John Kenney, CPRC, CEO, Cotney Consulting Group - March 2026
Ask any roofing contractor what hurts profitability the most and you will hear the usual answers: material increases, production delays, labor shortages or schedule conflicts. All of those are valid concerns but there is another issue that silently drains margins on every roof and one many companies never track. It is called rework. Despite being commonplace, very few contractors realize how much of their annual profit can disappear with a single corrected detail, a missed measurement or an unnecessary return trip.
The reason rework is so damaging is that it rarely arrives in large, obvious pieces. It shows up in minutes, not hours. A foreman sends someone back to redo flashing that should have been done right the first time. A crew has to pull off a section because someone misread the scope requirements. A jobsite is missing fasteners, so part of the job sits idle until someone can run across town. No one enters “rework” into a cost code. It hides inside labor, wasted trips, callbacks and missed details. Over the course of a year, those minor incidents multiply. By the time a contractor adds it up, if they ever do, the cost rivals or well exceeds what they lost on material increases.
Rework does not start where most people think it does. In roofing, most rework is born long before the crew arrives on the roof. It begins with unclear scope language, missing details in the handoff from estimating to operations and job packets that fail to answer the questions field leaders inevitably ask. Too often, the field team is expected to “figure it out” from drawings that may or may not reflect the actual conditions. When information is missing, foremen make assumptions. Sometimes they are correct. Sometimes they are not. When they are wrong, rework follows.
A breakdown in communication among the estimator, project manager and foreman is another consistent source of rework. Everyone believes they share the same understanding of the work but unless those expectations are documented, reviewed and discussed, misunderstandings surface on the roof. The estimator might include a particular detail that never makes it into the supervisor’s packet. A project manager might deliver verbal instructions that are interpreted differently in the field. The supervisor may see a condition that does not match the drawing but
hesitates to call because they assume it is small. When people make decisions based on assumptions rather than clear direction, rework is almost guaranteed. Material problems are another frequent cause. It only takes one missing box of fasteners or one incorrect roll type to derail a crew. Rushing through submittals, failing to verify what the supplier delivered or staging materials out of sequence often leads to field corrections that cost time and money. Even experienced crews get frustrated when they cannot maintain a steady workflow because the right
materials are not where they need them, when they need them. And once a crew loses rhythm, rework tends to follow, as rushed work and frequent stops lead to mistakes.
Quality control failures also create rework in ways contractor’s underestimate. Sometimes it is the small, easily overlooked details, such as a termination that is not sealed correctly, a transition that gets rushed at the end of the day or a mechanical penetration that no one checks after installation. These details matter. A missed detail during installation becomes a leak call
later. Returning to a site for a leak investigation and repair costs far more than doing it right the first time. Those callbacks not only drain labor but also damage customer confidence and often stretch service departments thin.
Poor sequencing can also drive rework. If the tear-off gets ahead of the installation, crews often feel the pressure to hurry. Hurrying creates mistakes. When trades overlap or schedules get compressed, installers spend more time working around obstacles than installing. In those moments, even good crews produce errors they would never make under normal conditions.
The schedule itself can create rework when it is unrealistic, uncoordinated or not communicated clearly.
One of the most common forms of rework appears at the end of the project: punch lists. Ideally, punch lists should be short and manageable. In reality, many contractors receive punch lists so long they resemble a second job. When installation details are not verified throughout the job, they pile up at the end. Corrections that could have been handled in minutes during installation now require a trip back, extra labor and coordination with the general contractor or building owner. The longer the punch list, the more the original job’s profit evaporates. Punch list rework is often a direct reflection of the attention or lack of attention paid during the job.
Reducing rework is not complicated but it does require leadership. Foremen need clear expectations and the authority to slow down when something is unclear. Project managers must verify that crews have everything they need to install the first time correctly. Estimators must provide a clean scope, precise drawings and detailed handoffs. Everyone has a role in preventing rework and the companies that do it best treat rework as a controllable factor rather than an inevitable part of construction.
The most effective contractors create a culture where communication is steady, details are verified and the crew understands what “done right the first time” means. They do not wait until the end to inspect work. They review details during installation. They avoid burying field leaders with incomplete or inconsistent information. They take the time up front, so they do not pay for it later. And when rework does happen, and it always will to some degree, they address the cause immediately so it does not reoccur.
Rework is not an inevitable part of construction. It is the consequence of breakdowns in clarity, communication, preparation and discipline. Contractors who decide to treat rework as a measurable, preventable loss find profit they did not know they were losing. They slow the job down, when necessary, not because they want to work slower but because they want to avoid doing the work twice. And when you stop doing things twice, profit has a way of finding its way back into the books.
John Kenney, CPRC is CEO of Cotney Consulting Group, Plant City. He has decades of experience on commercial roofing projects, providing a unique understanding of what it takes to succeed in roofing – on the roof, in the office and at scale. John saw the need to provide contractors with strategic guidance built on real-world field knowledge. Cotney Consulting offers COO on Demand, online training, technology solutions, business advisory consulting, collections, contracts, Castagra estimating training, safety and OSHA training. John partners with FRSA to provide educational seminars. For more information, contact John at jkenney@cotneyconsulting.com or 813-851-4173.