Half a pallet here, some reclaimed slate there
Behind the unit there are part pallets of interlocking tiles in three profiles, a stack of plain tiles from a job that finished early, rolls of membrane, lead offcuts in several codes, a pile of reclaimed Welsh slate from a strip-off, and ridge tiles nobody can match to anything.
When a repair needs a few tiles of a particular profile, someone either walks the yard and guesses, or orders new ones. Months later, the yard is fuller and the merchant bill is the same.
Why yard stock is invisible
Roofing materials come back to the yard in odd quantities, from returns, over-orders and strip-offs of good reclaimable material. None of it arrives with paperwork, and nobody has time to record it. It is valuable, but only if someone knows it is there.
- Returns from site are dropped in the yard without a record.
- Reclaimed materials are stacked with no note of quantity or type.
- Tile profiles and colours are hard to identify later.
- Estimators order from the merchant by default.
- Stock gets damaged or lost because nobody is using it.
What an untracked yard costs
You pay twice for material you already own. Reclaimed slate and tiles, which can be hard to source for repairs and matching, are not used when they would have been ideal. Space fills up with stock nobody will ever use. And the value sitting in the yard is not reflected anywhere.
Reclaimed material is a particular loss. A stack of matching slates can be exactly what a repair on an older house needs, and buying equivalent reclaimed stock elsewhere is slow and uncertain. Letting your own sit unrecorded throws that advantage away.
The yard stock tracking we build
- A stock list with categories you set: tile and slate types and profiles, ridge and hip, lead by code, membranes, battens, sundries, reclaimed materials.
- When material comes back to the yard, whoever drops it off records it on their phone: what it is, roughly how much, from which job, with a photo.
- Photos are used to help identify profiles and colours, and the estimator confirms the description.
- Estimators and surveyors can search the stock list when quoting and pricing.
- Stock can be reserved against a job, so two people do not plan to use the same slates.
- When a merchant order is drafted, the system checks the stock list and suggests yard items that could be used instead.
- Stock taken out is recorded against the job, and a periodic check list prompts someone to confirm what is still there.
| Stock type | Recorded as |
|---|---|
| Part pallets of tiles | Profile, colour, approximate quantity |
| Reclaimed slate and tiles | Type, size, quantity, condition, photo |
| Lead | Code and approximate length |
| Membranes and battens | Type and quantity |
| Ridge and hip | Profile, colour, quantity |
It does not need to be precise to be useful. Approximate counts with photos beat a yard nobody has looked at.
What the yard becomes
Stock is used rather than bought again. Reclaimed materials become an asset for repair and matching work. Space frees up as old stock moves out. And the value in the yard can be seen and used in costing, rather than being ignored.
Is your yard like this?
- You have ordered material you later found in the yard.
- Returns are dropped without a record.
- Reclaimed stock is stacked with no labels.
- Estimators do not check the yard before ordering.