[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: And replacement windows are amongst the highest return.
I think last year's number was somewhere around 76%. So you know, about three quarters of what you spend on new windows for your home will actually be returned to you. Additional value on the home. So certainly makes it a worthwhile investment.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact podcast and I am chatting today with Joe Mills on the phone. So welcome to the podcast, Joe.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: Well, glad to be here, Sheri. Appreciate you guys having me.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Yeah, no problem. And so I don't know that you and I have actually met before, so I'm curious, tell us a little bit about you like your background, your experience and, and where you're currently working and role and responsibilities there.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: Sure. I'd been in this window business a little bit over 30 years, starting back on the other side of the business on the retail side many, many years ago, selling in the home in the Atlanta area. And then about 2007 I moved to the manufacturing side. I went to work with Sunrise Windows and have been with Sunrise right up until the acquisition and of course still doing some Sunrise work now had a couple of roles with Sunrise. I had a territory manager role. I was the director of marketing at the time of the acquisition. And since I've had a couple of roles with Miter Brands current one, I'm in sales and marketing roles. Sort of like it is a territory role but it has some ambassadorship type things to it because I work with a lot of of the older Sunrise customers and kind of all over the eastern half of the country.
[00:01:56] Speaker A: Awesome. And so where are you based?
[00:01:58] Speaker B: I am based out of the Georgia area. I'm right now in Atlanta actually very soon move down near the grandkids in South Georgia.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: Yeah, you gotta be close to those guys.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I drugged my wife up north when I took the marketing role with sunrise about 10 years ago and I promised her I was always going to get her back down here and the company fortunately helped me with a role that allowed me to do that. So it was really great.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's amazing. Thank you for taking some time to chat with me today about all of this. One of the things that we really want to talk about today, and this is a pretty broad question and this could be applicable to whatever brand of windows you're working with, hopefully it is one of the Mitre brands, but from a Sunrise perspective and then Just generically, when is a good time to replace your windows?
[00:02:48] Speaker B: Well, you know, that obviously varies by the way people think and you know, other things. I think we see people replacing windows a lot of times in a new construction scenario after two or three years of recognizing that builders grade windows are a little different than replacement windows, sometimes it is a, a function of function. The windows aren't working like they should. But almost always there's some level of change in comfort in the home. It could be comfort surrounding the pain of a high power bill, but it's almost always this is people's castle. And you know, what drives this? As we talk to homeowners in the 30 plus years that I've done this is typically feel uncomfortable and they come to recognize that windows are a big, big part of that.
[00:03:38] Speaker A: Right.
So new construction, upgrade, if it didn't happen at the time of the build, it'll happen a couple years. In what other scenarios would people be realizing, like if the house is just a certain age or if they're just looking to invest, you know, further into their property, like what other scenarios might come into play?
[00:04:00] Speaker B: Yeah, I think age is probably the second biggest scenario that drives that type of window, drives that. For examp example, wood windows had always been really the main norm. The thing with wood is not a question of whether it's going to go bad, when it's going to go bad. And you know, I'm in the market to buy a house now and it I'm in the window business, so of course it's one of the first things I look at. But I can tell you virtually every house that I look at would give me different reasons as to why the windows need to be replaced. So age is a part of that. I think type of window is also the other part of that.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: So if the homeowner doesn't like how they're opening or I know in some of the older homes in this area, there are often a lot of grids and that kind of cages in the view a little bit. So that could be a reason, right?
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Yes, certainly, you know, aesthetics are becoming more and more of a reason.
Not so much that they change, but certainly they drive the decision in terms of the new windows that they purchased. And options and colors and materials certainly all play into that as well.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Right. So for somebody that's maybe buying an older house, that might be one of the first considerations that they would need to do and that could be for a number of different reasons. Right?
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Absolutely. Of course, you know, I have my bias there, but Certainly when I look at homes, one of the first things I'm going to look at is windows, because I do know, to your point that they have so much an effect on curb appeal, on the efficiency and the comfort level in the home, and just a general feeling of pride in the investment that people make.
[00:05:40] Speaker A: Right. And so you mentioned efficiency. So we're talking about, like, the electric bill, right?
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: So, like, a single pane of glass doesn't provide anything, really.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: Yeah. I think that, you know, one of the things that we find when we talk to people that are misconceptions is that it's, you know, just add panes of glass. You know, we've learned over time that you can add as many panes of glass as you want, but there's certainly other pieces to this. And that's where the age thing comes in. The efficiency of windows today compared to what they were 10, even five years ago, it's an amazing difference, as we've learned over time, that it's not just the glass, it's things like gas and low E coatings and other things like that.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Right. And also the material. Right. So like a vinyl window or even a composite, like a fiberglass window is going to save you money versus a wooden window or even aluminum?
[00:06:36] Speaker B: Without a doubt. And especially against an aluminum window. You know, we talk with our customers and their design teams all the time about how much more important it is to have a vinyl frame versus a wood frame, but especially even versus a metal frame, because that metal on the inside of the house is just as cold as the metal is on the outside of the house.
And that certainly affects that comfort level and the financial considerations of their power bills.
[00:07:03] Speaker A: And so can people expect to save money by replacing their windows on just the energy bill, or are there other factors?
[00:07:10] Speaker B: Yes. You know, you have to be a little careful with that because lots of folks in the industry got in trouble over time many years ago about energy saving guarantees, because certainly they have a place. But, you know, you go in one house and it's set at 68. You go in another house, it's set at 78. So you have to be careful with that. But it absolutely, absolutely does that. And I think, and I'm sure we'll have this as part of the discussion today, the other thing is that there is a return on investment in terms of the additional value that you add to your home by doing something like this.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Right. So would that be something that plays out over five years or 10 years? I guess there's a lot of variables. Involved. So it might be tough to say,
[00:07:54] Speaker B: well, I think when you start talking about performance of these products, that's where the differences in profit products and how they're built and the investment that the manufacturer makes in the products really starts to play. Because virtually every new window that you put into a house today performs well today. The question is, is it going to perform well to your point, five years from now, 10 years from now, et cetera. And that has to do with a lot of decisions that affect the overall cost of the window.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: We are sharing our expertise around all topics of relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
Well, it's one less thing for the new owner to have to do, that's for sure.
[00:08:47] Speaker B: Without a doubt.
[00:08:48] Speaker A: Yeah. Do you get any kind of breaks on insurance? Do you know, not so much on
[00:08:52] Speaker B: insurance or at least in the areas that I deal in. You know, there's been various tax credits over the course of the last few years, really going all the way back to the, you know, late 2009, 2010 is really when this kind of started, along with the growth of Energy Star, because there was a recognition that these products do help in terms of those things. And there's been various tax rebates and tax credits that's been offered by the government through the course of the years.
Currently, Energy Star is not operating and there is no current tax rebates, but there will be. But I'm not really aware of tons of insurance, homeowners or anything else that would qualify for savings based on windows. Again, at least in the areas that I cover.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Right. Maybe that's just a Florida thing for impact for the storms and maybe coastal areas.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: Absolutely. And sure, I probably neglected that, but that is certainly where that comes into play because of the code requirements. It's certainly going to be an insurance savings there.
[00:09:57] Speaker A: Right. And so one of the benefits I want to talk about is the sound. Can you speak to that about the sound benefits of new products?
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Absolutely. I think sound has been one of those things that really, in coastal areas, sound has always been dealt with in terms of laminated glass. I think the sound piece has expanded in terms of popularity. And one of the things that has driven that is development of products that don't necessarily require laminated glass to impact sound. For example, we use a product in the sunrise part of the Miter brand business that is two different thicknesses of glass in a dual pane unit. And with that glass, you literally get the same STC rating as you would a laminated piece of glass at a much lower cost.
So has an impact on today's customer thinking through this, Especially as local areas expand and you're building on top of each other and building close to airports and those type of things, the sound piece is absolutely becoming more important.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Right. The little house in the country that you had 20 years ago isn't in the country anymore.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: Not much of the country left for that for sure.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: And the little two lane road is now a six lane and you know, there's tons of traffic. And I mean, even just the neighbors, even if they're not on top of you, you know, maybe they want to mow their lawn at 8 in the morning and that's not ideal for you. So having those beefier windows really does help with that.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: And so what can people expect in terms of resale value, do you think?
[00:11:38] Speaker B: So, you know, a report that we follow pretty closely every year is called. It's used to be put out by Remodeling magazine. I think they still do it. It's called cost versus Value.
And it evaluates several different types of home improvement projects. And it evaluates them on a couple of things. What average cost. And they do a great job of getting this down, even to the city basis in some places, but definitely regional. And in terms of return on your investment, in terms of the value increase in your home and replacement windows are amongst the highest return, I think last year's number was somewhere around 76%. So you know, about three quarters of what you spend on new windows for your home will actually be returned to you. Additional value on your home. So certainly makes it a worthwhile investment.
[00:12:29] Speaker A: Wow, that's powerful. That's better than maybe upgrading your countertops or updating your plumbing fixtures.
[00:12:36] Speaker B: No, I was just going to say, and certainly it's not just the investment or the value return. You get the immediate stuff. So you know, you're kind of having your cake and eating it too for that.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: Right. And even though you may want to upgrade for personal preference and for style, it's not like somebody's going to hate the newer windows and want to rip them out when they buy your house in five years.
[00:12:56] Speaker B: Well, I kind of think about this like putting a pool at your home. A lot of people, especially in the south where I am, I'm looking for a home now with a pool. People think they get this tremendous additional value for the pool in terms of the value of their home. While in the Deep south, it can help you close or sell a home. The return is typically less than 20%. You certainly enjoy using a pool while you have it, but you don't get the value back when you sell your home like you would for windows.
[00:13:24] Speaker A: Really? Wow, that's surprising. I had not heard that. So is there anything else that you would add to this as far as when's a good time to replace the windows? Is there that time of year or season or anything like that that comes to mind?
[00:13:38] Speaker B: Well, I think, you know, as I look at our business each year, I think there's two times a year when people think about it the most, and that's typically the springtime and then the fall. And that makes sense. Springtime, you're coming out of winter. You know, summer's coming, and a lot of home shows that time of year. So it does certainly drive some level of demand. And then the fall thing, of course, is people trying to get ready for winter. My recommendation for folks would be to look at those off times of the year. I think January and February is a great time to do that because I can tell you that most home improvement companies are looking for opportunities at that point. Same thing with middle of the summer, where lots of people are on vacation. And so, yeah, I don't think there's a bad time to do it. I think there's times when people naturally do it, but I think everybody's looking for a way to save some money. Certainly looking at off times of the year might be a great way to do that as well.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: That's a great point.
So you can find out more about all of the
[email protected] and we have Sunrise, which Jo represents. And we also have mi, we have Milgard, we have pgt, we have Western, and Ann. Lynn. Did I forget anybody?
[00:14:53] Speaker B: I think you got them all. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with, but I believe you got them all.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: I think so.
All right. So, Joe, I have one last question for you. We've been talking a lot about the Mitre brand's DNA, and I'm curious to know which one of those statements resonates with you the most.
[00:15:10] Speaker B: When I first read the DNA list, you know, when it first came out, I tell you, there was one that immediately jumped out at me, and it's the one that absolutely resonates with me the most. And it's the one that says, we believe that business is always personal. I think I've been in this business, as I mentioned to you a long time. And it always is important to me that my relationships, whether it's with internal stakeholders or external stakeholders or vendors or anyone else, has a personal aspect to it. Because when people know you, they know what you stand for, they know your values, and really that helps them understand whether they should trust you or not. And I think that Miter Brands works really hard to instill that in us. And that's why that particular DNA statement really, it's me. It's part of the way I work.
[00:16:02] Speaker A: You know, you're the second person that I've talked to both in the sales team lately who have said that one. And that really is true. When you care about your customers and you care about making sure the transactions go well and that they're served well and that you're representing the company well, like, that just makes sense. So I like that one, too.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: Great.
[00:16:22] Speaker A: All right, well, Joe, this has been a great conversation. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today, and I really appreciate your insight and your expertise, and I look forward to connecting with you. Maybe at the CX event in December.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: That would be great. Looking forward to it. Appreciate the time.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: Awesome. Thank you.
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