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I have a 10 year old roof, installed by a company that had very good references. The shingles are a high quality with a 25 year life, however they have begun to seperate, that is the bottom of the shingle is seperating from the top. The bottom piece then slides off the roof, so far I have lost 20-30 pieces. The manufacturer intimates that they may not have been secured correctly ie not nailed through the common bond. The reputable highly recommended roofer, well it appears that after he took over the business from his father he may have run it into the ground and may have gone out of business. In any case he has moved without leaving a forwarding address. His guarantee, well I would like to discuss that with him. Any ideas?
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mr. jacobi, i think you have run into the guarantee---"till the tail lights dim on the horizon. best of luck to ya
*I'd speak to a rep. It sounds like these shingles are delaminating.
*F. Jacobi,while I believe I understand your situation I am not entirely sure that you understand your situation.You had a roof installed, using what is marketed as 25 year shingles.This in no way means that the roof is going to last 25 years. It may last longer than 25 years ,but in reality may last much less than 25 years.The manufacturer will have pro-rated the warranty so even if the manufacturer pays off it will be a small portion of the cost of the roof.(and you will have so many hoops to jump through to get even the prorated payoff that I would not personally invest the effort)Regaurding your contractor:He may have used materials marketed as 25 years,but I really doubt that he issued you a warranty backed by his company for 25 years.In my area ,I know of no one who issues a labor warranty for longer than 3 years. 2 years is pretty standdard and some only give 1 year.No matter what the length of labor warranty issued It is only good if it is actually honored.So if someone gives you a 5 year labor warranty,and he refuses to come out when you call him 18 months after the roof is installed, It wasn't really a 5 year warranty was it ?In fact a 6 month warranty that is actually honored would be better than a 2 year warranty that isn't honored.Anyway,I suspect you misunderstand the contract you signed,and you are probably at least 7 years past any labor warranty your contractor may have issued.That said, a really top notch guy might help you deal with the manufacturer---But I would not hold my breath waiting for that to happen.good Luck,Stephen
*F. Jacobi,I have seen the situation you describe, and I believe the mfr. is probably right. The installer was sloppy with fastener placement, and fastened too high on the shingle. Your roof is probably relatively steep, and when the sun heats up the shingles, the mfrs. adhesive is the only thing holding the lower laminated half of the shingle. The adhesive becomes soft, and gravity takes over. If this is the case, the shingle is not defective, ergo the mfr. is not liable.As Stephen said, it sounds like you may as well forget about any help from your installer. What you need to do, short of replacement, is to get a good working relationship with a roofer who is willing to service your roof as the need arises. Chances are that the shingles are not all nailed too high, and the frequency of failure will (hopefully) diminish as you replace the defective ones. It would be a good idea to check periodically with the supplier to make sure that the color of your shingle is not changed or discontinued. If it will be, then stockpile some. Hope this helps, John
*Contact the state contractor's board. Here in SoCal, we are required to maintain a bond for just such occurences.
*A bond for....? I know Calif. has a lot of rule -- just curious.But here it does sound like he's well beyond any warranty period offered by the roofer, and that the mfr is not at fault. Even if mfr IS at fault they'll typically only guarantee materials, which are relatively cheap, and pro rata them since you did get 10 of 25 years' use out of the roof. So for, say, 20 squares you're talking ... a few hundred bucks? (I would pursue it if I really believe the shingles were defective... A few letters, who knows? Maybe get a discount on another batch from the same company, if you have faith in them.)What DOES the nailing pattern look like? Are the nails just above the split between the tabs, or above the "glue line" running across the entire shingle group? How many nails per piece?Trying to understand the black art of roofing, ad.
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I have a 10 year old roof, installed by a company that had very good references. The shingles are a high quality with a 25 year life, however they have begun to seperate, that is the bottom of the shingle is seperating from the top. The bottom piece then slides off the roof, so far I have lost 20-30 pieces. The manufacturer intimates that they may not have been secured correctly ie not nailed through the common bond. The reputable highly recommended roofer, well it appears that after he took over the business from his father he may have run it into the ground and may have gone out of business. In any case he has moved without leaving a forwarding address. His guarantee, well I would like to discuss that with him. Any ideas?