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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Middle Eastern Roofs

Amazement and wonder have often crossed my mind as I read about wars and revolution. Sometimes my mind strayed from the suffering to the roofs. Imagine that.

Back in the very early 1980's I used to fill up my truck at a local Mobile gas station at the corner of Carl and 183. I'd be there before the sun came up. Numan, a Jordanian, was always getting off his shift and constantly asked me for work. Sometimes my helper was not around and he knew it. One day he was sitting outside the gas station waiting for me as he had quit his job and, as he pointed out, my helper was not there. He became a fantastic roofer. I'll tell his story soon but I can tell you Arab construction workers are real beasts of burden. They can lift as many times their weight as an African Lion Ant. And the heat was only a joke to him and his friends.

Are the roofers in Lebanon hoping for a good shelling like Texas roofers want hail? Is war a trickle down phenomena that employs the construction industry? Do they have a system similar to our UL 2218 Impact Resistant Roofing that rates bullets and shells? They needn't because they are made of concrete and stone. So if the projectile is large enough to damage the roof, the roof itself will kill you.

Whatever is happening, people are dying and having their brains smashed out for those things we hold for granted. Yes we can run our mouths about our leaders but every two years we have a small revolution and every four years a major one. The kettle is allowed to boil and steam is let off. Over there the top has blown off and people are angry.

Remember what Aristotle said about hate and anger? Some are trashing the place but some good people have joined hands to keep order and protect the public buildings. The feared police have vanished and the army is hanging out keeping some order.

Let's hope our brothers in Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, Jordan, and any other place that is following the Tunisian example do not let the evil rise up and gain a foothold for the next 30 something years. Aristotle said that if your government is bad, but only kind of bad, leave it alone because you'll probably get something worse. This seems improbable but Mubarak is not Stalin or Hitler. He may be a corrupt dictator that feels the country is his personal property just as the capable but underachieving Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda Gucci Alligator Boot did.

Well the land is not anyone but the society's and how they wish to allot it.

Let's all pray that the violence soon subsides. If it does not and the roofs sustain billions in damage, then rest assured lots of children will suffer greatly. That is the real tragedy of dictators. Their life is perceived to have more value than everybody else. The Prime Mover will inform you it does not.



Jon Alan Wright
Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows
1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310
Irving, TX 75061
972.251.1818 Office
214.718.3748 Cell
972.554.8090 Fax
Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Why You Should Love Your Roofer

My men get up very early and brave all the elements Texas has to throw at them. Extreme heat and windy wet cold days make these men look like superheroes in comparison to Superman. They lift heavy buildings,albeit one heavy package at a time. Then they bleed.

When I was in college the roof mantra was"one every roof a little blood must be shed." we hoped for that adjective, a little. Sometimes it was so much we had to replace some of the roofing. No matter what part of the world you live in, the roofers are tough men that endure pain for breakfast. And after tearing off fiercely nailed product, carrying up tons of materials, and installing material on their knees, they must go back to the ground and pick up little pieces of old roofing and police the property with a magnet.

So when these real men are completing their day and cleaning up, show a little mercy. They'll get it all cleaned up without your complaining. Things take time. If they don't, yell at me and I'll make it happen, if I haven't already beaten you to the punch.

Anyone that sweats and bleeds for me, I love them. I admire them. This work is very hard. When I was a young man I loved it. The sweating, the tanning, the hard work, the exercise. But now I'm old and because I have an education I need not fall back on my back to earn a living.

The lesson here is that we are not immortal. We all are going to die and be judged. But if you don't get an education you might end up working for me and my respect. But it still hurts.

Go offer some cookies and water to the guys and they will consider you a saint. If you want to offer beer, wait until they are leaving. Most of them are married anyway and their wives have them domesticated.

If you find it funny that such tough men can be "mandelones," henpecked men, imagine really powerful men like Putin or Obama going home to their wives. Do you think they're so macho now. Wealthy power brokers and Asian warlords return to their abodes only to be told to carry out the trash and kill the spiders.

Even these 21st Century heavies have wives and just like them, when the roofers leave, they go home to wives and children to help. But nobody there knows how really tired they really are.

Some contractors, never having done the work, will sentence their roofers to steep roof after steep roof without a break. The legs turn to rubber and danger sets in. These slave drivers care little about the suffering of their men and even chisel their checks.

The main reason I started my business was because I wanted to be self employed and have the freedom of working outside in various locations. Every couple of days we were on a different roofing project. But the process was accelerated when Bill Cooper Construction ripped me off.

When I pulled up in front of the one layer tear off in Oak Cliff, part of south Dallas, I could see the unevenness of the multiple roof tear off. My contract called for $10.00 per square per layer of tear off plus install. After calling the office and informing them of the three layers and lack of felt paper on site they informed me they would pay.

They gave me $1.00 per square per layer, not enough to cover my dump fees or gas, and said the felt was my idea.

 To quote Aristotle, a man who hates you will avoid you but an angry man will throw himself at you with disregard for his own well being. you know the little guy in love fighting the big guy. The big guy might get a surprise.

I told Cooper that this would cost him more than it saved him. Afterward, when I saw a Cooper sign, I'd talk to all the neighbors and offer sweet deals for new roofs or maintenance. I'd put up a sign and spread fliers. His business drowned while I exhausted my youthful revenge. My motivation was strong for it was for all the little men out there, not just myself, who are taken advantage of by the big men.

All men are created equal, even the little guy. He has a soul, a vote, and a family that loves him. Treat him with respect and dignity and your own dignity will rise as a result.

Jon Alan Wright
Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows
1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310
Irving, TX 75061
972.251.1818 Office
214.718.3748 Cell
972.554.8090 Fax
Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

A Good is Employee Is Like A Roof

He is not heard from much but is always vigilant. When severe storms hit he is there keeping out the bad elements. Through hot summers and cold winters he is expected to work just the same.
With time he looks weathered but still keeps out the weather but with his first failure his whole existence is reconsidered. Twenty years of unbending loyal service and off to the trash heap of history this guy goes to be replaced by something newer and prettier.

Boy am I a cold old Ayn Rand capitalist pig.

Now how much an old employee tries he becomes the old outdated one unless.....he studies, he improves, he keeps up. Because it is not the roof that is the employee but your roofing contractor. They don't throw roofers in the landfill. They throw them off the roof sometimes.

Plato, through Socratic ventriloquism, asks who is the better doctor, the old country doctor who doesn't know why things work but knows what works or the young whipper snapper fresh out of medical school who doesn't have the experience but knows why things work?

Give up? Most say it is the old experience doctor but they are wrong.
Both. The old country doctor that keeps studying and keeps up. See! Old man fresh out of school.

There is no way the punk can keep up with the old guy if the old guy keeps learning. But as soon as brain plasticity gives, the old guy is on his way out.

You can prevent this with diet, exercise, and walking a wide path. If you walk a narrow path the path becomes very familiar and well worn but if you stray from it you are lost. A man of wide path, and not a fatso, is one who reads, plays chess, listens to various forms of music (not rap) and experiences new things continually. There is no fountain of youth but there is a slowing of the space time/continuum. And knowledge is wealth.

Now look at your roofer. Has he read anything lately? Can he read? Does he have training, certifications, awards? Or is he stuck in 1984 listening to the Bee Gees. Times were bad when they were good.

Since Texas won't certify roofers, the manufacturers do. Whether it is a TPO, SBS, Timberline, Presidential, Gerard, or whatever, there are diplomas available for those who can and will maneuver the minefield.

"Oh he dudn't know nuthin...he's a college boy." Ignorance is so blissful that the dispossessed of ration and experience can't even fathom that with time most products and systems improve. Their collective brains are on the shelf and no one can help them. They cannot and should not be dragged from the cave because when they come up here they will hurt us.

Leave the thinking to those with ration.
Now I really enjoy my job. As Winston Churchill said: If you find a job you really enjoy you'll never work again.

We miss Jo Anderson from GAF. We welcome Kenny Brock.

Jon Alan Wright
Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows
1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310
Irving, TX 75061
972.251.1818 Office
214.718.3748 Cell
972.554.8090 Fax
Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)

GAF Seminar on TPO Roof: The Great Slaughter

Today we went to a roofing supply to hear an in depth presentation of TPO commercial roofing. The seminar was held in the warehouse by GAF.

Here's a recap of the meeting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_tUPASbTB0

When the meeting started several people complained they couldn't hear over the International Forklift  Rodeo Competition. After 30 minutes of noise I started complaining but to no avail. I asked everyone around me if they could hear and it was unanimous: No. Better percentage than an Egyptian election. Mubarak only received 93% of the vote. I endured 30 minutes more of cruel and unusual punishment before I snapped and gave away the top secret invasion plans. I still had most of my fingernails and teeth so I knew that my commander would finish the job.


No wonder flat roofs today, even with the better materials, are just as pathetic as they have ever been. Demented roofers suffering from Post Traumatic Toxic Shock syndrome are acting as Manchurian Candidates. If their blood pressure was as high as mine was we need to open a triage center immediately.

With just enough gray matter left for reflex action, I crawled out of the cave and realized I was also suffering from oxygen deprivation as a result of all the carbon monoxide poisoning going on. Once back on my feet I called in an air strike but the haze shielded the building from detection. Plus the echos endangered friendlies for blocks around.

"The Great Slaughter" occurred today. Decades will pass before my anxiety will allow me to enter a warehouse again and our population rises to pre-plague numbers.

See you in the ER.

Jon Alan Wright
Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows
1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310
Irving, TX 75061
972.251.1818 Office
214.718.3748 Cell
972.554.8090 Fax
Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)
.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Roof Removal: WhyTear Off Roof

After the last posting about overlaying roofs, I'd like to clarify a few items. First, no engineer or roof manufacturer engineers roof systems to be put over other roofs. Standard testing by ASTM, the American Standard Testing Method, Dade County, GAF, or the NRCA, is performed on a one roof basis. All wind uplift tests, hail impact tests, wind driven rain simulation, solar emissivity, or Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers stress tests are performed on single layer roofs.

Some manufacturers will allow overlays on flat roofs if no water is in the old roof as long as the roofs are separated by a recovery board (insulation board). May I scream here? Why are you replacing the roof if water didn't penetrate it? It's not broken so don't fix it.

When you overlay, you probably lose a lot of wind, weather, and longevity warranties.

Let's break it down. A residential roof costs anywhere from $1.60 per square foot up to $6.00 per foot for specialty metal roofs. Slate goes even higher but this is a rare roof. For a mean ( average and not my ex) price one might use $2.00, a little higher than what 30 year laminated roofs like Timberline cost. Flat roofs go for anywhere from $3.00 per square foot installed up to $7.00 for a whama jamma super roof. Let's average that at a respectable $5.00 per foot installed.

Composition roof removal is about $.30 per foot and there is anywhere from 10% to 20% less square feet of tear off than installed when we calculate residential roofs. Commercial roofs run about $0.50 per foot of removal. In both cases subsequent layers are removed at a lower cost of about 25% per layer.

Here's how one might figure a composition roof with x being the surface area:

$0.30x ·  (1.15x · $2.00)

For every foot of tear off you need $.30, and for install you need 15% more squares times $2.00.
For every $2.30 you spend installing the roof you'll need about $0.30 for a tear off, which gives you a better roof and a better looking roof. If you have a 30 square tear off you'll need almost 35 square for installed roofing. So if you spend $7,000.00 on installing your roof, you need only add $900.00 to make it look nice, last longer, and resist wind better.

Would you tear off all that roof, haul it to the dump, clean up all the pieces and put down $300.00 worth of felt for $900.00? Now you see why the Tinker Toy roofers want to overlay your roof. Quality is not worth it to them.

On flat roofs you may calculate as such:

$0.50x · $5.00x

For every $5.00 you spend on your new roof you'll need $0.50 to get a roof like the engineer who designed the system wanted. 10% not spent on the flat roof can make for a roof that is not just more easily damaged by hail or wind, but with a disease causing swamp that smells like the pit of hell.

If your building has 10,000 square feet, like a small shopping center and you need $50,000.00 to roof it, don't you think the $5,000.00 you need to make the job work like it is supposed to would be a small price to pay for a good roof.

Anyway, if you don't tear it off you have no idea what is under there. No excuses either.  Don't let that penny pinch nerve destroy everything.


Jon Alan Wright
Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows
1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310
Irving, TX 75061
972.251.1818 Office
214.718.3748 Cell
972.554.8090 Fax
Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)

TPO Roofs And The Sorry State Of Affairs: No Tear Off

In his day Picasso was a giant and his feud with Matisse only elevated his skills. Yet these latter day giants are but on the foothills beneath the precipices of giants such as Michelangelo, van Gogh, Rembrandt, or Bernini. As all skill sets go the greats of one period, region, or style may or may not compare well with those who have come before or after. Yet we live in the moment, in our particular period and compete against those we can parlay with.

What does this have to do with roofing? Quality! For no matter how great the new systems are, when applied by ignorant, unstudied, inexperienced, and callous people, the greatness is lost. In so many words "you can't fix stupid."

We find, by planting our feet, installing products, and waiting, what the future will bring. And it always brings the same things. Alexis de Tocqueville said "History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies." That describes all trades, all people, all events, except for the rare new event. Even plaid baggies with cuffs and giant bulky shoes will return someday and I hope all photos have been vaporized.

When my puppy self landed his first large commercial project, my happiness could hardly be contained. The unthinkable happened: bomb scare. We were ordered off the building with the roof partially done. Then the two week rain began.

We had the drains plugged so rocks and asphalt would not fall in a close them off. The water level rose and came over the top of the roof at the walls where we had yet to flash. Water penetrated the system. The insulation was wet.

I thought it could be dried out but was wrong. Can't! The insulation collapses and the fasteners remain at the same level. As the roof recedes the fasteners poke through. Water in a system is terminal. As it dries all sorts of evil events occur. Mildew, stench, rot, and if the roof is tight, blistering.

These giant bubbles grow until the roof pops. Thus the roof is not tight anymore.

What does roofing have to do with painting? To me a good roof is an artwork only it performs in the real world. We have better canvasses, paint brushes, even better paint but if the wielder of these gizmos is the proverbial fool then these
accoutrement are but an assassins "apparati mortis."

That's exactly what these fools are doing everywhere. The best roof system to be developed in years has become the scourge of flat roofs. Because the single ply system can be installed relatively quickly, the roofers perform little if any preparation. Most only install a thin fanfold insulation over water logged roofs and then head on down the road.

That water will continue to be water and if was trapped under a roof, the new roof only doubly traps it.

The reason for this posting is local. One of my salesmen, who possessed little experience in flat roofs came up with a lead on a local funeral home. He wanted to give as low a bid as possible to get the job. We went to the site and cored the roof. I found the The Edwards aquifer. The roof had to be completely scrapped and the deck needed repairs.

My salesman agreed that the roof was not repairable, as that is what the owners wanted, and we parted friends. a little over a year passed and the funeral home recontacted my salesman. All attempts at repairs had failed. The water monster in the roof always clawed itself through any repairs attempted.

When my salesman asked me for advice, he did not listen. I told him that we could not perform the work like they wanted. He asked for special dispensation to contract the roof on his own. I allowed as it was his lead.

Lat week the ex-salesman returned to my office. I asked him how the job went. He described how the certified subcontractor he used had cored the roof and determined that the roof would dry out if they recovered it.

No messy smelly tear off, no dump trucks, no carpentry, no nothing except for sweeping the loose gravel, the installation of a thin separator board, and the rolling out of a TPO roof over the swamp.

How long do you think it will be before this structure collapses?

Here's what I would have done: remove everything because the roof had been leaking for decades. Someone had already put a roof and insulation over swamp number one.
The deck would have been repaired and then any number of roof systems could have been installed.

Tear off is low profit and high liability because it is low skill work. Still, the contents are exposed and any sudden down bursts can be very disastrous. The installation of insulation is also low profit because of the low skill factor. These processes reduce greatly the profit factor because they are time consuming, require a lot of liability heavy labor, and require a substantial investment in equipment.

If the property owners hadn't been so cheap they might not have been screwed. Maybe 10% to 15% increases in total contract price might have given them a great product. They received a Picasso when they could have received real art for a little more.

Jon Alan Wright

Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows

1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310

Irving, TX 75061

972.251.1818 Office

214.718.3748 Cell

972.554.8090 Fax

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

http://jonwrightroofing.com/

Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)




Thursday, January 20, 2011

Life Is Like A Ladder and Some International Ladder Quotes

The Roof Forum is evolving into an interactive advice column so a nickname is due. No play on Hints From Heloise come to mind and Dear Abby would be Dear Jon. No bueno. That could devolve into a 200 and something year congressional tradition of swearing and name calling. If people think legislators are not civil today, well, where's the duels? The fisticuffs? Profane rants on genealogy.

Today we share a little roof philosophical analogy: Life is like a ladder.

You start at the bottom not sure of yourself. With each rung, supposing you got on the tool, you gain confidence and get closer to your perceived goal, the top. As you grow accustomed and begin to mechanically climb like a quadruped, no more like Spiderman, you accelerate.

This is when problems occur. Overconfidence becomes folly if you miss a rung and fall. The higher you are the further you fall and the greater damage is done to your chassis. You pick yourself up and try again but with more caution, sometimes pausing to look back down and see what you've accomplished. Can be scary. Can make you turn back. Some forget the first fall.

You can fall only so many times before your turn is up or the pieces can't be put back together again. Yes, Humpty Dumpty was pushed and a cover up song was coined to draw attention away from the great kings fall.

But we need not be pushed off or up because falling is as human as not flying. If man were meant to climb he would have claws, or suction cup fingers, or jet packs, but yet man does climb.

Most pick a ladder before the ladder picks, or grabs, them. They scale it and are content. Those reaching farther take greater risk for greater reward. But remembering to put one hand up the side of the ladder while the feet propel is the trick. Never let go of the ladder. Never reach, push. If you slip the hands can grasp the sides.

That's the trick you learned after a few bruises or before in the correspondence course "Jon's Ladder." If you order today we'll send you a second one for free. And that's not all. We'll include a six month medical policy in case you fall.

Life is like a ladder. Climbing is difficult. Just when you thought it was safe you see higher and taller ladders than yours. Do you start over? Do you envy?

The answer is contentment my friend. If you don't have that you have nothing. So if you go climb a higher ladder, make sure it is for fun because you could lose everything when you had it all, or at least what you thought was all ...Once Upon a Time... when you were young.

Here are some of my favorite ladder sayings:
Malaysia: After Falling, The ladder falls on you.
(I can vouch for that. Kick 'em when he's down.)

God old American: Success is a ladder that cannot be climbed with your hands in your pockets.
(I can climb a ladder with my hands in my coat pockets.)

Romanian:
When an ass climbs a ladder, we may find wisdom in women.
(I'm not sure how to interpret that)

German and Italian: He who holds the ladder is as bad as the thief.
(The problem is the German holding the ladder is consumed by guilt when finds out what Guido did. And Guido blamed Fritz.)

Yeah America: Ambition is putting a ladder against the sky.
(Our saying are better than every body's.)

How Scottish can a saying be: The thatcher said unto his man, Let's raise this ladder if we can. - But first let's drink, maister.
(No comment, I'm part Scot. Come on laddy, my name is Wright.)

More German realism: He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom.
(From experience I'll tell you this is not necessarily true.)

Arab: If someone says "There is a wedding ceremony in the clouds," then the women would soon arrive with their ladders.
(Some would say misogyny and others truth. Depends on your level of ... shut up Jon.)

Polish: He who climbs a ladder, must have his brains in his feet.
(How Polish of me. I'm about a quarter Polish, and that's not the coin value.)

Icelandic: On the ladder to success there is always somebody on the rung above you and who uses your head to steady himself.
(Hey, his feet were frozen and he couldn't tell it was your face. Too bad your tongue got stuck to his boot. See you in the spring Thor.)

Klingon: Employees are the rungs on the ladder to success, don't hesitate to step on them.
( Got to love them. They're so honest.)

South African: A fool is a wise man's ladder.
( Do you stack them?)

Ethiopian: She who does not yet know how to walk, cannot climb a ladder.
(Honey look, the baby's walking, get the ladder. And I thought Indonesian women going back to work in the rice patties right after giving child birth was bad.)

Finally a Chinese saying:The flatterer makes you climb up a tree then takes the ladder away.
(Those guys always blow me away with their profundity.)

Final Chinese quote: He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom.
(yeah yeah, and a trip of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Those Chinese make great travel agents. They're a lot like the Germans. They have the same saying, except it's in German.)

All in fun.


Jon Alan Wright

Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows

1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310

Irving, TX 75061

972.251.1818 Office

214.718.3748 Cell

972.554.8090 Fax

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

http://jonwrightroofing.com/

Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)




Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Questions From California

Hi Jon:

I just read your column on low sloped roof and would like your opinion
on proposals to re-roof my house with a low sloped, 2:12 roof. It is a
one storey with a simple gable roof of 3000 square feet. It currently
has 2 roofs: an asphalt and gravel (installed in 1972) over 1 X 6
planks. And, a second roof of 30 year dimensional shingles over the
first roof (installed in 1993). I am replacing the roof because of
leaks from the current solar system that was installed on the west
side half of the roof. It has 72 screws through the roof to hold the
panels in place (installed in 1993)

(Jon)Duane thanks for reading. You have several problems. A 2/12 is the minimum slope for composition roofs, and I mean minimum.

1) You should have removed the built up roof (asphalt and gravel) or at least remove the gravel. If the plane of the roof is not completely smooth, you might lose the 2/12, thereby leak.

2) The cheaper three tab shingles will work better because they lay flatter and you’re paying extra for a 30 year you can’t see.

3) Plank decks tend to crack and cup, causing a loss of pitch and/or leaking.

Let’s review the bid.
Roof Proposal:
1. Tear off both roofs, replace any deteriorated 1 X 6 and add 7/16"
OSB over the 1 X 6 planks. Install 3" stand-offs on the rafters for
new Sealed Air panels on the west side of the roof and flash with 12"
X 12". Ridged solar panels will be mounted off the roof on steel
stringers bolted to the 3" standoffs. Install two layers of 15 pound
felt. Install 30 year Certain Teed Landmark shingles (Certain Teed said
they will warrant the shingles if installed per their specifications
and roofer will follow them).

Jon: Pretty good so far. The only thing different I’d do is either pulls off the plank deck and install radiant barrier OSB with edge support, “H” clips. If you put a deck over a deck it is my understanding it is best to separate them with rosin paper or felt but since the existing deck is plank the issue is lessened than if it were plywood. You can leave the deck and install furring strips every two feet, with edge support, prior to installing the radiant barrier deck. I recommend Techshield. The aluminum seems more difficult to damage than on Solar Board, but it too is a good product.

If freezing and torrential rains are not an issue then “WinterGuard” is not necessary. Otherwise I’d put it at least on the roof penetrations.

OR

2. Same as 1, above, except use 3-tab shingles: Either Malarkey Durra-
Seal 25 year or Malarkey Alaskan 35 year shingles.
Jon: Forget Malarkey. They do not respond to complaints easily. I cannot believe the level of either corruption or ineptness to which they have handled the roof complaints I’ve had with them or others I’ve heard about. Stick with Certainteed. They have all the products you could ever need to choose from.

3. Tear off both roofs, replace any deteriorated 1 X 6 and install a
traditional built up roof with number 3 granite gravel. Option is to
add 1/2" fiberboard instead of base layer. Solar panels to be
installed as noted above, off the roof. With fiberboard this would be
the most expensive roof.

Jon: I’d go with this one but I’m a roofer. Don’t forget to make sure the solar panels are not installed to insulation. The weight will cause them to sink. After removing everything, and inspecting the deck and insulation, decide. At this time, as the deck is so close to the ceiling, especially on the outside perimeter, you could install foil faced insulation, with the foil up.

Do you have no attic? No discussion of ventilation was made



I am sure that you are very busy but any response would be greatly
appreciated.

Duane Essex
Ventura, California (6 miles from the coast and 60 miles north of Los
Angeles where we seldom get freezing temperatures and average about 16
inches of rain a year)

More Questions about California Roofs

Jon:

Thanks so much for responding. I still have one more roofing
contractor to assess my roof and give me an estimate. He suggested on
the phone that I should put on a roll roof and then shingle over that.
The logic is that the roll roof saves the cost for an underlayment
beneath the shingles and, while the net cost is more, it is a superior
roof providing better leak protection for a longer time.

Jon: Nonsense. I would have thought state licensing would have stopped this roll roofing advice. The lap on the roll roof will cause a bulge and if it occurs where the comp shingles are three thick, it could backfire. Plus felt is for emergency back up only and both would be full of nail holes. The asphalt stays tight against the nail shank since no sun degrades it but eventually, if water is running between the layers, the nails will rust to nothing and a slime mold will digest the roof. You might not contract respiratory illness before that guy goes out of business because I don’t think he understands, but your family will smell wet dog smell from between the layers..

I have never seen that spec.

The question about ventilation prompted me to visit my attic via my
pull down Fakro attic ladder in my hallway. The results:

Jon: Make sure the attic access has weather stripping and insulation.

1. My simple gable roof is about 3000 sf in approximately the shape of
a square which includes the garage. The roof over the garage has 2 X 8
rafters spaced 16" OC. The rest of the house has 2 X 8 rafters spaced
24" OC. I have a large 17 X 11 entrance to my house that the roof
extends over. In that area, I can look up and see the same shiplap
that is on my eaves. Above that is just the roofing planks and roofing
material. In effect, this creates an external, vaulted ceiling.

Jon: Without eaves you can use either GAF’sCobra® FasciaFlow Vent (Intake) or Airvent’s The Edge or Venting Metal Edge.Be careful with using the Edge because you lose slope there.

2. In the back half of the house, there are three rooms with SEALED
vaulted ceilings inter spaced with open attic. The master bedroom
vaulted ceiling is 12 X 15, starts at the eaves and extends 17' to the
master bedroom closet (the 3 feet deep closet extends across the
bedroom and has a standard 8 foot ceiling and the attic above is open
to the roof). The living room vaulted ceiling is 12 X 17, starts after
the bedroom closet, is approximately centered at the ridge of the roof
and extends over the ridge and down to the kitchen drop ceiling (the 9
feet wide drop down ceiling is about 7 feet high and the attic above
it is open to the roof). The family room vaulted ceiling starts at the
drop down kitchen ceiling and extends down to the eaves. The vaulted
ceilings are primed and painted drywall inside the house.

Jon: As long as you make roof for intake, because exhaust without intake is bad too, you can vent between each set of sealed rafters with either vent ridge, low profile vents place between , or even shared if you can meet the 300 Rule minimum attic vent requirements.

3. Again, all of the vaulted ceilings are sealed and the vaulted
ceiling in the living room is isolated from the eaves. I do not have
soffits and the eaves are closed off at the external wall of the
house. I can see external soft insulation filling areas between the
framing of the attic walls surrounding the vaulted ceiling, and wood
barriers extend between the rafters at the beginning and end of the
vaulted ceilings.

Jon: I’d tear off the deck and put furring 1x2 furring strips on the rafters, (cheap cheap cheap) and install radiant barrier decking. With the various intake options and exhaust options you can make the air flow and help your home be happy.

4. The open attic areas above the master bedroom closet and the drop
down kitchen areas flow into the remaining open attic at the front of
the house which includes the bedroom area hallway, two baths and two
additional bedrooms. This square feet of this area is about 25% larger
than the area of vaulted ceilings. I have installed 3/4" plywood in
the open attic over one bedroom at the front of the house, and across
the attic to the garage, for storage.

Jon: Close off all non functioning vents. If you get air moving over the top of the insulation this pit will be fine.


5. Venting: There are three passive dormer vents (two on one side of
the ridge and one on the other in the open attic areas) and one side
vent at the back of the house above the kitchen drop ceiling. There
is also a passive, open T-vent above the furnace (no connection to the
furnace). I can see all of the dormer vents and furnace T-vent
standing on the pull-down ladder and can crawl over the storage floor
to see the side vent at the back side of the house. I also have a T-
vent for one bathroom fan and a T-vent for the microwave hood fan but
these are fan driven exhausts.

Jon: If you have roof fixed exhaust you cannot have dormer or gable end vents. More holes can mean less venting. Read my blog on “Should a Roof Have Vents or Ventilation.” Also I have a very dry step by step E-How title “ How to Calculate your Attic Ventilation.”
6. With the exception of leaks caused by the solar panel screws I have
had no problem with the roof. In the summer, the attic does not get
extremely hot, even in hot weather. I have, on occasion, opened the
pull down ladder a foot or so on very hot days, thinking that it would
help keep the attic cool. But, in any case it has never been
inhospitable and we seldom get freezing or below temperatures. My 16
year-old cat likes to spend times in the attic most of the year
because it is warm.

What is your thoughts about the last roofing proposal using a combined
roll and shingle roof. It seems like two roofs to me but maybe it is a
superior roof?

Jon: Terrible

Do you think I should go to the trouble to ventilate the attic at the
vaulted ceilings? The middle, isolated vaulted ceiling does not extend
to the eaves creating an odd problem if I added ventilation. I also
came across this blog which suggests that sealed vaulted ceilings may
have been designed that way and do not need to be vented:

Jon: You must be losing a lot of cool air from the home to keep the attic comfortable. Your home was built in an era when men were men and they didn’t care as much about air conditioning or utility costs.

An improperly vented attic will shorten the roofs life, affect your health, and even leak sooner. The plank deck may have been helping to save you but with all these nails being pulled out and new ones being put in, you can expect surprises. Sometimes the boards break months after the roof was put on. Look for knot holes and severe grain swerving near the edge of a plank. These are fracture points.

Anyway, you are spending some money so make sure you do it wisely and spend enough to get it done right.

One last item. I like 4" exposure three tabs. Instead of a 2" headlap you get four as only 1/3 of the shingle is exposed. With two ply felt, a good professional starter shingle, and not a three tab turned around upside down and backwards, you have a lot of coverage. The manufacturers don't like because of wind but they allow stapling and power nailing. I do not. I like a roofing hachet because it will drive a roof nail flush only and not overdrive it. It is hard on plank decks sometimes though.



http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/breaktime/energy-heating-insulation/vaulted-ceiling-insulation-problem

Hope you are feeling better - keep up the education columns, I find
this type of information very useful

Springtime Roof Inspection

The last time my body felt like it did for the last four days was on March 7th, 1999. The day was burned into by a coincidence: having went home sick, watching "A Clockwork Orange" (I felt so bad it couldn't have hurt anymore), and waking to read Stanley Kubrick had died. Eerie mind control stuff, no? Anyway, I survived both times. If I had only listened to the signals on Saturday and taken my vitamin C and echinachea (Mr. Spellcheck is under a little FDA control though) I might not have gone spiraling into the depths of my couch, where I lost ten of the pounds I had acquired while on mandatory couch duty.

What's the point dummy? Ventilation...again and again. It's time for Mr. Spore to come ransack your home because your soffit vents are dirty and not allowing air to come in, of course unless they are just decoys with no holes or little bitty holes under them. Okay, on top of them in a sequential way if you start at the plant and go up like the air is supposed to do in those unobstructed vents under the eave.

Don't forget to go out and clean them. And if somebody other that us sides your house make sure they pull them off and enlarge the holes. No going back, without expense of money or effort, if you cover them and the screens keep doing what they were meant to do.

Make sure you have bottom to top attic respiration. Only "a" to "b" and n "c" or "d." That "lower vent ridge" (meaning you have conflicting exhaust points), those gable end vents beneath the turbines, that power vent between the turbines, all keep the soda from coming up the broken soda straw.

Take a stroll around the house and look up. This may require some poop scooping but you need to concentrate, on the roof and overhang. Look for sags, dips, rot, stains, raised parts, or anything else that looks suspicious.

You are welcome to take a picture and e mail me and I'll tell you what I think. We'll come out for free too but your eyes work fine. If they don't I'm sure you know someone whose do.

Stop the hundreds from being thousands.

Lastly, if you find large turds on your roof that is bad. Intrinsically bad but bad in another sort of way: the beast might be scoping out your pad looking to B&E, and that's not bacon and eggs my little 30 lb rodent victim to be. Raccoons can rip the siding off your house in a single grasp, demolish your roof in seconds, and it is all so frightening. You'll reconsider your gun law position for a moment. And if it doesn't change, because no damage was done, it will be reinforced.

A walk about up there might do because with our multicultural country many peoples , and many have been hear for generations, like to fling, shoot, and launch fiery objects into the night sky with disdain for the landing spot.
Aghast, that bottle rocket landed in that big pile of leaves I forgot to blow off the roof.
Remember when those Iraqi soldiers fired in the air at a Saddam Hussein outdoor concert and about a hundred and fifty got postmortem metals. More that that happen hear every day but not all are fatal. Some just wound.

Everything you own and your family are under that roof.

Metal Roof Over Wood Roof Fears: Hot and Noisy

----- Original Message -----
From: Kade
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 9:36 AM
Subject: [THE ROOF FORUM] New comment on A Roof Blog Not Meant To Be Read..

Kade has left a new comment on your post "A Roof Blog Not Meant To Be Read.":

I actually feel kind of silly asking this question because I run a web site selling roofing products, but here goes anyway. I have a cedar shake roof that is about 35 years old and it starting to become very brittle. I've seen these metal shakes out there and think they look quite nice, but I am curious what some of the pros and cons are? For example am I going to lose R-Value, are they noisy in rain storms, and are they more expensive than just doing cedar shakes again?
Kade,
Pretty good question really. Don't worry about noise but if you like listening to the rain hitting your roof, you will never hear it with a metal roof over another roof. If you have wood shakes, and not wood shingles, the effect will be about the same. Remember to sleeve the ventilators so that the air that is being moved by the chimney effect between the wood roof and the metal roof does not stop the attic air from venting unimpeded from the bottom to the top. The best bet, if you are going 5/6th's of the financial road with a metal shake, preferably Gerard for appearance and customer service, just go ahead and remove the wood roof and install the radiant barrier deck with synthetic felt and leak protector around all the penetrations. You don't want a big ice day to get you and you do want to cut utility costs and HVAC repairs, besides having a comfortable home. The attic is really neat because one light bulb will really light things up. Remember not to place the radiant barrier decking directly to the lathe or your attic will get hotter.
Thanks and why not become a follower in return.
Jon

Friday, January 14, 2011

A Roof Blog Not Meant To Be Read.

Many have told me that I have made more posts about roofs, roofing in Dallas, and roofing systems than anyone thought possible. Ditto...

This roof forum needs a suggestion box about roof repairs, roof flashing, roof integration to siding, windows, plumbing, electrical, and other house systems that meet the roof. The first million words on roofs flowed freely but the next group need some coaxing.

We've seen how many hits we get on this roof blog but few are followers. Somebody must have some questions. My thirty two years as a roofing contractor, the twenty four years of siding sales, and the sixteen as a window company must be of use to somebody.

I love to help people. I've done it repeatedly. you don't have to live in Dallas, Texas, or even the United States of America to request my help. You can ask me in English, Texan, Spanish, or my rusty Italian. All others need to learn one of those languages.

The only type of roof my hands have not installed is thatch, but I have inspected thatch while on travel. Stone Coated steel tile and shake by Gerard in Las Colinas and Decra in Fort Worth, standing seam roofs in Colleyville, clay tile roofs in Highland Park, concrete tile roofs in Plano, composition roofs in Arlington, single ply roofs in Bedford, built up roofs in Frisco, cold applied roofs in Richardson, hot applied roofs in McKinney, peel and stick roofs in Mesquite, ballasted roofs in Coppel, smooth surface roofs in DeSoto, gravel surfaced roofs in Duncanville, rubber roofs in Euless, SBS roofs in Hurst, APP roofs in Carrollton, laminated roofs in Irving, three tab roofs in Grand Prairie, designer roofs in north Dallas, steep roofs in Farmers Branch, high roofs in University Park, cedar shingle roofs in Southlake, wood shake roofs in Garland, slate roof in Trophy Club and anywhere else in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex situated in North Texas that you can think of.

I've lived in Dallas Fort Worth my whole life except for when I studied in Rome, and not Rhome in Texas. the first roof that I bed on was my parents house in Casa Linda about 1970. I had circled the sun only 13 times by then and now am at fifty two and a half revolutions. By the time i graduated from college I had put on more roofs than anyone my age that could read and write proficiently.

So ask away about your roof in Dallas or Garland. Roofs as far as Gainesville to Waco, from Graham to Texarkana, I'm hear to offer free advice on how to fix your roof, your attic ventilation, your roof sag, your ugly roof, or your stained roof.

Just try me. Metal roof. Steel Roof. Wood Roof. Concrete Roof. Roof Insulation. Reflective Roofs. High Emissivity Roofs. Radiant Barrier Decking. All and every type.

Spoof:The Invention of the Attic by Philosopher Roofing Greeks


When man first sought out shelter other than a cave he used whatever materials were at hand. Mud, sticks, leaves, and dead animal skins, were the first products widely distributed, much like the stuff on homes today. Like always, the ancient Greeks came up with some of the most revolutionary ideas about staying out of the weather: pitched roof construction.
The Chinese had developed pitched roofs centuries ahead of the Greeks because they held a big advantage. They had discovered gravity when the Mongols had thrown them off the Great Wall. All they had to do was put an inverted “V” between two of these walls. The Greeks had not come up with the idea of a wall yet and all they had were pillars. This made the construction of a pitched roof much more difficult. The lack of solid material support meant higher math was needed.
After these great Greco-math guys did all their computations they got ready for the new high tech system that would revolutionize construction for the next couple of millennium, the gable. The measuring needed for precise spacing, geometrical designs accentuating the art displayed on the frieze, and durable stone building materials are all things lost to us today. All that is left are the Latin words for the concepts we stole from the Greeks: soffit, fascia, and frieze.
Once these philosopher builders around the area of Athens known as Attica began their giant stimulus project called the Acropolis, everyone knew that one day the French would come blow it up. Pericles, a famous sock manufacturer, was supervising his project one day and, when looking up, exclaimed to his fellow citizens, “look Attics!” Everyone asked “what?” Again he screamed “Attics!” The foreign born labors doing the actual work took this to mean the area where his eyes were cast, the attic underneath the roof, but he was just calling out in a parochial fashion to his buds.
Later these workers migrated north, the first time this had ever happened, and it hasn’t stopped yet. When they got to Britain the word “attic” had corrupted to “angle” and as the attics became Hellots, the Saxons became Angles, then Anglos.
Thus began another empire, built upon roofing techniques that allowed the conquest of the world. Come on. How can you occupy foreign lands if you can’t build a good roof to keep your powder dry.
Thus was born the Graeco Roman Western Civilization. Once the gable roof was invented the Attics migrated worldwide, building capitols like Washington D. C. and Austin. To this day we owe our heritage to those ancient Greek roofing philosophers.
The final touch came with the Judeo-Christian transformation brought by that famous Jewish son of a carpenter allowed us to build even more grandiose structures called Cathedrals.
Footnote: Back about 1995 Tom Fracaro's professor brother from the University of New York was showing me the glory of the internet from his $5000.00 laptop I asked him to prove it's worth by searching for Pericles. The only reference it found was a sock manufacturer. It would be years before I went cyber again and I cannot find my way out of Tron's homeland. I wonder if the sock reference came from Socrates using a sock to make a puppet of his had in order to practice arguing or from the sock on a stick that Pericles saw on "Planet of the Apes" that helped them find a place to land.

Attic Access to Roofs

I hope your attic access is in the garage because if the door to the area above is in the hall, there are usually energy costs.

Several years ago I needed to check and see if the soffit vents were open. The home had vinyl soffit install and vented panels were used. Yet we've seen these vents put over non existent holes just as our Angies's List customer in Plano had a soffit vent over a non hole. Even if there is a hole the size is too small and here, I hate to say, size matters. The 16"x4" soffit vent has 26 NFA in inches if the hole above it is cut right and not obstructed. The 16x8 soffit vent has 65 NFA.

The screen on the top side will obstruct with dust and must be periodically be cleaned, usually with forced air. If vinyl, aluminum, or steel soffit panels are installed and the soffit vents are not removed, they will clog with dust.

You can go outside and look and see the shape of the hole cut on the other side by the dust pattern. No dust pattern means no hole, the vent is new or has been cleaned recently.

I went into the attic, turned off the light, and had the attic access fold out stairs closed behind me to maximize the darkness. Alone in the dark I heard and felt a cold and clammy wind. Scary? air conditioning was being sucked into the attic as a result of the Venturi Effect.

A a minimum the attic access needs to be weatherstripped and the top side insulated. Second best are the igloo like covers that can be set over the pull down stairs to conserve climate controlled air. The best way is to have the access in the garage or some other non control environment.

If the entrance is strategically placed in the garage the hole can act as a large soffit vent and help keep the garage from super heating. I homes with no overhang, a power vent can be placed on the gable furthest from the garage and the two other holes, the other gable and the open attic access, can be used as intake.

We've actually built access in the garage with a screened cage set over it to keep the critters and birds from attempting to explore the attic.

If you have a hallway or closet attic access, go feel of it and you'll see what I mean.

Jon Alan Wright

Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows

1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310

Irving, TX 75061

972.251.1818 Office

214.718.3748 Cell

972.554.8090 Fax

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

http://jonwrightroofing.com/

Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)


Thursday, January 13, 2011

Not About Dallas Roofing Blog. About Death in Arizona.

Those poor folks in Tucson who lost their lives. The little girl who lost her future but her grieving family has to live on. I can't stand it. Yet we Americans are so lucky that such a tragedy gains all of our attention. In Iraq or Mexico this would be a forgotten footnote. The same goes for the Ivory Coast, Haiti, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon, Brazil, South Africa, Chechnya, Algeria, and all of the poorest places in the most fortunate places in the world.

The fact that they were all killed in a short period of time in a place considered safe makes this news but when it happens repeatedly daily in a small area, nobody cares. Our species is capable of such great atrocity against fellow members. If you disarm us the worst amongst us will run rampage as in Mexico but if you don't regulate weapons then Mexico happens too. Somewhere there is balance. Personally I am for gun freedom but not for all. Unstable people need to be stopped but who decides? Doctors? Judges? Neighbors? Can everybody get a vote on who and anyone receiving ten negative votes is ostracized (having his ostrich cut off).

The answer starts at home with civility and a belief system of right and wrong. Without this any one of us can digress into the bedlam of our primitive past. The difference is our enhanced weaponry, and not just on an individual scale but on nation state scales. Many dangerous men have risen to absolute dictator where the very lives of people are at his whim.

Not so long ago in England the local lord decided who could marry and often deflowered the bride as was his right. So much for civilization.

We all need to thank God that we live in a place where almost all of us have a roof over our heads. I hope we can practice kindness.

Jon

The New Dear Abby of Roofing

Just call me Abby


Mr. Wright,

I came across your blog on my search for a solution on a chimney issue.

My husband and I are building a house in Houston and the installation of the chimney is one of the issues we are dealing with right now. It is a bit complicated.

For technical reasons, we had to change our concept from a wood-burning fireplace with an 8 inches high quality, stainless steel flue to a gas-burning fireplace.

For the gas-burning fireplace we chose a B-vent Isokern fireplace because we wanted to keep the appearance of an open fire.

The issue now is the flue. B-vent fireplace flue pipes only come as galvanized metal on the outside and aluminum on the inside, and the pipe for the Isokern is 10 inches in diameter. From a design standpoint that is of course not very attractive yet, most homes in our neighborhood have very attractive chimneys. Therefore, resale value is a concern.

What makes this issue complicated is the fact that we have a metal roof. The original plan called for an 8 inch, stainless steel pipe flushed with roof material.

During construction, I came to realize that I would prefer a chimney that is ‘boxed in’ and finished with stucco. According to the builder, that would have been actually less expensive than the stainless pipe.

During installation of the roof I continued to ask if the chimney would not need to be installed first but everybody assured me that would not be the case. Well, they considered the metal flue only and did not distinguish between different types of installation methods for different types of chimneys.

Well, now the story is suddenly different. The pipe for the new fireplace is not at all decorative but rather dull looking. A boxed-in chimney would be the better solution.

Now, I am learning a boxed in chimney proportioned to the size of our roof would have to be rectangular shape and would require for the roofers to cut into more than one standing seam. The roof company - who has done really good work - is reluctant to do that and tells us they would require to take off 75 % of the installed metal roof to install the box.

They have to guarantee their work of course and they are cautious to prevent future leakage. I understand their point although I don't quite understand the explanation about the installation technique.

I wonder, though, is it not possible? They have done such good work, I cannot see why they should not be able with their skills to cut, install and seal a chimney box. There has to be something that can be done.

I wonder what your opinion is. I am just asking for an honest opinion and only if your time would allow that - no guarantee of course.

What would you do if you as an experienced roofer would be in our situation and your wife would love to have a chimney made from stucco on her roof. Would you think there is a way?

I wonder if you would be willing to share your opinion.

Best regards

Christine (last name redacted), Houston.

Here's my reponse:

Hello Christine,

Sorry for the delay in response to your question but with the holidays and other issues I haven’t been able to get back with you until now. I am flattered you read my blog.

It seems you have three questions, the first having to do with the roofer needed to know what type of chimney structure he would be flashing, that is integrating the roof with the chimney penetration. With all but standing seam roofs the answer is no but with standing seam the answer is definitely yes. Because the system is locked together the difficulty of installing a rectangular box after the fact is very hard but can be done. The roofers might have to hand fabricate some panels and have some seams where they might not normally have them.

The roofers are concerned that the box would be wider than the ribs causing a dam effect I believe. Hand fabricating would solve this problem with some soldering where the seams would be left out. If my wife wanted a box around the chimney I would try to convince her to turn the chimney at a 45 degree angle to the flow of the water. That way the two lower sides could have traditional pans shaped in an “L” fashion and placed on top of the standing seam and out onto the roof. On the back side two more pans could be made to go up underneath the standing seam and divert the water around the chimney.

The problem is that standing seam is difficult to seal. Metal expands and contracts and the longer the panel the more movement you have. The method I have tried to describe would allow for movement. A traditionally positioned chimney with the water hitting directly behind the chimney, even with a cricket (a sort of inverted pyramid causing two valleys) is difficult enough to do without having to go back later and do it. Besides, the workmen might scar your beautiful new roof.

The cost of changing this could be in the thousands for the roof work plus the carpentry. A fake blind could be made that sat directly on the roof but getting it up there would be difficult too. Plus the wind can really blow in Houston and it might sail away.

Good luck with the project. This sounds like your dream home and I know you want it the way you want it.

Thanks for reading.


Hello Jon!

Thank you so much for answering my e-mail. I read some articles on your blog and especially liked the article about'non tolerance chimneys'. - Well, after reading that article I already suspected that it would be difficult to install a framed structure at this point in construction since the roof is already installed and we don't have a supporting structurein place. My husband as well as the architect have said that all along, only builder and masonry guy said that such a structure is not necessary and they have kept my hopes alive. That resonates exactly with the experience that you are describing in your article.

Reading your comments about the challenges of cutting and sealing a standing seam roof only further confirms, it is too late for us to change course. - If nothing else, the cost will be the decisive factor.
I truly appreciate though that you went into detail of how it could be accomplished if done by hand. Tomorrow, we have our final meeting with architect and roofer, and I will be armed with additional knowledge. I am very grateful to you for taking your time and explaining that to me.

Thank you very much for your help.

Kind regards
Christine (redacted)


Jon Alan Wright

Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows

1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310

Irving, TX 75061

972.251.1818 Office

214.718.3748 Cell

972.554.8090 Fax

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

http://jonwrightroofing.com/

Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Conqueror Has Become The Conquered: The Transformation of GAF Into Elk

When I heard that GAF was going to use a new improved sealant and add granules to the back of the rechristened Timberline Ultra, the name it used to have, I thought about the old saying that the conqueror becomes the conquered.

Just as the Normans, who had conquered England and took the thrown, eventually became English, adding to the language but not improving the food (that would be unenglish) and the Mongolians were absorbed into Chinese culture after having conquered them, GAF has become Elk.

Certainly the Elk and Prestique monikers have finally been dropped from that cumbersome name, "GAF Elk Timberline Prestique High Definition 30 year", to the more friendly "GAF Timberline Lifetime" title, but the transformation under the skin has been more radical. Those traits that had made Elk a growing threat to the hegemony of the Empire of GAF have resurrected themselves not only in the actual product colors and traits but in a cutting edge boldness not normally present in a behemoth like GAF.

When the two became one my guess was that eventually the Elcor product names would be discarded and this has come to pass. Yet I never expected the metamorphosis of the Timberline Ultra into a Prestique Plus nor the complete color copying that has taken place.

Elk had grown to a point that the loosey goosey style that the company employed to maximize creativeness could no longer be used as a business model. The company would have needed a more rigid set of rules and systems to manage the expanding business acquired over a few short decades. In other words Elcor was headed for a glass ceiling and headed there rapidly.

The merger, as the process was called, brought about a new entity that was greater than the sum of the parts. Even though GAF seemed to actually swallow Elcor whole, the two sides were treated as equals. Heads fell from both sides with the new company keeping the best and brightest from both. Elcor was not treated as a conquered company but that is what happened. Yet the processes that followed were like a merger.

This new even bigger giant did something I never expected, revolutionize the industry to the advantage of the consumer in a larger than life manner that has shaken the entire multitrillion dollar industry to it's core by adding more consumer protection than anyone expected.

The wind warranty enhancement is news in itself but pales in comparison to the lifetime non prorated material and labor warranties offered in the System Plus and Golden Pledge by us Master Elite Roofers.

We know that when we enter a home that nobody can compete with us if the consumer wants a good roof. All this re insured by Good Housekeeping, who chose GAF out of all the roofing manufacturers there are.

So if peace of mind, energy savings, longevity of product, leak protection and beauty are what you would like to get out of your roof, call a Master Elite Roofer today. He will give you this.

Jon Alan Wright

Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows

1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310

Irving, TX 75061

972.251.1818 Office

214.718.3748 Cell

972.554.8090 Fax

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

http://jonwrightroofing.com/

Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)


The New World of GAF Roofing Materials Corporation

Notice: There were errors in the first posting and they have been corrected.

Building Materials Corporation of America, the other name for GAFMC, an acronym that arose from the old name, General Aniline and Film, has made a daring and brave move. I had, at first, trepidation but am now fully in agreement with their attempt to fully conquer the roofing universe.

This company has always went above and beyond the obligations of the warranties issued and now stands poised to offer the peace of mind that the best in technology can bring. The other manufacturers are complaining that GAF has put less asphalt in the product and the charge stands true. But so have they. The cost of asphalt has skyrocketed because the greedy oil companies had found a way to squeeze more jet fuel from the asphalt, once considered the trash left over after the lighter oils and petrol chemicals had been harvested.

But GAF has added better glass mats and filler, a misunderstood term because it does more than fill. GAF has technology derived from more years and more roofs than second, third, and fourth put together. This race is comparable to the hare and the tortoise. The additional knowledge acquired from the merger with Elk has given them the confidence to allow the Master Elite Roofers the power to offer a non prorated transferable material and labor warranty of 50 years on what had been only 30. Complete coverage for a lifetime.

This is huge. The bar has been raised and we'll soon see how the other companies respond. So if your roof shows signs of fatigue, gravel loss, cracking, excessive color fading, or wrinkling, within 50 years of receiving your System Plus Warranty on GAF's flagship product, Timberline, you get a new roof. If your insurance company says you have no hail, the buyer of your home's inspector says the roof is no good, or the insurance company says your roof is uninsurable, you call GAF and us and begin the claims process.

If you have Atlas they will wait to say "NO" until you have submitted all the forms but GAF will not. The roofer takes two shingles out for samples and photographs the roof and ventilation. Even if the roof is not properly vented or is nailed to a tree, GAF will analyze the product in it's state of the art laboratory and determine why the roof has not lasted 50 years. That includes all of their shingles but the Royal Sovereign three tab. If the material is not hail damaged, vandalized, hit with shrapnel, or rubbed by tree limbs, they'll replace your roof.

But the complete coverage can only come from their highly trained contractors, the best of the best, who must pass tests, prove effective in the field, and have high moral and ethical standards equivalent to those of GAF.

We are the Master Elites and we can put composition roofs on that will outlast us all, baring Mother Nature's vengeance. But even with nature's fury the wind warranty has been enhanced to incredible heights.
Just make sure you buy the High Definition Timberline and not the Natural Shadow because the High Definition is more beautiful. Why would you stand for second best for fifty years?


Jon Alan Wright

Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, and Windows

1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310

Irving, TX 75061

972.251.1818 Office

214.718.3748 Cell

972.554.8090 Fax

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

http://jonwrightroofing.com/

Master Elite Roofer: (Scroll to the bottom)