Issue 014 of The Roofing Wire, department by department

The Lead: a willful fall-protection case in Florida

The issue led with an OSHA news release dated July 23, 2026. OSHA cited a Florida roofing company for willfully exposing workers to fall hazards at residential construction sites in Rockledge. According to the release, investigators found a 10-foot fall hazard on January 21, 2026, where workers installing sheathing on a sloped roof had no fall protection, and a 9-foot fall hazard on March 10, 2026, where a worker was installing metal hurricane clips.

The release lists more: no written fall protection training certificates at either site, no eye protection for workers using nail guns, and ladders whose side rails did not extend at least 36 inches above the roof landing. OSHA cited two willful and four repeat violations, proposed $349,754 in penalties, and noted the employer had been inspected seven times since 2023, each time with fall protection violations. The company has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference or contest the findings.

OSHA Watch: an excavation collapse near Houston

The enforcement department carried an OSHA release from July 15, 2026. A Houston utility contractor was cited after an excavation collapse hospitalized a worker while crews installed sewer and water lines for a residential development in Alvin, Texas. OSHA found the excavation was not adequately protected, lacked a safe means of exit, and that the hospitalization was not reported within 24 hours; it cited two repeat violations and one other-than-serious violation and proposed $343,797.

Notable Weather: a busy week in the East

Over seven convective days, the issue reports, the Storm Prediction Center logged 151 hail reports, 1,858 wind reports and 19 tornado reports across 38 states. The busiest states were South Carolina with 244 reports, North Carolina with 238, Pennsylvania with 227, Virginia with 222 and Ohio with 125. Nine National Weather Service alerts in the Wire's roof lane were active when the issue was built. The Wire labels these as preliminary spotter reports, not damage counts.

Two stories ran with the numbers: Munich Re Specialty's analysis of escalating hail risk, which the Wire summarizes as a call for proactive mitigation as hail damage and roof costs rise, and a contributed piece on the growing complexity of hail coverage for homeowners. The department points readers to the National Roofing Directory's Storm Center for live alerts.

Biggest Hail: 3.25 inches in Montana

The week's largest stone was a 3.25-inch report 14 miles southwest of Landusky in Phillips County, Montana. It appears on SPC's preliminary hail list for September 6 at 0450 UTC, submitted through the mPING app with the time estimated from radar. The issue also listed two 3.00-inch reports in Fergus County and a 2.75-inch report in Yellowstone County, all in Montana.

The Numbers

The issue's figures department, which prints only what it can count:

Industry News

One story per publisher. Roofing Contractor reported that Shingle Tomb, a product for preserving a finished roof job's details along with the contractor's branding and contact information, received a U.S. patent and expanded distribution. Roofing Magazine covered Morin's new Matrix and Pulse Series metal facade lines, and AZoCleanTech ran a piece on corrosion in bridges, roofs and rail networks.

New Technology

Roofing Contractor summarized a Houzz survey finding rising AI use among construction firms, with contractors reporting time savings. AZoM reported that SteelX Solar Power will offer Midsummer's lightweight integrated solar roofs in North America.

Who Got Sued?

Insurance Journal reported that an Orange County, Florida, circuit judge granted summary judgment against investment firms that had sued two Lighthouse Property Insurance executives, finding that a 2021 note purchase agreement released their claims. The department also linked a New York Post report on unsealed State Farm records concerning the insurer's finances as weather and roof claims rose.

Roofers Being Roofers

This department reprints posts from public roofing groups as their authors wrote them. Issue 014 carried a request for a shingle crew for a job in Kansas and a question about business investments.

Policy Desk

Both stories drew on survey work by AGC of America and NCCER. Roofing Magazine reported that firms are still struggling to find and keep qualified workers, with data centers competing for labor, and Roofing Contractor reported that 29% of contractors said actual or rumored immigration enforcement had affected them, particularly in the South.

Read the next one when it posts

Every issue goes up in full on the National Roofing Directory's newsletter page on the day it is dated. Subscribe to The Roofing Wire to get the Monday Storm Watch email for your states as well.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I read Issue 014 in full?

On the National Roofing Directory, at the issue's permanent page. It is free and needs no account.

Are the storm numbers damage reports?

No. The issue states that its storm figures are preliminary Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center reports and are not a report of damage to any particular building.

Why does the OSHA story date from July?

OSHA Watch collects the most recent enforcement actions that touch a roofing crew, and the Wire notes that those do not arrive weekly, so each item is marked with the date OSHA announced it.