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DRS Foundations

DRS University · All-Staff Track

DRS Foundations

Lesson 1

Welcome — Earn Your Badge

DRS doesn’t hand out roles to people who “kind of” know what they’re doing. You earn them. This is where that starts.

Welcome to DRS University — where you learn how we actually do things and prove you’re ready to level up.

Climb the levels

Training is tiered by role, Foundations up through Leadership. You get your level plus everything below it. Everything above stays locked until you get there. You want the next level? Earn it.

Self-paced — but not skippable

Go at your own speed. But reading a lesson isn’t finishing it. Each course ends with a certification exam, and passing it is what proves you got it. No exam, no badge.

Why you care

This is the map to your next role, your next commission, and your next raise. The people who take it seriously move up here.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. You’ve got 10 years of experience and you’re new to DRS. Take Foundations?

A Yes — everyone gets the same DRS standards
B No — experience means you skip it
C Only the final exam
Right: experience elsewhere isn’t the DRS way. Everyone starts here — no exceptions.

2. What actually marks a course “complete”?

A Reading every lesson
B Passing the certification exam
C Waiting 30 days
Right: reading proves you showed up; passing proves you can use it.
Lesson 2

Our Core Values

Every roofing company slaps “integrity” on its website. Most are lying. Here’s what ours actually mean.

  • 1. Genuine concern for peopleWe don’t sell roofs. We take care of people who happen to need one. Lead with “how can I help,” not “what can I get.” Play the long game — we want that homeowner forever.
  • 2. Honesty and integrityThe fastest way to get fired here isn’t making a mistake — it’s hiding one. Own it, say it out loud, fix it.
  • 3. Be the standardAnybody can throw shingles on a house. We set the bar so high the competition trips over it. We don’t meet expectations — we set them.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. You made a mistake on a file and nobody has noticed. Best move?

A Fix it silently and say nothing
B Own it, tell the right person, and fix it
C Wait and see if anyone catches it
Right: honesty and integrity. Hiding a mistake — even one nobody caught — is what gets people let go.

2. At DRS, the fastest way to get let go is:

A Making an honest mistake
B Hiding a mistake
C Asking a teammate for help
Right: mistakes we fix. Covering them up breaks the trust we run on.
Lesson 3

How We Work — Don’t Skip Steps

A roofing job has a hundred ways to fall apart. The workflow is how we make sure it doesn’t.

Every job answers two questions:

  • 1. What KIND of job is it? → the Workflow (the “lane”)Insurance (through their carrier), Retail (paying out of pocket), or Repair (urgent: tarps, leaks, stopping damage). Retail doesn’t mean small — it means they pay directly.
  • 2. WHERE is it now? → the Job StageNew Lead → Appointment Scheduled → Estimate Sent → Approved → Scheduled → In Progress → Complete.
Why you care

Skip a step and you can blow a deadline, miss a check, or torch a commission. The workflow keeps money moving — and your paycheck on track.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. The three workflow lanes are:

A New, Active, Closed
B Lead, Sale, Install
C Insurance, Retail, Repair
Right: Insurance, Retail, Repair is the lane. Stages live inside each.

2. Active leak, tarp needed today, no replacement for a month. Lane right now?

A Repair
B Insurance
C Retail
Right: Repair. The current need is emergency service. It may become a replacement later — categorize by the need in front of you today.
Lesson 4

Read a Roof Like a Pro

You can’t talk about damage you can’t name. Learn the map of a roof, or you’ll sound like a rookie next to a homeowner and an adjuster.

The high lines & water paths

Ridge — the peak.   Hip — angled line ridge-to-corner. Memory: hip points OUT, valley points IN.
Valley — internal channel where two slopes dump water. The roof’s water highway — and water highways flood. Most leaks start here.
Eave — low edge where gutters hang.   Rake — slanted gable edge, no gutters.   Slope/Pitch — how steep it is.

Edges, trim & trouble spots

Fascia — board behind the gutters.   Soffit — vented underside of overhang.   Drip edge — metal that flicks water off the edge.
Gable — triangle end wall.   Dormer — window bump-out.   Step/Sidewall — wall along a slope.   Cricket — peak behind a wide chimney.   Flashing — metal sealing every joint (most leaks live here).
Why you care

A homeowner trusts the person who sounds like they know roofs. “That valley’s your biggest leak risk” beats “uh, that dip there.”

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. Which part is the roof’s “water highway,” the one you inspect hardest?

A The hip
B The valley
C The ridge
Right: the valley concentrates the most water, so it leaks the most.

2. A slope dumps straight into a wide chimney with nothing behind it. What’s missing?

A A dormer
B Nothing — that’s fine
C A cricket (saddle)
Right: a cricket splits water around the chimney. Without it, water pools and it becomes a chronic leak — so we install one.
Lesson 5

Shingles, Systems & Why Malarkey

This is where you separate yourself from the guy who says “yeah, we’ll throw some shingles on it.”

Two families of roofs. Steep-slope sheds water with shingles (most homes). Low-slope / flat needs a sealed membrane (Modified Bitumen, TPO). Under ~2:12, it’s “low slope.”

Why we’re a Malarkey shop

We install Malarkey, period — unless a client demands otherwise. Its NEX rubberized asphalt flexes and absorbs hail instead of cracking, and a full Malarkey system unlocks the Emerald Pro Warranty.

In the field

A customer wants to save $400 on a cheaper off-brand shingle. Cool — but that choice just cost them the Emerald Pro Warranty (50-year, labor included). Your job is to make sure they hear that before they sign.

Know your lineup

  • Architectural = what we install. 3-tab = what we don’t (except repairs).Architectural is thicker and tougher. 3-tab is flat builder-grade that doesn’t hold up to storms.
  • The Malarkey ladderHighlander (Class 3, economical) · Vista (Class 4, insurance favorite) · Legacy (premium, Class 4). We install Class 3 minimum, up to Class 4.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. A customer insists on a cheaper non-Malarkey shingle. What must they hear before they sign?

A It voids the Emerald Pro Warranty
B Nothing — it’s their call
C That we can’t do it at all
Right: we can install their brand — but they must hear it kills the Emerald Pro Warranty. Say it before the signature.

2. Why does Class 4 matter to a homeowner?

A It just looks nicer
B It’s cheaper than Class 3
C Best hail resistance — and it often earns an insurance discount
Right: top hail rating + a common insurance discount. Real money, not just a spec.
Lesson 6

Everything Bolted to a Roof

A roof is covered in little things that either let it breathe or plug a hole. Miss one on the count and it costs real money.

Every accessory gets documented at the adjuster appointment — the accessory count. The rep chalks abbreviations on the roof and photographs them; the office uses that to order materials and talk to adjusters.

Pipe boots — seal plumbing vents. We use tough lead or “bullet” boots. NOT builder-grade 3-in-1 rubber — it bakes, sags, and cracks. Classic leak.
Exhaust vents — Turbines (spin in wind), Turtle vents (“750s,” our go-to), Box (“550s,” small areas), Dome, Ridge, Solar.

Ventilation in one breath

Cool air in low (soffit), hot air out high (ridge/turbine). Keep it balanced — and if it’s ever off, more intake than exhaust, never the reverse.

Why you care

A hot attic cooks shingles and knocks granules loose. A turbine that isn’t spinning is a reason to knock the door.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. Which pipe boots does DRS install?

A Builder-grade 3-in-1 rubber
B Lead or “bullet” boots
C Whatever’s cheapest that day
Right: lead or bullet boots — they last. 3-in-1 rubber is a common leak.

2. If you can’t perfectly balance the ventilation, lean toward:

A More intake than exhaust
B More exhaust than intake
C It makes no difference
Right: more intake, never more exhaust — too much exhaust starves the system and pulls air from the house below.
Lesson 7

You Are DRS

Not the logo. Not the truck wrap. You. The second you pick up the phone or knock a door, the customer’s whole opinion of this company is riding on you.

On the phone

Answer every call with a smile in your voice: “Thank you for calling Davis Roofing Solutions. This is ______. How may I help you?” Quiet background, clear and professional. Don’t know an answer for sure? Don’t guess — hand them to a consultant.

Email & presence

Be quick on email (never unread longer than a day) with your branded signature on every one. Show up branded and clean; keep your space tidy and welcoming.

Why you care

Reputation is the whole business. 300+ five-star reviews weren’t luck — they’re a thousand small moments of somebody being professional. Every one is a referral, and every referral is money in your pocket.

Knowledge Check

Pick your answer — you’ll see instantly if you’re right, and why.

1. A caller asks a technical question you’re not sure about. Pro move?

A Give your best guess
B Route them to a consultant
C Tell them to call back later
Right: don’t guess. “Let me get you the right person” protects the customer and our credibility.

2. How should you answer the company phone?

A “Yeah, this is DRS.”
B “Hello?”
C “Thank you for calling Davis Roofing Solutions. This is ___. How may I help you?”
Right: the full greeting, with a smile. First impressions are everything.
Certification Exam

DRS Foundations Exam

10 questions · 80% to pass. Pick the best answer for each, then submit.