Here I am Coating a Roof (on the left) with James Peterson while I worked at Bio Neighbors

Hello my name is Rory Stout and I am the owner of Be Cool Roof Coatings, LLC.  I feel the need to let visitors (future customers and casual passer-bys alike!) get a feel for who I am and what Be Cool stands for.

Some Background
First, you should know that I’m not your usual roofer.  I graduated with Honors from Montclair State University in May of 2009.  After graduation I volunteered in New Orleans, a city still reeling from the devastating aftermath of Hurricanne Katrina.

Why Cool Roofing?
The idea to go down to New Orleans came to me while I was going to school full time at Montclair State.  I was also working full time and was extremely busy and pressed for time, having to juggle between full time workloads of both work and school.  I was thinking of what I wanted to do immediately after graduation.  I knew I wanted to give myself to a cause where I didn’t have to worry about earning a paycheck or getting an A on a test and boom, that’s when the idea to go to New Orleans hit me. While in New Orleans I volunteered with Common Ground Relief, Habitat for Humanity, Hands On, and Backyard Guerrilla Gardener’s Network, where I helped in the creation of a community garden in the Holy Cross section of the Lower Ninth ward.

The Make it Right Project
During this time I was fortunate enough to become a part of the Brad Pitt Make It Right project, which was also located in the Lower Ninth ward.  The Make It Right site is the largest concentration of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Enviromental Design) platinum status constructed houses in the United States.  Their vision of rebuilding the community for the people of the Lower Nine, a neighborhood prior to the storm that was affected by poverty and violence, was inspiring and something I wanted to be involved with.  I was hired to do high end commercial landscaping for the Make It Right houses were I built rain gardens, installed cisterns, and managed erosion control.

Back to Philly!
Being invigorated by the new green energy and sustainable technologies I saw at the Make It Right site, I began to do more research into the industry while in New Orleans and found that the Northeast was an area in America where these new innovations were happening.  Upon arriving back home in New Jersey I got a job with a local Philadelphia green roofing company led by Cory Suter.  It was here in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, where I developed my craftmanship in making over 50 city flatroofs environmentally friendly and energy efficient for commercial owners and homeowners all over the city!  I have had the true pleasure of meeting so many unique people and have completed many challenging projects.  One of my highlights is Cool Coating the 1200 hundred block of Wolf Street for Mayor Nutter’s 2010 “Cool Block” Contest winner!  I received National media coverage for the positive innovative work we accomplished.

Starting my Own Business
This summer of 2011, I welcomed in a new challenge in my life by starting my own Cool Coating Company.  The desire was there and the opportunity presented itself, so here I am.  The vision for the company is to give city residents of Philadelphia the highest quality and most reasonably priced solar reflective coatings in which headaches, worries and expenses are gone.

I want you the homeowner or property owner to feel good and empowered; you will not only have made the right choice by saving money on energy bills, but also extending the life span of your roof.  As well as helping to save the planet Earth all at the same time by just Cool Coating your roof! Let us help you and other’s you know Be Cool!