our entire lives, I started when I was 19 years old, and I'm obviously a little bit older than that now.

Randy Kruse: Awesome. And I'm Randy Kruse, and I started in the siding industry shortly after my technical college that I attended. Steve and our oldest brother, Robert, were working on siding projects, and I just wanted to see what it was like. And I started in on siding, and ended up on roofing, and took off and built a little division of roofing that we had in our business at the time. And then subsequently took all that knowledge that we had, and found out that we could really go out and we could help other people with running their businesses, learning about products that are out there, and now we get to do things like RoofersCoffeeShop, and these podcasts, and teach things for LP SmartSide, which is what we absolutely love.

Megan Ellsworth: Yay, we love LP.

Lauren White: Yeah, we're excited to hear all the things from you guys. Like Megan said, we were talking about exterior remodeling. So as a homeowner, where does a homeowner start when they need to remodel the exterior, like their siding, or the roofing, or maybe both?

Randy Kruse: Yeah. So I think that the exterior remodel starts when people see that there's a significant problem. Right, Steve?

Steve Kruse: Yeah, absolutely. When you look up at your roof, and your shingles are curling, and it looks like there's wear spots, or it just doesn't look as fresh as maybe one of your neighbors, or maybe those new subdivisions that you drive by, you may need to start looking at a roof. I mean, it's not always a water leak. When it comes to siding, it could just be personal choice, you may want to just change how your house looks, but there's also... Once again, if you have peeling paint, or bowing vinyl siding and things like that. So where to start? Obviously, if you have problems, you need to get started, so determine what kind of house you have, is it a Cape Cod? A bungalow? Maybe it's a historical house, or even a farmhouse, that'll kind of determine what style sidings you're going to put on the house. And then, of course, meaning what profiles work well.

And then take a look at your neighborhood, and take a look at the houses left and right, and across the street from you to determine what colors fit in well. Nowadays, there's a lot of new roofing colors, there's a lot of new siding colors, so you want to make sure that you're either going with a classic style, or maybe what's trending. Farmhouses are a big deal with the white house and the black house, or black windows. And then, of course, if you're not quite sure, you could always go to a contractor supply house, someplace that's been in business for a while. There are some really nice lumber yards out there that have great displays and things, and LP SmartSide is often featured in those lumber yards. And then your representative at the supply house or lumber yard often knows the correct or the most widely used products in the area, such as, if you were down in Kansas, or very windy areas and things, SmartSide is a key component because of their wind warranties and things. Right, Randy?

Randy Kruse: Yeah, absolutely. If we get back to the original question, Steve, it was, when we know when we need to get to that remodel? When does somebody need to know? And it's going to be that peeling paint, it's going to be that bode siding, things like that that are going to be really those key factors of when a house needs to be resided.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's great information though. What criteria should someone, a home or building owner, use to pick a contractor when they do see those signs of wear and tear?

Randy Kruse: Absolutely. I think when we look at certification programs, such as LP SmartSide Certified Installer Program, or LP also has a Preferred Installer Program. There are many different roofing companies that have preferred or certified status, definitely look at that. I think another way to look at a contractor is maybe their profile within the community. Are they volunteering? Are they donating time and effort, and materials to different projects around the community? That's a good way to, not only for a contractor to get their name out there, but also for homeowners to see who's a viable resource in the community.

Steve Kruse: Yeah, and that works really well, Randy, because oftentimes, the manufacturers offer training for free. So to become a preferred or a certified contractor, there may be very little investment to get certified, or become a preferred contractor, so if your contractor is unwilling to do that, that may not be the contractor for you.

Randy Kruse: Yeah, totally agree.

Megan Ellsworth: Totally.

Lauren White: Yeah, those are some great points. And so how important is the relationship between the contractor and the homeowner?

Randy Kruse: Yeah, it's interesting, when we look at different competitors around us with business, there are some people that go in and establish a long-term relationship with a homeowner, and have a lot of conversation when they first meet that homeowner. But then there's also others that are extremely successful by literally walking in, taking measurements, handing over a bid, bid price, showing materials they're going to use, and out they go. Very little conversation. So I don't know if that relationship is super important, it is for growth. So if a contractor wants to grow his or her business, that is going to be where that long-term relationship is going to help out. But if a contractor's literally wanting to go in, and get in, and get out, and go onto the next job, which is how you make your money, one after another, keep going, it's just a different way that some people like to run their business.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's so true. And I think maybe that's changing too, the homeowners want to know who their contractor is, have that rapport with them, and feel like they're being taken care of. And alongside that, how important is the relationship between the manufacturer and the homeowner? Do homeowners usually know who's manufacturing their products? And if they don't, should they?

Steve Kruse: Yeah, so it's good to know who the manufacturer is, and where they are, where they're located. You want to be able to have materials that are readily available, and locally sourced. And of course, then you also want to know, not only what the warranty is, but the warranty process. I don't think you need to know the CEO of the manufacturer of the type of siding or roofing, but something that came up to us in the past was, a homeowner wanted a product that they were familiar with, from another region of the country, and they were hoping to be able to use that product where they currently live. And that manufacturer did not produce material for where we live. So you do want to know the manufacturer, you want to make sure that they are producing product for your area, and the warranty. And I think that's about the extent of what you really need to know.

Lauren White: So as you've gone through this process before, what are some of the top questions you suggest homeowners ask before diving into a siding or a roofing job like this, like we're talking about?

Randy Kruse: Yeah, probably I'll have to come up with a couple each. Steve, I think one question we always get is, what is our experience working with a certain product? So people want to know, have we worked with a certain type of vinyl siding, or fiber cement, or SmartSide? Or what's our experience with that and how much have we done? Another one would be our references and referrals. So, do we have a reference list? Do we have homes that the homeowner might be able to go look at? That's usually for color. So a lot of times they want to see different color palettes, and stuff like that. They like to see it in big form as the house.

And social media is kind of helping with that right now, on our Instagram account, @thekrusebrothers. We have found that we get asked for full pictures of houses that we've finished. We're kind of showing the actual work-in-progress, but they want... People are asking us through DMs, "Can you show the whole house?" Or, "Can you show a picture from further back?" And while we're the doers, they want to see the finished product, which is interesting, so that kind of takes care of that color idea. Steve, you have a couple more, probably.

Steve Kruse: Yeah, and I'll look at it from a little bit of a different perspective. What do homeowners know, or what don't they know to ask. Well, ask everything. Because if you're not sure about something, well bring it to the table. I mean, when you're looking at your house, and you try to choose what kind of siding you want, and color, and you look at your house, and all of a sudden, you're looking at the right side elevation, and there's mold all over the wall, well, ask the contractor why that happened, or is that going to happen with the new type of siding? And that goes for roofing as well, you might have dark spots on the roof. Homeowners, ask that question, "Why is there dark spots on my roof?" And that could be a couple of different reasons why, but having your contractor there to answer those questions, whether it's choosing colors, choosing contractor, just try and figure out what the heck is going on with your house, ask all the questions.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's so true. And kind of going off of that, do you have any wisdom to share with homeowners in order to have a great experience with their contractor and exterior remodeling that they're doing?

Steve Kruse: Yeah, I mean, when choosing a contractor, one, having a plan. Look at your home, decide what type of home you have, what type of profile, and what you want your house to look like with colors and things. And then try to choose a contractor. Find a contractor who doesn't pressure you into what they want to do-

Megan Ellsworth: Yes.

Steve Kruse: Or someone that you have an ease to talk to. Because you may have a certain view, or a certain way you want your house to look, and you might have to talk that through with the contractor. And the contractor can have ideas too to bring to the table. So if you're under pressure, you may not be able to make the decision on a huge job such as siding and roofing. There's a lot of money tied up here, so you want to be able to take your time.

Megan Ellsworth: Well said. Yeah, that's good wisdom.

Lauren White: So in your own experience, what is the best home exterior remodel that you've had, or the most fun project that you guys have done?

Randy Kruse: Well, it is work. It's usually a lot of work. This week it's going to be almost 100 degrees.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh.

Randy Kruse: So when we talk about fun-

Lauren White: Oh, yeah.

Randy Kruse: And fun projects, boy, I don't know, I mean there's... I think it's usually ones that you're doing for yourself.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Randy Kruse: It's going to be your own home. Those are low pressure, 'cause you don't have a homeowner to where you have to move your car, move your truck, or not block their driveway, or, "Where do you put the siding? And is it going to kill the grass?" Or stuff like that.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Randy Kruse: When you're doing your own home, it's just a lot of fun, because it's something that you're going to look at for the rest of the time you live in that house. And that's kind of the way that we try to treat our homeowners, is like we're doing it ourselves, or for ourselves. So we know we're going to block your driveway, so, hey, maybe we move those at 7:00 in the morning every day, instead of us asking, or, hey, let us move them. If you're wanting to leave at 7:30, and we show up at 7:00, we'll move the cars for you. It's not a big deal to just work with the homeowners.

A homeowner should have the contractor feel comfortable, and the contractor should feel comfortable being there. So you wake up, you get there in the morning, and there's a dog in the backyard, know the dog, know the dog's name, put it back in the house, or don't leave the gate open, stuff like that. It's just kind of taking that, it's your house, it's your project, until you leave and get paid for that final check, it's got to feel like you're working on your own home.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah.

Steve Kruse: Wow, Randy, you hit on every single thing. It's all about expectations. So the more comfortable the homeowner is with you, and you are with them, that job is going to go smaller. You're guaranteeing success when you have all your ducks in a row. You know that house is going to be awesome. And when you're working with homeowners and you get to put more than just LP SmartSide on, but now you get to put board and batten, and lap siding, or board and Batten with shaking the gables, and things like that, you know that house is going to be awesome. But they're still hoping they pick the right contractor. They know they have, they've made the decision, but they don't know what exactly it's going to look like. So having all your ducks in a row, having the homeowner know what profile's going on in the house, what color's going on, all the SmartSide products have great warranties, and then having a timeline of events.

Like Randy said, the car is being moved, where a dumpster or a dump trailer's going to go for siding and roofing. Even progress payments make the job easier, and better with the homeowner. Because the homeowner knows, when this is done, they owe X amount of dollars. And you get that give-and-take with the homeowner, because they know what to expect, and you know the end result, and it's all going to come together at the end with a very happy homeowner. And Randy and I both stand back and look at every one of our SmartSide houses, and it's a wow every single time. And we've got 1,000 plus, and you just feel great when you're done with them.

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. And I mean, for all you homeowners out there listening, these are the kind of contractors that you want to hire, right? People that treat your home it's their own home. And I feel like if you are a homeowner, and you hire a contractor, and you don't have that rapport, or the feeling of they're going to treat your home like it's their own, then maybe they're not the contractor for you, and you find another one, and that's okay. So thank you, gentlemen, so much. I wish I could call you up, and have you do my house if I ever needed it. But lastly, what are some of your favorite LP SmartSide products to recommend to homeowners that need new siding?

Randy Kruse: Yeah, definitely for today's trends is going to be vertical siding.

Megan Ellsworth: Okay.

Randy Kruse: It doesn't have to be board and batten, it can be vertical lap siding, so it looks kind of like a reverse board and batten, to where we take eight inch lap siding, and we run it vertically, stacked over the top of one another, and it really does look cool. It's using the LP products like that, as accent, so like board and batten accents, mixed in with lap siding. I recently had a project that had board and batten on the whole thing, and it started to look like too much instead of an accent. So the accent was actually eight inch lap siding, so it was interesting, and it had a cool little bump out on it, and we did it in lap siding. And then, Steve, you've been using straight shake, right?

Steve Kruse: Yeah. So LP SmartSide shake is in one piece or one panel, it is staggered on one edge, and if you turn it over, it is straight. And typically, for a number of years, we have installed a staggered shake on every shake job that we've done. And most recently, in the last couple of months, people have been asking for a straight shake. So we were able to take that same panel, turn it over, and run a straight shake, by ordering the same product. And it's an ease of installation once again, and it looks really, really cool.

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, very cool. Wow.

Lauren White: Definitely.

Randy Kruse: Definitely social media. LP Pros on Instagram, LP Building Materials on Instagram. They showcase a bunch of their exteriors. They're not going to take a picture of a plain old house, they take pictures of all those cool, neat features, things that people have come up with. It's really the LP SmartSide substrate that is the key to SmartSide's success. So when we use a lap siding and run it vertically, it's been tested for that, but somebody did it originally right out of the box, and tried it, used it, and then LP took and tested it extensively to make sure it would work that way. It all has to do with LP substrate.

So we're now seeing LP SmartSide being used interior, so people want more durable commercial restroom, bathrooms. They're using SmartSide in the bathrooms, where it can take the abuse. Down long hallways in hotels. We'll check into a hotel when we're traveling, and be like, "Did they really use LP SmartSide down here?" And it's where maybe the laundry carts can bang up against the wall, or what have you. So it's interesting where it's all coming from in those details.

Megan Ellsworth: Wow, that's cool that they use it inside.

Lauren White: Very versatile. Well, gentlemen, any last words of advice about exterior remodeling or LP SmartSproducts?

Steve Kruse: Well, when it comes to LP SmartSide, it has a 50-year warranty. First five years is labor and material. If you're going to be using the expert finish, that has a 15-year paint warranty, as well as a shiplap end, or butt joint, which is proprietary, and very, very cool as well, so it literally looks seamless. And also, it has a wind warranty up to 200 miles per hour, and it's hail resistant. So, so many things, and so many reasons to use LP SmartSide, it makes a lot of sense. They have all the profiles you could look for, six inch lap, eight inch lap, 12 inch lap, as well as board and batten, vertical siding, shake, and things like that. So all the products that you would love to have on your home, they offer through their catalog.

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. Well, thank you both so much. For everyone out there listening, you should go check out LP SmartSide's directory on AskARoofer and RoofersCoffeeShop. And then, you should also check out The Kruse Brothers YouTube channel, and all their social media, and everything great that they do, because I'm sure you can learn loads more from what they're posting and sharing, they do great stuff. Thank you both so much for chatting with us today.

Randy Kruse: Awesome. Thanks for having us.

Steve Kruse: Thank you.

Megan Ellsworth: Well, thank you everyone out there listening. And for more, go to askaroofer.com, or slide through your favorite podcast streaming platform, and we have lots more episodes to listen to. So thanks for listening.