Spotlight on Business: Dragon Armor - Scaled-Up Roofing

High Country Shopper Spotlight Article

• Stu Carlson - Staff Writer

• Oct 7, 2020 Updated Oct 7, 2020

You might be noticing a distinctively new look on some of the rooftops around Delta County. The metal scales from a local company called Clisset LLC, makers of a tile they call Dragon Armor, have been changing the concept of metal roofing and elevating the aesthetic to a work of art. Besides offering a visually pleasing and unique product, the folks at Dragon Armor have designed a product that is durable to the harsh Colorado elements and they may just be creating a new industry in Delta County.

Owner Steve Clisset and his love Diana have been familiar with the North Fork Valley for decades. Their decision to move operations to Paonia was quick once they grew tired of the ever-expanding Front Range. Steve has been in the roofing industry for over 47 years, since taking his first job on a whim with some musician friends in Georgia. Since then, he’s been committed to growing and improving the industry. He started the education program for the Colorado Roofing Association where he wrote the curriculum and has recently turned his knowledge and creative insights to developing the interlocking metal shingles he calls Dragon Armor.

The well suited name of the Nordic-inspired metal roofing tiles seems right at home on the houses and buildings in the Colorado landscape. It is reminiscent of Viking rooftops and showcases a contemporary design that is meant to fit any shape from flat roofs to geodesic domes. It can also be used in bathrooms, kitchens, and more. The scales are designed to withstand expansion and contraction in the extremes of heat and cold and Steve is so confident in his design that he offers a lifetime warranty against leaking.

Steve and Diana and their partner Brian Fazio claim that one of the inherent problems with sales is convincing customers that their roofs are not as expensive as they look. The endless design possibilities and geometric shapes let the artists in Steve, Brian and their crew create visually pleasing rooftops, but the reality is that their product is actually very accessible and is only slightly more costly than a high-end metal roof.

The key to the invention’s success is that the individual scales fit together precisely with interlocking edges. The crew designs the style and size of the pieces and then cuts them by hand. The pieces are then sent to the job site where they are fitted together. Steve claims it’s all about the geometry and carefully calculating the profile of the surfaces. The tiles can vary their size in either dimension down to the 16th of an inch. Because the metal shapes are small, the movement from expansion and contraction is distributed amongst the individual pieces.

Several examples of Dragon Armor can be found on the rooftops of Paonia, at the PUB Brewery, Indigo Autumn on Grand Avenue, and on the new roof of the Teen Center in Paonia Town Park where “Go Eagles” is spelled out in red tiles visible to the adjacent football field where Paonia High School plays their games. The creative wording, suggested by an employee, is a good example of the infinite design possibilities. Steve is still constantly surprised by the versatility and aesthetic properties that this product has.

He is convinced that insurance companies will support their product due to its longevity. The company plans to eventually expand operations across the United States and envision several teams installing Dragon Armor in both residential and commercial applications. Currently, there are four employees working for their operation. Steve and Diana would love to grow their base here to a point where it could support several jobs. They are heavily invested in the betterment of their local community and would love to create a new industry in the area.

At the heart of this invention is an artist who just happens to be a skilled roofer. In another life, Steve spends his time as a singer/songwriter and enjoys playing with the many local musicians of the North Fork Valley and beyond. His artistic senses are what drives every project and he takes joy in the creative aspect from design to finish. His inventive metal shingles were recently selected for best roofing product for 2020 by Architects Newspaper - the first of many accolades to come to be sure. Keep an eye out for Dragon Armor in your neighborhood.