S.O.C.?

Fairly Let Down

The past month I have seen 3 past customers w/ CT “Custom Sealdon” rejects. All told, almost $30,000 worth of re-roofing. I don’t think they will see $4K from CT. All together. All 3 together have about 32 yrs. of roof life. It is what it is. Does not make me feel bad. If I depended on selling fiberglass shingles in the 1st nine yrs. of being in biz, I’d be out of biz, due to starvation. I remember on one sales call a lady said: “ My daughter works at the lumberyard in the kitchen design department and said not to use FG shingles” She was pissy and I never got that job. Either then, or when they re-roofed the 2nd time (LOL) Anyway, besides the public’s “all knowing” attitude what bothers me even more is that CT was strongly promoting the organics over FG until they could get up to speed on their FG production. Their bad, if you ask me. It is not enough that the public perception was dead wrong, but when the Main Players weigh in on the wrong side, it is a done deal. In fact I ended up w/ Organics on my own house, as I too got confused by the B.S. About 9 yrs. old will be coming off this winter or next year if they last that long. I guess where I am going w/ this is that the FG shingles are not really better compared to what an Organic shingle was. Simply better than what they became. Anyway, when the lightweight FG lams hit here, big-time in the late 90’s things finally changed. Organics have kicked the bucket. I saw my 1st LandMark failure this past week also. Very 1st in over ten yrs. of the product being out, besides blow-offs. This one is 8 yrs. old I am told.

Same Old Chit?

(Dis-claimer-- not defending any other FG product out there. I don't track GAF, O/C, TAMKO) >>>

$32.25 PER SQ. then ed. That would be my guess, that they pay based on date of purchase>>>

What were the costs per square of the CT Sealdon 30's 12 years ago?

I am just guessing without digging through the old files, but I would imagine around $28.00 per square.....Close?

1/3rd of the warranty life has been depreciated, so deduct $9.33 per square, giving the customer $18.67 per square remaining after depreciation.

Unless my guesstimate of the original selling price is way off, it would seem as if they are covering appropriately.

Or, are they supposed to warranty it for the cost at todays market prices? If thats the case, they were way under paid.

Ed>>>

Customer just heard back from CT 12 yr. old Custom Sealdon 30.

47 sq. = $1012.00 >>>

Well I have one customer who is absolutely po'd. about CT. She got on-line, did a search, and -Voila'-! what a mess!! CT is getting it from all sides. They admittedly, do deserve it IMHO.

Anyway, the HO told me they'll be going to Menards and getting OC's. Can't say I blame him. I hope I still get the job. I've done 3 for the family.

My question now would be: When this comes up in the future, should I advise the customer to: A) Take the CT settlement offer B) Fight them and hold out for more. C) Join one of the class action suits

>>>

If they won't back it, it might as well be a 100 yr. shingle who cares?>>>

People don't understand, or work towards value enough, true. OTOH, it is rather out of the hands of the contractor/ roofer when the product fails, or the hailstorm claims start. It is almost a joke to try and sell a long term roof. Correctly installed, does not leak, Yes. Will last 30 yrs? Forget it and why?

They sure can pump up the warranties tho. They did it wrong when they introduced the 20-yr. 3tab, re-invented as a 25-yr. Lam. Shoulda kept it as 20 yr. shingle and saved themsleves some of the nonsense we are now dealing with.>>>

The shingle companies know how to make shingles that will last 30-yrs., but if they did, they would lose all of their repeat business! I am sure they all tead that fine line between producing junk and makeing it "too" good. The ones that cheat the most get higher profits in the short term and then they have to pay big time to try and catch up when the chit hits the fan.

Ten years on a shingle roof!!!! That sounds about right. Why not use slate? I just finished a couple of repairs on two slate roofs in Kalamazoo last month and they were both built in the late 20's or early 30's Both between 80 and 90 years old. With the repairs, they should both last another 20 years before they need to be "repaired" again. They both should last another 50-80 years with the right care. About the time we are installing the 8th roof on a lot of places, these might need replacement. Now, tell me about the "cheap" roofs!

Does anyone but me notice that everyone is always trying to come up with something that looks like SLATE? Why not use the real thing? I am "Old School">>>

No Gerry. I just tell the customer that they don't have to accept the 1st settlement offer. not sure what their options really are besides that. (They could also file a hail damage claim, but I never suggest that)

Shouldn't a 12 yr. old failed "30-yr" shingle pay out 60% of it's replacement cost? (About $48 per sq. nowadays?)

What I saw w/ the LMark's is granule loss. But only on certain parts of the exposed area of the shingles. Not 100% across the exposed area. But where the granules came off, they came off almost completely.>>>

No Gerry. I just tell the customer that they don't have to accept the 1st settlement offer. not sure what their options really are besides that. (They could also file a hail damage claim, but I never suggest that)

Shouldn't a 12 yr. old failed "30-yr" shingle pay out 60% of it's replacement cost? (About $48 per sq. nowadays?)

What I saw w/ the LMark's is granule loss. But only on certain parts of the exposed area of the shingles. Not 100% across the exposed area. But where the granules came off, they came off almost completely.>>>

Tom, what was the problem with the LandMarks? I haven't seen a problem yet but it would sure be a big disaster if they start going bad too. I think that would be the nail in the coffin for CT. I have been looking at hundreds of squares of CT organics that are so badly fried it makes one want to cry. I really feel bad for people that bought a 30 year roof and now have to replace them in 10 years. My roof is so bad I describe it as "walking on potato chips". I never got around to filing a warranty claim so I finally just joined one of the class action suits. Has anybody had any experience with these types of suits? >>>