Rusty Wallace takes the win with Inspire® Slate

By DaVinci Roofscapes.

NASCAR Champion relies on DaVinci composite roofing.

Who could forget all the strategic racing moves Rusty Wallace has made in his NASCAR career? Turns out the retired 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer still has the drive for perfection — especially when it comes to his home.

Most recently Rusty turned his keen attention to the selection of a new roof for his North Carolina home.

“When it was clear that the heavy roofing tiles were leaking and starting to fall off my roof, I knew it was time to get serious about a replacement,” says Rusty. “I watched as roofing tiles up the street were installed on a neighbor’s house. I really liked them. When we looked into them, they turned out to be from DaVinci® Roofscapes...Most people find a roofer and ask what they suggest. I said I want that product, now show it to me!”

Visualizing a new roof

Rusty started out just as any other homeowner would — he contacted the customer service team at DaVinci’s headquarters and asked for samples. From there he connected with DaVinci’s territory sales manager, Bill Landry, to determine what product and color would work best for his lakeside home.

“We started discussing shake versus slate on the house,” says Bill. “Using the DaVinci Visualizer, we could get a photo rendition of what the house would look like with both options and with different color roofing. While their first inclination was to use shake on the roof, the Visualizer helped them quickly change gears and move to a slate profile. Due to the aesthetics and product availability, the DaVinci Inspire® Slate line was selected.

He went on, "From there I constructed several large sample mock-up boards with different colors of the Inspire Slate product. That really helped move the couple away from a brightly colored roof that would have clashed with their multi-colored driveway to a more neutral charcoal black roof color.”

Inspiring slate roof

The lightweight single-width Inspire Slate chosen by Rusty for his home is modeled from natural slate using advanced resins. Backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty, the quarter-inch thick Inspire® Slate tiles resist mold, algae, fire, pests and impact. They will also not chip or crack.

“Having a roof that’s virtually maintenance free means everything in the world to me,” says Rusty. “I like the composite aspect. It looks exceptionally realistic. Yet I know this will be a worry-free roof for decades to come.”

Impressing a roofer

To bring in a conveyor system to remove the old tiles and then install the new roof, Rusty chose Trinity Roofing & Construction out of Whitakers, North Carolina.

“We’ve been in business for 10 years, but this was the first time we’ve installed Inspire Slate,” according to Chad Williamson with Trinity Roofing & Construction LLC. “My entire team and all the installers were very impressed with this specific composite product compared to other similar products we install regularly."

Chad continued, "We probably reduced our installation time by up to 35%. It was pretty incredible. The Inspire Slate is a very nice-looking product and we plan to highly recommend it to our future customers. Considering the challenges we faced of going from such a high-profile barrel tile to such a low-profile slate-like product, we’re extremely proud of the final results achieved for Rusty and his wife.”

Finish line

Chad isn’t the only one pleased with the final results. According to Rusty, he’d use both the roofer and the composite product again.

“It was great working with Chad and his team,” says Rusty. “True Craft Builders recommended Chad and they were so correct. The Trinity Roofing & Construction team were great to work with and provided us with a roof that looks terrific on our home. I never liked the old roof on this house. Now the house feels ‘right’ with the Inspire Slate roof. It fits the style of house better.

When you’re running all over the country like I do, there really are very few hours to sit back and relax when I’m at home. Now when I’m there I don’t have to worry about the roof anymore. I’m glad those roofing headaches are gone.”