M3 Roofing Spearheads Project to Donate a New Roof for the WOW Center

Xavier and Michelle Molina are the owners of M3 Roofing in Miami, Florida. The husband-and-wife team of construction veterans decided to specialize in roofing and founded the company in 2018. The full-service roofing contractor handles both residential and commercial reroofing and repairs, as well as new construction projects. As the company grew, the Molinas knew they wanted to help the local community by doing what they did best — donating a new roof — but they weren’t sure exactly how to do it.

“Community is big in my personal DNA, so when we started M3 Roofing, I always knew an aspect of community service would also run through the team,” Michelle says. “When you are growing and building a team, it’s hard to give back when you don’t always have the means to be able do that. But we were looking to find a way.”

A fortuitous discussion with a friend was the first step toward finding the perfect project. Michelle is the director or operations for a nonprofit board named The Mom Economy, which provides grants for mothers to go on maternity leave if they don’t have the financial means to do so. “I was talking to a fellow board member and told her we were thinking of giving away a roof to a deserving family,” Michelle recalls. “My friend asked me, ‘Why don’t you consider donating a roof to an organization or another nonprofit? That way, the impact is even greater, and you would be helping even more families.’”

Michelle and Xavier also volunteered at the WOW Center, which helps adults with disabilities become more independent. “After high school, there aren’t many programs for adults with disabilities,” Xavier says. “The WOW Center provides enrichment programs, does job placement, and teaches life skills to help individuals after high school.”

The community outreach projects included cleaning and beautifying the campus. As they helped out, Michelle and Xavier soon discovered there were problems with the roof of the concrete bunker-style building, which was originally built in the 1950s. “The ceiling in the reception area had old, outdated acoustical panels, and we went in and removed them to update the lighting,” Michelle recalls. “Once we took them down, we realized there were roof leaks everywhere. That’s when our two-year journey began.”

“I knew that this was the project I wanted to do,” Michelle says. “I knew that we could make a great impact there as a team. The building is owned by the county and has historical significance, so the permitting process alone took us a year. During that time, we looked for partners to help us with the reroofing project.”

Industry-Wide Effort

The goal of the project was to restore the 3,000-square-foot roof at no cost to the WOW Center. The Molinas soon found industry partners that were eager to help, including Polyglass USA, Inc., Florida Building Envelope Associates, and Suncoast Roofers Supply.

“We reached out to industry partners to say, ‘Hey — we are doing this roof. Would you like to join in on the fun?’” Xavier recalls. “We partnered up with a company called Florida Building Envelope Associates, which is a distributor for Polyglass. They distribute to all of the supply houses here, and they agreed to donate all of the material. We also partnered with Suncoast Roofers Supply, and they said, ‘We will put in for the order, Polyglass will comp it, and we will deliver it.’”

The M3 Roofing team provided all of the labor for the tear-off and installation. The local Chick-Fil-A restaurant even donated lunch.

“We made an event day out of it,” Michelle says. “All of the teams from all of the different industry partners and the M3 Roofing team participated. The tear-off had taken place two days prior. On the day of the installation, all of the teams were in the classrooms participating in all of the different activities.”

“We had people from Polyglass, people from Suncoast, people from Florida Building Envelope Associates, people from our team,” Xavier notes. “We went in and spent the whole day there participating in activities and serving lunch. All of that took place while the crew was on the roof installing the new roofing membrane.”

The Installation

The new roof system specified for the project was a self-adhered modified bitumen system from Polyglass. “One of the main considerations, and one of the main reasons we decided to partner with Polyglass on this particular project, was that it was a center for people with disabilities and there were some health concerns,” Xavier notes. “We didn’t want to take a kettle of hot tar over there, and we didn’t want any fumes. The building was occupied, so that’s where the Polyglass technology is really beneficial. The have fully self-adhered membranes, and that’s the system we chose to install.”

“We tore off the existing built-up roof system and cleaned the concrete deck,” Xavier explains. “We applied a primer to it. We installed a two-ply Polyglass system over the concrete deck. We applied a self-adhered base sheet and a self-adhered cap sheet. It’s a very simple application, and it installs very quickly. We completed the project in one day — no odors, no smells.”

Since there were worries that existing concrete deck might not provide adequate positive drainage, the Polyglass team recommended applying a silicone coating to stand up to any possible ponding water.

“They were kind enough to recommend — and supply — a silicone coating,” says Xavier. “They donated that to us as well. The WOW Center received a top-tier roofing system, and it was all donated. And it was Polyglass’ idea to apply the silicone coating afterward because the silicone coating does not have a ponding water exclusion. We applied that, and that new roof is a beautiful, white, energy-saving, energy-friendly roof. It is great.”

A Day of Service

Michelle and Xavier credit all of the individuals and companies involved for helping make the event so memorable. “As far as the industry partnership part of the process, we had some reservations at first, as we would be doing the project out of pocket,” Xavier says. “It was actually one of Michelle’s contacts at The Mom Economy who encouraged us to reach out to industry partners. She said there were a lot of companies that would really enjoy doing this as well.”

The response was overwhelming. “I think that was the biggest surprise for me as I was making these phone calls — just the excitement of people who wanted to partner,” Michelle says.

Xavier agrees. “It was really amazing,” he says. “We told them what the vision of what we wanted to do, and they said, ‘Absolutely. Let’s do it.’ And they were on board. We got zero pushback.”

“So many people talk about the importance of aligning the culture of your team and establishing the core values of your team, but it’s also important to align yourself with vendors and industry partners that have the same culture and values as you do,” Michelle says. “We found such great synergy with our industry partners, and they were so willing to jump on board.”

The team at M3 Roofing also had a great time. “They loved it,” says Michelle. “They can’t wait for the next one.”

“I think some tears were shed,” Xavier says. “I think they were elated by the event and the impact they were making — and how appreciative the adults there at the WOW Center were.”

The Molinas, who took their two oldest children with them for the day of service, found the experience personally rewarding as well. It’s part of the reason they wanted to share their story. “Xavier and I firmly believe that to whom much is given, much is expected,” Michelle says. “I’ve always done service in silence — you don’t do it for attention, but because it comes out of your heart. And so, when we did it, I wasn’t going to make it into a big deal, but we realized we wanted to encourage other businesses to do the same. So, I thought, if that’s really what my mission is — to encourage other companies to do the same — then OK, let’s put it on social media and reach out to magazines to feature it. You never know who it’s going to touch.”

TEAM

Roofing Contractor: M3 Roofing, Miami, Florida, m3roofmiami.com

Manufacturer: Polyglass U.S.A., Inc., Deerfield Beach, Florida, polyglass.us

Distributor: Florida Building Envelope Associates, Boca Raton, Florida, flbea.com

Distributor: Suncoast Roofers Supply, Miami, Florida, suncoastrooferssupply.com

MATERIALS

Base Sheet: ElastoBase SAV, Polyglass U.S.A., Inc., polyglass.us

Cap Sheet: PolyFlex SAP, Polyglass U.S.A., Inc.

Silicone Coating: PB 98 Primer and PB 95.1 Silicone, Polyglass U.S.A., Inc.