Homeowners now have more information than ever before. Before a roofing or siding contractor arrives, many people have already searched for shingle types, siding materials, attic ventilation, warranty terms, nail sizes, storm protection, and common signs of damage.
AI can help them learn the right words. It can help them form better questions. It can even help them compare before they speak with a contractor.
But knowing the words is not the same as knowing what is happening inside the home.
An online search cannot always show whether air is moving the right way through the attic. It cannot confirm if moisture is trapped behind the siding. It may not find weak areas on the roof, hidden mold, old repairs, or more than one layer of roofing below the surface.
This creates a new challenge for the home improvement industry. Homeowners may know more, but contractors must still be ready to find what the homeowner and the technology cannot see.
During a PowerChat hosted by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, Matthew Rogevich, Director of Sales at CertainTeed, explained why trained home consultants remain vital in a time shaped by AI, satellite images, and digital research.
Rogevich understands the value of technology. He sees how AI can help homeowners prepare and how digital tools can help contractors work faster. He also sees the line those tools have not yet crossed.
“AI can’t speak to the particular ventilation of that structure. AI can’t speak to the potential moisture that was behind the siding or the weak spots up on the roof,” said Rogevich.
His point is simple. AI can explain what may happen in a home, but it cannot always confirm what is happening in one specific home.
That work still calls for a trained person who is willing to inspect the roof, enter the attic, study the airflow, look for moisture, and explain what the findings mean. A satellite image may provide a useful view from above, but it cannot replace every part of a full home inspection.
The conversation also raised an important question for contractors. As AI gives homeowners more answers, what must field teams do to remain more useful, more accurate, and more trusted than an online search?
For Rogevich, the answer begins with better training. Contractors must prepare their people to understand more than product names. They must know how roofing, siding, ventilation, moisture control, and installation practices work together.
This is where CertainTeed contractor partnerships and product education can help support a stronger homeowner experience. Product knowledge matters, but it becomes most valuable when trained people apply it to the real conditions of the home.
The conversation closely reflects the mission of Power100. Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Through PowerChat interviews, the platform brings forward clear lessons from leaders who are helping contractors serve homeowners with more knowledge, care, and trust.
This conversation is not about rejecting AI. It is about understanding what technology can do well and protecting the work that still requires human skill.
AI can help a homeowner become informed. A trained consultant must still inspect the home, test the information, find hidden risks, and guide the homeowner toward the right answer.
During the PowerChat, Greg Cummings moved the conversation beyond whether AI belongs in home improvement. The deeper question was how contractors can use new tools without losing the care, judgment, and direct inspection that homeowners still need.
Matthew Rogevich, Director of Sales at CertainTeed
Matthew Rogevich explained that AI can help people understand products and prepare for a project. It can also help contractors gather information and work faster. Yet the final recommendation must still be based on the home itself.
That difference became the heart of the conversation. A homeowner may arrive with more knowledge than before, but a trained consultant must still discover what is true, what is hidden, and what the structure needs.
The first talk between a homeowner and a contractor is no longer starting from zero.
Many homeowners have already used AI to learn about roof shingles, siding systems, ventilation, warranties, installation steps, and product choices. Some have also searched company reviews and common signs of poor work before they schedule an appointment.
Jeremy McKinney explained that homeowners are now using terms that were once uncommon during a sales visit. They may ask about nail sizes, product layers, installation rules, or warranty limits. In some cases, AI has even helped them find questions they did not know they should ask.
“They have terms that they wouldn’t have known before,” McKinney said. “They’re starting to ask questions that are not just curious questions, but ones that AI has prompted them to.”
This shift raises the standard for every field team. A consultant can no longer rely on a simple product talk. The homeowner may already understand the basic points and expect a deeper answer.
For Matthew Rogevich this is not a reason to fear AI. It is a reason to prepare people better.
A strong consultant can confirm what the homeowner found, correct information that does not fit the project, and explain how each point connects to the real home. This can turn an online search into a more useful and honest conversation.
The best contractors will not try to prove that the homeowner knows nothing. They will respect the research, add real experience, and guide the homeowner toward a clear next step.
Learn how CertainTeed supports contractors with product knowledge and homeowner education.
AI can explain how roof ventilation should work. It can list common causes of moisture. It can describe signs of roof damage or poor siding installation.
What it cannot always do is confirm which answer fits one home.
Two houses on the same street may look almost the same from the outside. Yet one may have poor airflow in the attic. Another may have water trapped behind the siding. One roof may have weak wood beneath the shingles. Another may have old roofing layers hidden below the surface.
A broad answer may sound correct and still miss the real cause.
“AI can’t speak to the particular ventilation of that structure,” Rogevich said. “AI can’t speak to the potential moisture that was behind the siding or the weak spots up on the roof.”
His point places a clear line between learning and finding.
AI can help a homeowner learn what ventilation means. A trained consultant must still check whether the ventilation in that home is working as it should.
AI can explain how moisture may damage siding. A person must still look for the signs, study the wall system, and decide what may be happening behind the surface.
This is why a home should be viewed as one connected system. The roof, attic, siding, walls, airflow, and moisture control can all affect each other.
A useful recommendation must come from the condition of the structure, not only from a search result or product page.
For homeowners looking for CertainTeed roofing and siding solutions, the product choice should follow a careful review of the home. The right material matters, but the right answer begins with knowing what problem must be solved.
Explore CertainTeed roofing and siding products for different home needs.
Some home problems are easy to see.
A missing shingle may appear in a photo. Broken siding may be clear from the ground. A stain on the ceiling may show that water has entered the home.
Other problems are harder to find.
Mold may be growing inside the attic. Moisture may be trapped behind the siding. Air may not be moving through the roof system in the right way. Soft wood or weak areas may sit below materials that still look fine from above.
These are the problems that make direct inspection so important.
“Today, that still is a person that is walking into that attic and doing an attic inspection, looking for mold or ventilation,” Rogevich said.
A satellite image can be useful. It may show the size and shape of a roof. It may help a team prepare measurements or begin a project plan.
But it cannot always show what is under the roof or inside the attic.
A contractor who depends only on the screen may build an incomplete plan. Needed work may be missed. The production team may find the issue after the project starts. The homeowner may then face a delay, a higher cost, or a change that was never expected.
A careful roof inspection can help connect product knowledge with the real condition of the home. The value is not only in finding visible damage. It is also in taking the time to look where the most serious problems may be hiding.
Technology can help the inspection. It should not become a reason to skip it.
Review CertainTeed residential roofing systems and home protection options.
Sending someone to a home does not guarantee that the inspection will be useful.
The consultant must know what to look for. The person must understand how roofing, siding, ventilation, moisture, and installation practices connect. The consultant must also know when one small sign may point to a larger problem.
Rogevich explained that contractors must train their people beyond the level of someone who may only use AI, look at a satellite image, and leave.
“When I say education, we’re not just talking about a brand or a product,” he said. “We’re talking about the process.”
That process includes more than knowing the name of a shingle or siding line.
A consultant should understand why ventilation matters, where moisture may collect, how flashing protects the home, and what can happen when installation steps are missed. The person should also know how to explain those findings in words the homeowner can understand.
This is where CertainTeed training and sales support for exterior contractors can strengthen the home visit.
Technical education can help installers follow the correct steps. Product education can help sales teams explain why one system may fit the home better than another. Inspection training can help consultants find issues before the work begins.
Jeremy McKinney also explained that teams have visited manufacturing facilities and learned how materials are made. That direct experience gives consultants more than a sales script. It gives them a clearer understanding of what they are asking the homeowner to trust.
A trained eye does not come from standing in the industry for many years alone. It comes from continued learning, careful practice, and a willingness to keep improving.
Explore CertainTeed education and credential programs for exterior professionals.
A homeowner may begin the project with a clear picture in mind.
They may want a certain roof color, a new siding style, better curb appeal, or a quick repair. AI may help them compare products and decide what they believe will solve the problem.
hands-on training at CertainTeed
That starting point matters. Yet the consultant must still find out what the home needs.
McKinney explained that PJ Fitzpatrick does not call its field team sales representatives. The company calls them consultants because their job is to understand what the homeowner wants and what the structure requires.
“Our job is really to say, ‘This is what you need here,’” McKinney said.
That does not mean ignoring the homeowner’s goals. It means bringing those goals together with the facts found during the inspection.
A person may believe the roof is the main problem when poor attic airflow is also causing damage. A homeowner may want new siding while moisture behind the wall needs attention first. Someone may focus on one visible repair while a larger system issue remains hidden.
AI can help form an idea. A consultant must test that idea against the home.
This is also why a search for a credentialed contractor should lead to more than a product quote. Homeowners need someone who can inspect, explain, and recommend a solution based on the property.
The most useful consultant is not the one who agrees with every first idea. It is the one who listens, studies the home, and gives an honest reason for the final recommendation.
Find trained CertainTeed professionals who can help review an exterior project.
A strong inspection does not promise that a home will have no hidden problems.
It helps the contractor make a serious effort to find those problems before the project begins.
Rogevich used the example of a roof with more than one old layer beneath the surface. A satellite image may not reveal that condition. A trained consultant who gets close to the roof may be able to find it and explain how it could change the work.
Early discovery gives everyone more time to prepare.
The homeowner can understand the full scope. The sales team can give a clearer price. The production team can plan the right amount of time and material. The contractor can also explain why extra work may be needed before the first part of the project is removed.
“You don’t want to give homeowners surprises because then they lose the trust,” Rogevich said.
This is where inspection becomes more than a technical step. It becomes part of the relationship.
Homeowners know that old homes may hold hidden issues. They know that every problem cannot be seen from the street. What they expect is care, effort, and honesty.
The goal is not only to place new materials over an old problem. The contractor must first understand how the parts of the home work together and what may place the structure at risk.
Technology can make the process faster. It can help organize information and support better choices. But speed has little value when the first plan is incomplete.
The strongest homeowner experience begins when a trained person takes the time to look, explains what was found, and gives the family a clear path forward.
Discover more leadership conversations focused on stronger contractor and homeowner experiences.
AI is giving homeowners better tools to learn, compare options, and prepare for a home improvement project. It is also helping contractors measure faster, study data, and make some parts of the work easier.
That progress should be welcomed.
At the same time, every home carries a story that cannot be fully read from a screen. Past repairs, aging materials, hidden moisture, weak areas, and changing airflow may only become clear when a trained person takes the time to look.
This is why the future of home improvement will not belong to companies that reject technology. It will also not belong to companies that expect technology to do every part of the job.
It will belong to contractors who know how to use both.
AI can support the process. Human judgment must guide the final answer.
For homeowners, that balance can lead to a better experience. They can arrive with more knowledge and stronger questions while still receiving personal care from someone who understands the home in front of them.
For contractors, the standard must continue to rise. As customers become more informed, field teams must become more prepared. They must know how to study the full structure, explain what they find, and show why the recommended solution fits that home.
The most trusted contractor will not be the one who claims to know everything before arriving. It will be the one willing to inspect the attic, study the roof and walls, listen to the homeowner, and give a clear answer based on what is truly there.
That is the balance Matthew Rogevich sees ahead. Smarter tools can improve the work, but trained people will remain the ones who turn information into understanding, hidden conditions into clear answers, and a home visit into a decision the homeowner can trust.
Power100 states that placement in its national rankings cannot be bought. Its five layer system reviews more than 7,600 home improvement leaders and organizations across areas such as leadership, company culture, customer experience, operations, and community impact. This means a large marketing budget alone is not meant to decide who earns recognition.
The two tools serve different needs. Power100 Inner Circle AI for home improvement contractors is built to provide filtered industry knowledge, business resources, and lessons from vetted leaders. Power100 describes it as a support tool for decisions, training, leadership, sales, and growth. It is not presented as a replacement for a contractor who must enter a home and inspect its physical condition.
Matthew Rogevich’s point supports that same limit. AI can help people learn, but it cannot personally check attic airflow, hidden moisture, mold, weak roof areas, or old material beneath the surface. Those findings still require trained human judgment.
No. AI can explain common roofing and siding problems, but it cannot confirm which problem exists in one specific home. A trained consultant may need to inspect the roof, attic, ventilation, siding, and signs of moisture before giving a complete recommendation.
“AI can’t speak to the particular ventilation of that structure. AI can’t speak to the potential moisture that was behind the siding or the weak spots up on the roof,” Matthew Rogevich said during the PowerChat.
A search for a CertainTeed roofing contractor should therefore lead to more than an online product answer. The homeowner still needs someone who can study the structure and explain what was found.
No. Digital measurements, satellite images, and AI research can save time and help a contractor prepare. They may support early planning, product research, measurements, and customer education.
The concern begins when a digital tool becomes the only source of truth. A satellite image may show the shape and size of a roof, but it may not reveal mold in the attic, trapped moisture, poor ventilation, soft decking, or several old roofing layers. Technology works best when it supports a trained inspection rather than replacing one.
No credential can promise that every project will be free from mistakes. CertainTeed says its credentialed contractors receive specialized knowledge and continued training. Its professional programs include product education, installation guides, online learning, in person courses, and roofing and siding credentials.
A CertainTeed credentialed contractor may bring stronger product and installation knowledge, but homeowners should still review the proposed work, ask questions, check insurance and references, and understand who covers the workmanship.
The right inspection depends on the home, the project, and the signs of damage. Not every siding or roof visit will require the exact same steps.
However, when ventilation, moisture, mold, leaks, heat, or roof performance may be part of the problem, looking inside the attic can provide information that an exterior photo cannot. CertainTeed also explains that a roofing system includes more than shingles. Components such as ventilation, underlayment, and ridge materials must work together.
That is why a consultant should decide the inspection scope from the needs of the home rather than follow one simple plan for every property.
CertainTeed does want contractors to understand and use its products, but its official professional resources also cover installation guides, product knowledge, continuing education, credentials, warranties, and technical documents. The company offers both online and in person learning for roofing, siding, trim, and other building systems.
This supports Matthew Rogevich’s wider point that CertainTeed contractor education programs should teach more than a product name.
“When I say education, we’re not just talking about a brand or a product. We’re talking about the process,” Rogevich said.
Yes. AI may provide a correct general answer that does not fit the condition of the home. A homeowner may search for new shingles when the larger issue involves ventilation. They may focus on damaged siding while moisture is trapped behind the wall.
The safest approach is to use AI research as a starting point, then ask a trained consultant to test that information against the home. CertainTeed describes a roof as a system in which shingles, waterproofing, ventilation, and other parts work together.
The best recommendation should explain what the consultant saw, what the home needs, and why the proposed CertainTeed roofing and siding solutions fit those findings.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by Greg Cummings, Power100 gives contractors, manufacturers, partners, and industry leaders a trusted place to share real lessons that can improve leadership, customer care, company culture, and business growth. Through national rankings, PowerChat interviews, industry stories, and leadership resources, the platform helps strong companies earn the recognition they deserve while giving the home improvement community useful ideas it can apply in the field.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
