07/17/2020
The Oasis Apartments
It is a typical summer day in Austin Texas. As I prepare my drone for the days shoot, I feel the sun beating down upon me as temperatures rapidly approach 100 degrees fahrenheit. Flying a drone in Austin Texas is a tricky thing. You are flanked by trees, power lines, and large buildings as far as the eye can see.
Off in the distance, I am amazed at the line of hard working, mostly spanish speaking men, marching effortlessly up and down a ladder that extends a good four stories into the air. I set up my drone and make sure that it is connected to the GPS and has a strong signal before take off.
The owner of MasterBuilt Roofing, Mr. Raymond Vasquez kindly waves at me from a distance and with a large smile on his face starts to head in my direction. With a quick shake of the hand I greet Mr. Vasquez and comment to him on how amazed I am at how quickly and efficiently he and his crew are stripping off the shingles. MasterBuilt Roofing's owner Raymond Vasquez goes on to explain why it is so important to remove every shingle down to the plywood decking of the roof itself.
"Anytime you replace a roof it's very important that you strip it down to the decking. The reason why? Because you never know what is underneath. You don't know if that decking is good, bad, rotting, wet.... obviously it has to be strong. The decking has to be able to hold the nails in. If the decking is rotted or wet those shingles will come right up. So that's why it is so important to inspect the decking and replace it as needed."
With caution, flying at about 250 feet, I slowly make my first approach with my drone, a Mavic Pro. Remembering to press the record button I fly at a north to south direction focusing on all the shingles being stripped one at a time. And being carried one by one to the edge to the apartment complex and thrown into the dumpster below. I remember thinking, each worker had to be carrying at least 20 to 30 pounds of shingles on each shoulder.
While wiping the sweat away from my brow, Raymond points out to me the huge stack of shingles located on the northern corner of the building, stacked next to the dumpster brought in specifically to keep the work site clean.
Mr. Vasquez says,"buying a new roof is not like buying a new car. A car is manufactured at a shop with certified technicians and control checks along the way. A new roof shows up in your driveway in about ten thousand pieces and you need to hope that the crew that installs it are certified by the manufacturer that they are installing and that they have quality control checks along the way."
With pride Raymond Vasquez explains to me that MasterBuilt Roofing is GAF Master Elite certified and they make sure everything is installed according to manufactoror's specifications so that the home owners are guaranteed to get the LIFETIME warranty from their roof systems.
Pass after pass I notice how quickly the apartment's roof is transformed with the new shingles being installed. Blistering sun above does little to prevent these hard working men from accomplishing the task at hand. As I stand under the shade of a large Oak tree I realize how easy I have it. Operating a drone does take skill and owning a small business is a lot of work but the physical and mental fortitude of those workers that day will always stand out to me. I doubt many if any of the residents who live in the apartments below recognized the hard work of those workers replacing the roof above there head that keeps them dry on those stormy Texas nights.
What an amazing organization you are running Mr. Raymond Vasquez. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Drones For Roofers
Raymond Vasquez
MasterBuilt Roofing
https://youtu.be/aOKNSpdmVwY
