‘My mate swore by it, said it was a great product. I trust him as a straight talker, and I thought Stormseal could solve a big problem in my industry, so I decided to follow it up,’ said Shane. Shane sees big opportunities to use Stormseal to improve customer experience and grow his business, firstly in asbestos removal/re-roofing, and secondly in roof repairs after severe storms or earthquakes.
From Band-aid Solution to Healing Lives – Hi-tech Aussie invention wrapping up the pain for storm victims. Find out how an Aussie builder’s invention is helping give hope to Queenslanders whose lives have been impacted by wild weather.
The leaking roofs resulted in water damaged rooms on the top floor and some students needed to be relocated. We initially threw some tarps up, but they were inadequate, and couldn’t cover the whole roof. Because it was an older building, the same roof tiles weren’t available anymore, so we knew we needed a long-term solution. Luckily, we heard about Stormseal through a roofer.
With long delays predicted for permanent repairs they needed a solution that would keep each home watertight and weatherproof for over a year. See what protecting a whole community complex from the weather looks like.
Matt Lennox, an experienced insurance builder, has witnessed the harmful impact of tarps too many times, including storm-damaged properties whose damages have increased 5-fold due to tarp failures. For example tarps came off a Berowra Heights home 11 times, escalating the claim from $50K to $285K.
In December 2018, a devastating hailstorm damaged 33,000 properties in northern Sydney. Berowra was one of the worst-hit suburbs. The storm damage bill rose from $75 million to $1 billion due repeated failures of tarps and other ‘make-safes’. When Stormseal was installed, residents were hugely relieved, with some homes still being protected 16 months later.
On 20 January 2020, a catastrophic storm lasting about ten minutes sent huge hailstones smashing into thousands of vehicles and buildings across Canberra. Insurance claims have since topped $500M. The hailstorm inflicted terrible damage on many iconic institutions and iIrreplaceable treasures and archives of national importance were exposed to the elements. Aussie innovation Stormseal was the answer.
Stormseal’s great for our reputation, which is good for business: our turnover has increased by 33% in the past year.
Residents love our work with Stormseal so, more often than not, they get us to quote for their permanent roof repairs too, once their insurance claim is paid. We get more leads and win more jobs because we’ve earned their trust, and they recommend us to others.
‘I teamed up with three other business partners to set up the roof division of Abereum Roofing & Plumbing a short while ago and it’s taken off, mostly thanks to Stormseal,’ says Mitchell Clarke.
‘We started with just two guys, but I’ve taken on another four already to meet the demand, and I’ll be putting eight more through the Stormseal installer training in the next month.
In June 2018, to test Stormseal’s weather resistance under the most extreme natural conditions it was installed on the roof of a hut high in the Swiss Alps. ‘Over several weeks, the wind speed average was over 100 km/h [62 miles/h] and some days up to 200 km/h [124 miles/h]. At the end of January, after many storms, the Stormseal film was still looking good.
For Ryan and Chey Johnson, the happy arrival of their second child was sadly offset by the devastating damage to their Berowra home caused by the December 2018 hailstorm.
‘After the hail wrecked the roof, the wind and rain came,’ said Ryan.
97% of Berowra homes damaged by the hailstorm were ‘made safe’ with tarpaulins, many of which have since failed multiple times.
A massive storm hit the home of Todd and Jo Chapman just before Christmas. “It was frustrating because the insurers kept having to get contractors back to make safe the house again, but they just kept blowing away, letting the rain in,” said Todd. “I would conservatively estimate that the original damage has now increased by 50%.”
When the catastrophic pre-Christmas hail storm hit with hail the size of softballs, David was lucky with his insurer – Youi – which came immediately the next day and arranged for Stormseal to be installed to protect the damage.
“My insurer sent builders to install a tarp the next day, but it was hopeless,” said Marg after a catastrophic hailstorm hit her home. “It kept slipping and flapping and broken tiles kept crashing down, going off like bombs. I couldn’t sleep, and my dog was going crazy. Then my neighbour told me about Stormseal. All the roofers have seen it on her house and they’ve all said that its’ fantastic.”
Sally Edwards was home alone when a catastrophic hailstorm hit her Berowra Heights home on 20 December 2018.
‘The insurance company’s builders came and made patch repairs and installed a tarp with ropes and sandbags. In five weeks, the builders had to come back eight times.
Wilfred’s home, like many others damaged by the October 2018 storm, was given the standard ‘protection’ of a tarp to cover the gaping holes in his roof.
After having his home secured with Stormseal Wilfred noticed an immediate difference. “This is just a different kettle of fish. There’s no noise. There’s no anything. There’s no way in the world any water’s going to get in that. And it looks good. I should get the whole roof covered instead of the tiles.”
We are putting test Stormseal’s weather resistance under the most extreme natural conditions by installing it on the roof of a hut high in the Swiss Alps.
In January 2016 heavy rain and record storms thrashed Sydney and New South Wales, bringing down trees and damaging roofs. The month was rated by the Bureau of Meteorology as the wettest start to a year since 1988, recording 249.8 mm of rain for Sydney. It was during five key days when the rain fell…
“I was sick and tired of having to fix the tarps again and again. In the month after the storm, I was up there five times to fix the tarps, because of the wind. When I heard about Stormseal, I immediately asked our insurer to replace the tarps with it.
Stormseal is perfect because once it’s installed you don’t have to go back up there, and you’ve got peace of mind that if rains, no water is going to come in.”
Wilfred, Buff Point NSW, Homeowner
“Stormseal is just a different kettle of fish. There’s no noise. There’s no anything. There’s no way in the world any water’s going to get in that. And it looks good. I should get the whole roof covered instead of the tiles.”
Todd & Jo Chapman, Berowra NSW, Homeowner
“I would conservatively estimate that the original damage has now increased by 50% because of the inadequacy of the tarps to stay in place whenever a storm occurs.
But now thanks to Stormseal I can relax and be patient as we are fully watertight and storm proof. Stormseal has taken away our anxiety as it gives us a genuine temporary roof until the fix time.” (more…)
Kumar Fernando, Canberra ACT, Homeowner
“Very customer focused, friendly and helpful. Snug across the roof, excellent job. One of them, even cleaned out glass and debris out of the yard, that wasn’t part of the roof or the job they did. Well done guys!”
Sally, Berowra NSW, Homeowner
“I called my insurer and said I wanted Stormseal. Just two hours after the insurer approved it, the Stormseal installers were putting it on my roof. Since then, we’ve had more rain, which has been a good test. Stormseal is properly waterproof, which is a huge relief.(more…)
David Wilson, Head of Innovation, HomeRepair
“For years we have had massive problems with tarps on roofs – they blow off and there is nothing worse, I believe, than being in a house with tarp on the roof and all night it’s flapping and banging and carrying on and we get water entry… Stormseal takes us into the next century… we’re very excited about it… From a customer experience it just puts us way ahead of the competition.”
Andrew Whitehurst, Pegasus Roofing
“Residents love our work with Stormseal so, more often than not, they get us to quote for their permanent roof repairs too, once their insurance claim is paid. We get more leads and win more jobs because we’ve earned their trust, and they recommend us to others. I’d always prefer to use Stormseal than tarps, because I can take pride in my work and we get more work as a result.”
Todd, Berowra NSW, Homeowner
“Stormseal has been described like a shower cap for your house, it tucks under the eaves and gutters, so seals underneath, just like your hair under the elastic of the cap. I like that metaphor, it really works like this!.
Tarps only work until you need them – they just look like they’re doing something when their over your house, but when the storm comes they fail. I like my new orange, temporary roof, which I know won’t blow away and doesn’t leak!”
Joe, Chipping Norton NSW, Homeowner
“In over the eight months we waited for the insurance settlement and complete repairs, Stormseal allowed in not one drop of water… and we could continue to live in our house.
If anyone needs a reliable, watertight roof cover that lasts, Stormseal is the one!”
David, Berowra NSW, Homeowner
“Once Stormseal was on though we felt secure and protected, there has been no elements getting in since. We feel lucky that our insurer took swift action and had Stormseal on before New Year, which unfortunately was not the case for some neighbours who still have holes in their roofs 11 weeks later. One lady who is 86 and lives alone, has had her tarps fly off numerous times and is still awaiting repairs, it’s sad to see.
I do feel secure with Stormseal installed and a lot of the neighbours with damage have asked me about my new orange roof.
So many people have had to have their tarps refitted many times but with Stormseal you know once it’s up it’s there to stay – tarps and Stormseal are truly like chalk and cheese!”
Shane Blakely, Roofpro, New Zealand
“Using Stormseal myself, seeing how it went taut and fitted perfectly to the frame when heated, and feeling just how strong it was, I realised that it was an even better product than it had looked online.”
“‘Stormseal is the solution. Uniquely, Roofpro manages the whole process: we’ll remove the asbestos, we’ll protect the property until it’s certified, and then we’ll rebuild the roof. By offering the whole package and using premium-quality Stormseal, we have a cost-effective service that’s highly competitive and gives our customers total peace of mind.” (more…)
Tom Dougherty, National Manager for HomeClaims Customer Support, Suncorp
“It’s a leading innovative product… what I have seen today is going to give us the ability to be able to do it once and do it properly and not have to re-attend which will be very efficient.”
Ryan Hage, Adelaide All-Trades (AAT)
“We pride ourselves on using cutting edge technology to rapidly make properties safe and restore clients’ peace of mind. As soon as I heard about Stormseal, I knew we should be using it. Stormseal is a fantastic product that we will use after storms and other damaging events. It’s especially good in difficult access situations. The best thing is that it stays put – we won’t have to go back to fix any more flapping or leaking tarps.”
Craig White, National Manager of Event Response, Suncorp
“I definitely see a place for Stormseal in our natural hazard strategy. When we want to get customers back into their home, having something that keeps their home watertight is paramount, so we can progress with their claim.”
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