ROOFING IN SEATTLE
The following information is provided to alert unsuspecting consumers
to the most common Deception and Fraud used to sell roofing.
Do not expect
manufacturers or roofers to disclose this
information.
Do not assume you have the expertise to avoid their Scams.
CONSUMERS ARE BEING DECEIVED
The information provided below is designed to inform and educate
inexperienced roofing consumers
Because asphalt manufacturers - and asphalt roofers - are currently
selling shingles Known to be Defective.
If you intend to sell your home within the next few years,
This
information is NOT necessary...
any roof will do.
If you Really Want the Best Value -
Or you intend to own your home For 10 Years or More,
Understanding the Unbiased Information provided below is Absolutely
Essential.
The Financial Losses resulting from the Premature Failure of
shingles
are often many thousands (even tens of thousands) of dollars
and roofers are currently selling asphalt shingles
with a History of Premature Failure.
BUYER BEWARE
1) Consumers assume asphalt
manufacturers, and asphalt roofers, would not
(intentionally) sell defective shingles.
Not so... Asphalt manufacturers - and
asphalt roofers - have been selling defective shingles for a
very long time.
Sales of defective shingles have been
widespread and pervasive. Often it has been the norm, not
the exception.
The History of Premature
Failure of Modern (Fiberglass) Shingles
Roofers are Selling
Defective Asphalt Shingles in Seattle
The Truth on CertainTeed
Presidential Shingles
Asphalt Class Action Lawsuits
2) Many inexperienced roof buyers assume
that product Warranties indicate either shingle Quality or
Durability.
Not so... Asphalt warranties
are intentionally "Inflated" (to 30, 40, 50 years) in
order to Deceive consumers.
Roofers are not responsible for
expected premature failures and warranties don't cover
shingle "Service Life."
Asphalt Manufacturers
Eliminate Coverage for "Service Life" of Shingles
Roofers are NOT Responsible
for Selling Defective Shingles
Warranties are Deceptive
Marketing Tools
Do NOT expect Full Disclosure
3) Most consumers assume similar
materials are comparable - In other words, all "30 year"
shingles are the same.
Not so... In every roofing
material (asphalt, cedar, rubber, metal, etc.) there is a
significant difference in quality.
Most roofers
"specialize" in one or two products - They must "sell"
that product to everyone. Expect biased info.
The Expected Lifespan for "Conventional" Fiberglass
Asphalt Shingles
The Expected Lifespan for "Pumpkin - Tooth" Asphalt Shingles
The Expected Lifespan for Alternative Materials
Frequently Asked Questions
A
MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
On the issue of failed / failing roofing, it's
important to understand that "expert" opinions
will reflect the fundamental
perspective of those expressing the opinion. And often the
difference between the perspective of (roofing)
Sellers
and the perspective of (roof) Buyers can be quite extreme.
The perspective of sellers and buyers differs
because
their financial interests are diametrically opposed.
All roofers claim to
have the best product
and all roofers claim to provide the best installation.
Obviously, that Can Not be True.
There is always an adversarial relationship
between buyers and sellers
roofing buyers should never expect full
disclosure or unbiased information
from asphalt manufacturers, asphalt
distributors/suppliers or asphalt roofers.
Sellers (like CertainTeed) may consider roofing
"failed" when shingles pass their functional
lifespan and threaten
damage from leaking. Buyers (homeowners) may consider
"failure" to occur whenever the shingles are past
their
Re-Sale Window and require either replacement or payment of a
"Roofing Allowance" in order to sell their home.*
Sellers (like CertainTeed) may consider a
certain percentage of premature failures to be
acceptable because the
cost of paying claims is already built into the shingle price - and
very few failures get submitted as warranty
claims.
However, most buyers (homeowners) will consider ANY
premature failure to be unacceptable -
especially when the
warranty payment is just a small percentage of actual replacement
costs... and failure was expected by the Seller.
* Based on product design and proven
performance, There are Only Two (2) conventional
fiberglass shingles that we find ANY evidence of
typical durability beyond 20 years. These
shingles are not popular products (in the
Seattle area) as most roofers don't tell
consumers
about the history of premature failures - and
the very limited durability of fiberglass
shingles.
Do you want to get the BEST VALUE on your
roofing project?
You will need Full Disclosure and Unbiased
Information.
Contact us for Specific Advice on Your Project.
Free Consultation Anywhere in U.S.
Seattle RoofBroker
THE FIRST STEP IN PRODUCT SELECTION
There are Only Two Categories of Roofing Materials
TEMPORARY -or- PERMANENT
The 1st STEP in Product Selection is determination of
the most appropriate MATERIAL.
Use the Material Comparison Chart
(HERE) to compare the Average Durability of Materials.
Be careful to select a Material that will pass a Re-Sale
Inspection - When you intend to sell.
It is simply not enough for
consumers to only know
the "functional life" of a roofing
product.
It is more important to understand the
Re-Sale Window -
The age BEFORE shingles start
to show
signs of imminent failure - And cannot pass the
Five Year
Certification Inspection.
See: Passing a Five Year
Certification Inspection
It is important consumers understand that all
roofs wear unevenly and determination of
"failed" (or "failing") roofing
is always based on the worst, or weakest, portions of roofing -
Never the strongest. It simply does not
matter
if the north-side is still in relatively good condition when
shingles on the south-side have already failed.
Paying $10,000 to re-roof with asphalt shingles
today - May just be your initial Down Payment
When it requires replacement costs of $20,000
(with inflation) to re-roof after 10 years.
It may be little consolation to receive a claim
payment of only $2400 (12%)
from the asphalt manufacturer's "Limited
Warranty" coverage.
This is the problem of
intentionally marketing shingles with
"Inflated" warranty periods.
Because manufacturers
provide warranties of 30, 40 and 50 years to
"sell" (more) shingles with a documented history
of premature failure
many innocent families will suffer financial loss
- And recent Class
Action Lawsuits have not resolved this
injustice.
Consumers should Not be Shocked
by the idea that asphalt manufacturers (and
asphalt roofers) are currently
selling roofing shingles with a history of premature failures -
Selling shingles they already know will be
defective.
The truth is, asphalt manufacturers and asphalt roofers have been
selling defective shingles for a very long time.
The sales of defective asphalt shingles has been
Widespread and
Pervasive - Over a period of almost 30 years.
And consumers Should Never
Expect asphalt manufacturers (or asphalt
roofers) to disclose information on the
history of premature failure (or claims history) for shingles
they are currently selling - They could not
sell defective
shingles for 30 years by disclosing the
History of Premature
Failures or the documented history of claim
payments.
THE SECOND STEP IN PRODUCT SELECTION
After Determination of the
Appropriate Material
Select the Highest Quality Product
After selecting the appropriate Material (asphalt, cedar
metal, rubber, tile) for your project
The 2nd STEP in Product Selection is determination of
the best available roofing PRODUCT.
Consumers should not assume products of the same material (i.e., all
asphalt shingles) are comparable.*
And consumers must NEVER assume that warranties indicate
either the Quality -or- the Durability of shingles.
While inexperienced roofing
consumers tend to assume warranties indicate
either shingle durability or quality
industry experts understand "Limited Warranties" are
Marketing Tools - Designed to sell more
product.
Asphalt manufacturers and asphalt roofers
understand that consumers use warranties as a
tool
in product selection and, therefore, the longest warranties
periods sell the most product.
When the Premature Failure of Asphalt Shingles
Became Common Knowledge
Then
"Service Life" (Durability or Lifespan) was Eliminated from Warranty Coverage
After manufacturers stopped
covering the "Service Life" of shingles, very
quickly warranty periods were increased.
Soon the traditional 15 year and 20 year warranties were replaced
with 30 year, 40 year, 50 year and (wait for
it)...
"lifetime" warranties. This practice of
"Inflating"
warranty periods became the norm in the
asphalt roofing industry
as competition caused
all manufacturers to increase warranty periods - in order to
gain, or protect, market share.
A recent study for the National Association of
Home Builders (NAHB) determined that life
expectancy
for asphalt
shingles is only 20 years. Even the Asphalt Roofing
Manufacturers Association (ARMA)
recommends replacement of asphalt shingles
every 20 years
See
Durability of Fiberglass Shingles
However, estimates from both the NAHB (20 years) and
the ARMA (20 years) - Do NOT indicate the
Re-Sale Window for asphalt shingles - which includes a
Five Year Certification. If asphalt
has a
20 year "Functional
Lifespan," that DOES NOT mean
it can pass a Re-Sale Inspection
at that time.
* Based on product design and proven
performance, There are Only Two (2) conventional
fiberglass shingles that we find ANY evidence of
typical durability beyond 20 years. These
shingles are not popular products (in the
Seattle area) as most roofers don't tell
consumers
about the history of premature failures - and
the very limited durability of fiberglass
shingles.
Do you want to get the BEST VALUE on your
roofing project?
You will need Full Disclosure and Unbiased
Information.
Contact us for Specific Advice on Your Project.
Free Consultation Anywhere in U.S.
Seattle RoofBroker
THE THIRD (AND FINAL) STEP IN PRODUCT SELECTION
After (1)
Determination of the Appropriate Material
And (2) Selection of the Highest Quality Product
Then - and only then - You can Select a
Contractor
It is assumed that you
want to hire an installer that is experienced in
the roofing MATERIAL you have selected...
If you are re-roofing with cedar shakes you probably
Don't Want to use a contractor that does
only 1 or 2 cedar
installations per year - It's much better to use a
contractor that "specializes" in cedar, or does
a lot of shake roofs.
When you are purchasing
metal shingles - you really Don't Want to
use a roofing contractor that has only installed
1 or 2 metal roofs his entire career... especially when
those projects were "standing seam" roofing and
you selected
the modern (4-way Interlocking connection system) metal
"shingles" or metal "shakes" or metal "tile"
roofing.
You Don't Want the Contractor "practicing" on
Your Roof
It is also assumed you
want to hire a contractor that is experienced
with the roofing PRODUCT you have
selected...
If you have decided to purchase (Brand X) metal
shingles because of the superior connection
system, the superior
fastener system and the 50 year history of performance
- Why would you even consider hiring ANY
contractor that
tried to sell you (Brand Y) metal shingles with
inferior connection and fastener systems and a
history of failures?
Likewise, if you
decided to purchase (Brand A) asphalt shingles
because they are one of only a very few
products*
that contain different materials than typical asphalt
shingles - and have a proven history of
performance - then...
why in the world would you even consider hiring ANY
contractor that tried to sell your (Brand F)
asphalt shingles,
that have a long history of premature failures and over ten years
of documented warranty claims?
You Don't Want a Contractor who has tried to
Deceive You about Product Quality
Consumers assume that roofers would not
(intentionally) sell defective asphalt shingles
- that is absolutely incorrect.
Roofers have been
selling defective asphalt shingles for a very long
time. For almost 30 years roofers have
been
selling defective asphalt shingles - in fact, the
current
Contractor Disclaimer was designed to
protect roofers from
financial liability for INTENTIONALLY selling asphalt
shingles that were EXPECTED to fail prematurely.
Do
NOT expect anyone financially dependent on
asphalt sales (manufacturers or roofers) to
provide full disclosure
of information which hinders their ability to "sell" shingles.
Do NOT expect asphalt manufacturers or asphalt roofers
to disclose information on the documented history of premature
failures since the production of cheaper shingles,
nor disclose the class action lawsuits that resulted from continued sales
of asphalt shingles Known to be defective.
* Based on product design and proven
performance, There are Only Two (2)
conventional
fiberglass shingles that we find ANY evidence of
typical durability beyond 20 years. These
shingles are NOT popular products (in the
Seattle area) as most roofers don't tell
consumers
about the history of premature failures - and
the very limited durability of fiberglass
shingles.
Do you want to get the BEST VALUE on your
roofing project?
You will need Full Disclosure and Unbiased
Information.
Contact us for Specific Advice on your Project.
Free Consultation Anywhere in U.S.
Seattle RoofBroker
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: This is not an
advertisement or a solicitation and information is provided
only as a public service.
The information above is presented for educational
purposes only. The commentary and all comments reflect
the professional opinion and experience of the author
alone and are subject to error or change without notice.
The presence of a link to a website does not indicate
approval or endorsement of that website or any product,
service or opinion offered by them.
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