LP TechShield Radiant Barrier Sheathing Helps John Howard Companies Cut Costs and Callbacks

SUMMARY

Founded more than 40 years ago, John Howard Companies is one of the leading and most-awarded homebuilders in Mobile, Alabama. According to president and CEO John Howard, the company operates under the philosophy that superior customer service, product reliability, and quality construction ensures success.

OBJECTIVES

During July and August in Mobile, average daily high temperatures hover around 90° F, with some days measuring at 100° F or more. According to Howard, attics in his homes can reach up to 160° F in the summer. He said that calls from his homeowners in the hot summer months were all too frequent as their air conditioners worked against the heat.

Howard set out to find a way to reduce attic temperatures and the load on his homes’ HVAC systems and thereby reduce callbacks.

IMPLEMENTATION

John Howard Companies found a product that could lower their homes’ attic temperatures and help them save on costs and callbacks: LP® TechShield® Radiant Barrier Sheathing. But the benefits didn’t stop there; Howard said the product even helps during the building process.

“My workers can tell the difference once this product is installed in a home,” Howard said. “It’s not nearly as hot in the summer time when they’re in there working.” That’s because LP TechShield Sheathing helps block up to 97 percent of the radiant heat in the roof panels from entering the attic. This can lower attic temperatures by as much as 30° F.

Beyond increased comfort for his contractors, Howard said that using the radiant barrier is also a cost-effective choice for his company. As LP TechShield Sheathing works to keep heat in the roof panels from entering the attic, it can also reduce the tonnage required by an HVAC system.

“Currently, it only costs me $2 to $3 extra per sheet of roof sheathing to use TechShield,” Howard said. “Because it’s reducing attic temperatures, I can potentially reduce the size of the air conditioner by half a ton and still get the job done. The product more than pays for itself.”

OUTCOME

Howard said his experience with LP TechShield Sheathing has been so positive that he’s been including it as a standard feature in all of his homes for more than three years.

“In the days before TechShield, I could expect my telephone to light up with complaints about hot homes around 5:30 in the afternoon on summer days when the temperature was 95 degrees with humidity at 80 percent,” Howard said.

“In the last three years since I’ve been using TechShield, we haven’t had one single call in the summers about the heat in the attic causing the air conditioner not to work. I build around 100 houses a year. That’s around 300 to 400 homes, and it makes all the difference in the world.”