CERTAINTEED PRESIDENTIAL & PRESIDENTIAL TL

The Truth on "Pumpkin Tooth" Asphalt Shingles
Only a Short-Term Roofing Solution

              This article provides unbiased information on the functional lifespan - and the aesthetic lifespan
              of "pumpkin-tooth" style asphalt shingles.  We will use the Presidential Shake and Presidential TL
              as examples because they have the longest history.  However, the design of ALL pumpkin-tooth
              products is similar - so the concepts expressed below could apply to ANY other brand of shingle.

CertainTeed Presidential Shake & Presidential TL
PABCO Paramount & Paramount Advantage
Owens Corning Woodmore & Woodcrest
GAF Grand Sequoia & Grand Canyon

   Many consumers currently have the incorrect perception that "pumpkin-tooth" style fiberglass shingles have lasted
   (or will last) for 30, 40 or 50 years.  This misconception about durability is understandable, there is no shortage of
   asphalt manufacturers, and asphalt roofers, promoting the sale of these products and consumers notice the shingle
   is much thicker (at the bottom edge) than conventional asphalt products.  Unfortunately, asphalt roofers will never
   disclose the previous premature failures of Presidential shingles [1] and rarely show the back-side of the shingle...
   so consumers remain unaware that a significant part of the shingle is just one thin layer of (cheap 3-tab) material.

CERTAINTEED PRESIDENTIAL FAILURES

   The CertainTeed Presidential Shake (and Presidential TL) are popular roofing shingles, marketed as alternatives
   for traditional cedar shake roofing.  The Presidential shingle is promoted by the manufacturer, and asphalt roofers,
   as a 50 year or "lifetime" roofing product.  However, the Presidential shake has experienced premature failures
   starting BEFORE even 15 years.  [2]

   We have been involved in the replacement of Presidential shingles between 15 years and 20 years old, and we
   have seen others that now need replacement - or payment of a "Roofing Allowance" - before the home can be sold.
   We are also aware of the documented history of claim payments for premature failures BEFORE 15 or 20 years old.
   This article provides unbiased information on the functional lifespan - and the aesthetic lifespan - of Presidential
   shingles, the recent deceptive marketing strategy of providing "inflated" warranties to increase market share and
   other important roofing "secrets" that asphalt manufacturers (and asphalt roofers) Don't Want You to Know. [3]

PRESIDENTIAL WARRANTY CLAIMS

   The Presidential shingle was first introduced to the roofing industry by Celotex in 1987 with a 30 year warranty.
   Within just 15 years these initial Presidential installations were already starting to experience premature failures.
   In 2001, 2002 and 2003 CertainTeed had Warranty Claims for the premature failure of Presidential shingles
   due to excessive granular loss, brittleness, cracking and splitting, blistering and curling.  Despite these failures,
   BEFORE 15 years - in 2002 CertainTeed actually increased the Presidential warranty period to 50 years.

   In 2004, 2005 and 2006 CertainTeed had Warranty Claims for the premature failure of Presidential shingles
   due to problems with excessive granular loss, brittleness, cracking, splitting and blistering.  Obviously Presidential
   shingles were developing a consistent pattern of premature failure BEFORE 17 years of age.  However, in 2006,
   CertainTeed increased the warranty period again - this time from 50 years to the current "lifetime" warranty.

   In 2007, 2008 and 2009 CertainTeed had Warranty Claims for the premature failure of Presidential shingles
   due to continued problems with excessive granular loss, brittleness, cracking and splitting, blistering and curling.
   In addition to this consistent pattern of premature failures, it's important to note CertainTeed recently admitted
   they can provide no example - not even one - of Presidential installations lasting 20 years in the Seattle area. [4]

SHOCKING BEHAVIOR

   Consumers should Not be Shocked that major asphalt manufacturers (like CertainTeed) are currently selling
   shingles with previous premature failures - CertainTeed has been selling defective shingles for a very long time.
   They are currently negotiating settlement on the largest (600 million) class action lawsuit in the history of asphalt
   due to the premature failures which resulted from the continued sales of defective shingles for almost 30 years. [5]

   Never assume the sales of defective asphalt shingles were limited to just a few years, or just a few isolated products.
   Sales of defective shingles have been widespread and pervasive - At times it has been the norm, not the exception.
   For more information on the continued sales of products known to fail prematurely, see Selling Defective Shingles

   And never expect full disclosure of information on sales of defective shingles from asphalt manufacturers or roofers.
   Despite the previous premature failures of Presidential shingles and the documented claim payments, CertainTeed
   has admitted that corporate, regional and legal personnel coordinated with local roofers to prevent consumers
   from receiving information about the Presidential failures - they even DENIED knowledge of any of these claims. [6]

   Consumers should Not be Shocked that asphalt manufacturers and asphalt roofers are currently selling shingles
   they expect to be defective.  CertainTeed has admitted they EXPECT Presidential shingles to fail prematurely. [7]
   And CertainTeed's "certified" roofers have admitted they EXPECT Presidential shingles to fail prematurely. [8]
   The problem is... manufacturers and roofers rarely (if ever) admit these expectations to prospective consumers.

PRESIDENTIAL DESIGN (3-Tab Material)

   While CertainTeed, and many asphalt roofers, like to present the Presidential Shake and Presidential TL as being
   "superior" roofing products, actually both of these shingles are made from some of the cheapest (3-Tab) material.
   The Presidential and Presidential TL are both made from essentially the same material CertainTeed normally uses
   to produce the (3-Tab) XT25 shingle, and CertainTeed "expects" the XT25 shingle to last for (only) 25 years. [9]

   Apparently when the material is named XT25 CertainTeed "expects" a 25 year lifespan, but when the same material
   is re-named "Presidential" or "Presidential TL" CertainTeed then expects these shingles to have a 50 year lifespan.
   Based on the shingle design, the historical performance and documented warranty claims, we "expect" the XT25
   to fail before 20 years - which may account for the documented failure of Presidential shingles before 20 years.

   CertainTeed Paid Warranty Claims for premature failures of XT25 shingles before they even started to produce
   the Presidential line of shingles (from the defective XT25 material).  For more than 15 years CertainTeed has been
   paying warranty claims for the premature failure of XT25 shingles due to problems with excessive granular loss,
   brittleness, cracking, blistering and curling - another pattern of premature failures.  And for 10 years CertainTeed
   has been paying warranty claims for the premature failure of Presidential shingles - For the EXACT same defects.

PRESIDENTIAL DESIGN (Dual & Tri-Laminates)

   Even with the documented history of warranty claims for defective XT25 and Presidential shingles, CertainTeed
   tells uninformed consumers the Presidential is "expected" to demonstrate superior performance, and last 50 years,
   because its a "dual-laminate" design - meaning there are two layers of the (3-Tab) XT25 material bonded together.
   And the Presidential TL is a "tri-laminate" design consisting of three layers .

   By making such statements, CertainTeed must depend on the ignorance of inexperienced consumers because
   approximately 25% of exposed Presidential material is NOT the dual-laminate design - its a single layer of material.
   The same applies to the Presidential TL shingle, only part of the shingle is a tri-laminate design - the rest consists
   of just a single layer of the cheap (XT25) 3-Tab material.

   Since the weakest area of a shingle - not the strongest area - determines product durability, there is no reason
   to expect 50 years, or 40 years or even 30 years of durability from the Presidential, or Presidential TL. shingle
   when a significant portion of the shingle is just a single layer of (XT25) 3-Tab material.  And there is no reason
   to expect the problem of excessive granular loss to be solved by bonding another shingle, or two more shingles,
   to the bottom of a layer of cheap (XT25) 3-Tab material.

   If past performance is any indication of future durability, we can expect both the XT25 and Presidential shingles
   to continue to fail BEFORE 20 years. 

PRESIDENTIAL RE-SALE WINDOW

   It's simply not enough for buyers to only know the "functional life" of a roofing shingle.  It's far more important they
   understand the aesthetic life - the age BEFORE shingles start to show obvious physical signs of imminent failure.
   Potential buyers expect to a Five Year Certification on roofing and normally require the replacement of roofing
   or payment of a "Roofing Allowance" whenever shingles are past their aesthetic lifespan.

   This is the critical "Re-Sale Window" for roofing products.  If the functional life of the (XT25) Presidential is 20 years,
   that DOES NOT mean the shingles can actually pass a Re-Sale inspection at that time. And determination of "failed"
   roofing is always based on the WORST portion of the installation - never the strongest.  It simply does not matter if
   the north-side of the roof is still in decent condition... when shingles on the south-side have already failed.

   Buyers must understand their Re-Sale Window because eventually they will become Sellers of that same roofing.
   Trying to sell a home with 15 year old Presidential shingles could be a problem when the prospective buyers want
   to negotiate replacement costs because areas of the roofing show obvious physical signs of imminent failure and
   cannot pass a 5 year certification.

Paying $20,000 for Presidential shingles today may just be your initial down payment
When it requires replacement costs of over $40,000 (inflation) to Re-Sell in only 15 years.
And it may be little consolation to receive a (12%) claim payment of $4,800 from CertainTeed.

   This is the problem of intentionally marketing roofing products with "inflated" warranties.  Whenever manufacturers
   provide warranties of 30 years, 40 years and 50 years to "sell" products with a documented history of premature
   failure BEFORE 20 years - Many innocent families will suffer financial loss.  [10]

   Asphalt manufacturers can simply add the cost of projected claim payments to the initial product pricing to offset
   all the claims associated with expected premature failures.  This strategy allows use of "inflated" warranty periods
   (to increase market share) while still maintaining their desired profit margins.  This deceptive marketing strategy
   will be effective - for a period of time.  Eventually consumers will recognize the pattern of premature failures, the
   public awareness increases, class action lawsuits are filed and manufacturers must change product names (again)
   so they can continue to claim the problem is resolved - because they are selling "new and improved" shingles.

   Because most sales of Presidential (and Presidential TL), in the Seattle area, have occurred in the last few years,
   the general perception of product performance and durability is still very good.  However, since the earliest installs
   are now failing and being replaced, this perception will quickly change. Perception of shingle quality will evaporate
   when the limited durability - and history of premature failure - becomes common knowledge.  This is an important
   consideration for all the current buyers who are now coming into this scheme a little late... Do NOT expect the public
   to still have a good perception of Presidential shingles when they start to see all these (premature) replacements.

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 (roof) 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.

                                     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.

UNBIASED INFORMATION & FULL DISCLOSURE

   Seattle RoofBrokers protect the interests of the buyer - Not the seller.  We are committed to providing unbiased
   information and full disclosure to consumers.  Our expert opinions do NOT reflect the seller's perspective and
   your entire re-roofing process becomes a cooperative experience instead of the typical adversarial relationship.
   We are your best resource for information on asphalt, cedar, metal, synthetic composites (rubber) and tile roofing.

Contact Seattle RoofBrokers

  For Information on Continued Production and Sales of Defective Shingles, see:  Selling Defective Shingles in Seattle
  For the Documented History of Premature Failures of Fiberglass Shingles, see:  The History of Asphalt Shingles
  For Information on the Recent and Current Asphalt Class Action Lawsuits,  see:  Asphalt Class Action Lawsuits

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   [1]  By "premature failure" we mean shingle failure BEFORE the end of the warranty period.
         By "defective" we mean shingles that have failed prematurely.

   [2]  Declaration of Adam Hughes, CertainTeed Legal Counsel, May 28, 2010

   [3]  Many roofing experts agree warranties are just marketing tools that don't indicate either quality or durability
         of shingles and warranty payments are often only a small fraction (8% to 15%) of actual replacement costs.

   [4]  Declaration of Robert Gardiner, CertainTeed VP of Marketing, April 26, 2010.

   [5]  Negotiations allow a maximum of $34 or $74 per square for replacement of defective shingles.  However actual
         replacement costs in the Seattle area are approximately $300 to $600 per square for typical installations.

   [6]  Declaration of Mark Ivers, CertainTeed Northwest Territory Manager, March 3, 2010.

   [7]  Declaration of Mark Ivers, CertainTeed Northwest Territory Manager, April 23, 2010.

   [8]  Declaration of Michael Haight, CertainTeed "Certified" Roofer, April 26, 2010.

   [9]  Declaration of Husnu Kalkanoglu, CertainTeed VP of Research and Development, April 26, 2010.

 [10]  Please see The History of Asphalt Shingles to understand why this author believes CertainTeed was fully aware
         they were selling defective shingles, why they have no (financial) reason to change business strategy now and
         how the current use of 50 year and "lifetime" warranties provides clear indication that nothing has changed.
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      Disclaimer:
      The information above is presented for educational purposes only.  The commentary and all contents 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 that may be offered by them.