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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Crime and Roofing

Already phase one of the hail storms has come to pass: the Mushroom Roofers have popped up. They'll go shoot on some roofs with nail guns, collect some money, and leave people with badly ventilated roofs and roofs that look lumpy, won't last as long, and will experience problems with leaking and blow off, as usual.

More sinister demons are coming. Labor liens, mad supply houses, all kinds of legal stuff but still other manifestations are going to appear.

The cost of materials is soaring. Shortages will occur. Tamko lost a major production facility to the deadly tornadoes. Gas is going up. Between rising transportation costs, higher raw material costs, and the influence of supply and demand, the price of materials will skyrocket to levels never seen before. Soon a square of Timberline shingles will fly by $100.00 faster than a badly nail gunned roof on a windy day.

Here come the thieves. If materials are delivered the day before the roof is to be put on and left in the driveway, the carpetbagger's scalawag roofers will pull up to take what they need to finish their job down the street. This happened to us two years ago in the storms in Keller. Then we couldn't finish our jobs.

Be patient with your roofer. We have entered a lawless stage and it is only going to get worse. The crime rates of Carrolton, Coppell, North Dallas, and all the northern suburbs is going to go up. And it is not just theft of roofing materials. These are seedy people. When you introduce seedy people into a neighborhood and they climb all over your home and learn your habits, they will sometimes come back. They now know when you leave and come back. What doors you use. Believe you me a construction guy can get in your home real easy. Skylights, siding, windows, are all 30 second break in points.

And you might not have hired them. If your neighbor has hired them they now know your habits. From a roof you can peer all over the back yard and into windows. And these guys will be gone soon enough.

Did you know that something like 85% of people on death row have connections to the roofing industry.
Protect yourself unless you are real lucky and nothing bad ever happens to you.
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
    Follow jwrightroofing on Twitter

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Who Is That Knocking On Your Door

Why would you let some vagabond going down the street knocking on doors do your roof? Why would you let him on your roof or into your home? Now he knows what you have and how to get into your home. Through a skylight or side door? What have you done? If he were legitimate he'd have a lot of calls to do.

Pushy, pushy, pushy, now, now, cheap, hurry...this is your home.

 http://www.theroofforum.com/2009/12/santa-is-not-only-stranger-on-your-roof.html

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
    Follow jwrightroofing on Twitter

Why Snow Came in Your Vent Ridge

When the dry snow hit McKinney, Prosper, and Denton two years ago, a lot of homeowners had a lot of snow penetrate their attics. The roofers instinctively blamed the manufacturer. My wholesaler reps were calling me to ask why this was happening. Wasn't happening to my customers. Not one. But the neighbors had problems so our customers called us to inspect their attics. We told them it wouldn't happen to them because we had mono-altitude exhaust vents and balanced soffit vents. They had forgotten the pitch so we had to go through it all over again. We also pointed out that they didn't have ice daming problems because of their roof/attic ventilation system.

Most roofers apply the most basic of gas laws when they install exhaust vents. They only relieve pressure. The concept was first outlined described in Boyle's Law, circa 1662, in that at a constant temperature the volume and pressure of a gas is constant. Later researches found  the relationship between the volume of gas and pressure is affected by temperature. By the 18th century the gas laws grew more comprehensive, culminating in the Ideal Gas Law.

If this is the only application of physics your roofer does, he is draining you financially, physically, and emotionally. Vented only roofs wear out everything. The roofing fails early, the warranty is void, your kid's doctor reaches a higher tax bracket, the utility company executive gets a bonus, the painter is employed, your insulation mats, the air conditioning repairman buys a new truck, and later the manufacturer expands their facilities. If you believe in climate change, you sin when you use lo-tech roofers.  

What most roofers do is 16th to 18th century technology. Well trained roofers use fluid dynamics to ventilate. Air comes in the soffits and out the mono-altitude exhaust, creating a giant Venturi Tube. Any interference between the top line exhausts and intake vents and the system shuts down like a soda straw with a hole in it. The classical example is the "Chimney Effect" but we prefer the straw because a chimney heats from the bottom but a straw is used to pull just like the sun's energy heating the attic air, speeding up the molecules. Excited air molecules move up. Slower ones don't.

When you first cut a hole in a non-vented roof, the rush of air will blow your hat off, then slow down. If their are soffit vents the rush will continue and only decrease as the temperature drops. As the hot air leaves, ambient air comes in soffits. With the removal of heat and humidity from your organic material infested attic, the spores die and your doctor needs to sell his car. The kids asthma goes away. The air condition doesn't run as often.

If you over exhaust and do not increase the soffit intake to match and you have a modern home with house wrap and energy efficient window, a new bogyman arrives. Radon gas and his other under-worldly buddies come seeping up.  Your water might boil faster but your home will smell like sewer gas. You can clean all you want but until you find a professional roofer, your house might stink.

But your lower vent ridge might also become an intake vent, sucking in rain and snow.

Sorry for the lack of clarity but I've been interrupted about 50 times this morning and can't keep a clear thought.





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
    Follow jwrightroofing on Twitter

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Invasion of the Roofer Mushroom People From Outer Space

When the hail stones first pummeled Prosper I thought that the "Parade of Carpetbaggers" had begun as it always does after a storm. But I was wrong. Remember how the Martians came down the energy beams to their machines in the 2005 version of "War of the Worlds?" This time the invaders came from inside the hail stones themselves.

The stones were just the first wave of the attack. The mushroom roofers sprouted from the stones embedded in the earth. The sacrificial mushrooms hammered roofs, fences, gutters, and other property in an attempt to cause pecuniary damages and steal our gold. Money started to flow into the affected areas in order to stop the hemorrhaging. Then the mushroom roofers emerged from the soil with signs of unknown company names. They knew from previous studies of our species that we are only the masters of what we can survey. After having seen the name of one of these mushroom roofer companies several times, the affected assumed that they were legitimate companies. No track record, no history of service, and sometimes no Texas drivers licenses. Even then the Texas zip code may be farther away than Kansas.

Rapidly they set upon the unsuspecting property owners, the backbone of our republic, mumbling things like "cheap, free, wave the deductible." With their magic wands the waving of the deductible ceased to be a crime, a felony, an offense punishable by incarceration.

Having the humans by the greedacles, the mushroom invaders will soon begin to remove the roofs of the humans and install an environment changing roof causing sickness throughout the home. Remember that "The Univeral Gas Law" allows only from the relief of pressure and not the positive bottom to top ventilation of a balanced system that removes humidity and heat that mingle with all that organic material causing spores. These spores attack the pulmonary systems of the young the most severely while draining adults of precious funds for electric bills and HVAC repairs. Shortened paint, insulation, deck, and roof lives also attack the pocket.

At first I thought that this was just hail but with the subsequent hail storms I began to realize that this was a full scale invasion of mushroom roofers. After 25 to 50 have rang the doorbell, knocked the door, and chased you across the yard while mowing on Sunday morning, you begin to believe this is normal behavior. But look into their eyes, ask for an electric bill, a manufacturer's certification, driver's license, auto insurance, references from last month within 50 miles, a DNA sample, and you'll find that the infectious mushroomers have come to your town. They intend to take your insurance claim money and put on the cheapest materials they can find from mushroom helpers. Notice that they speak strangely. Their eyes dart side to side.

Folks, mark my words. These are not the words of a soothsayer, an oracle, or even a modern day Nostradamus. These are the musings of an experienced Texan, someone born at Florence Nightingale (Baylor) and educated in Dallas. These are the warnings of a man who has been a roofing contractor for 32 years with accreditations, certifications, an "A" at Angie's List, and the BBB, but that doesn't mean what it used to mean.

Watch out. If you need an answer now, the answer is "NO!" Take your time. Study. Research. This is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make and if it is based on criminal activity, be careful. Why not take the opportunity to negotiate with a good local guy on a better roof and manufacturer's warranty that is not prorated and covers materials and leaks too. You can even get a Good Housekeeping guarantee. They do underwrite roofs if you have the right roofer.

Your kids health, your resale value, your marriage, could be at stake here. Just go back and read earlier posts and you'll understand.

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
    Follow jwrightroofing on Twitter

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Roofing Advice To Prosper, Little Elm, Denton, and Oak Point

Here comes the parade of roofers.
Do you know how many roofers it takes to sell a roof?
All of them to say they'll do it cheaper....and sometimes better.

Texas will not protect you. Your town might require a license, which may require insurance, but it has been but a pittance. Prosper requires a $1000,000.00 general liability policy. No provisions are made for completed operations or product liability.

Translation: If your roof leaks later or the manufacturer will not honor the warranty, you are alone. Your homeowner insurance only covers sudden acts like fire, hail, wind... but not roofers, dogs, termites, pests, raccoons, rats, bad workmanship, or Atlas or Malarkey shingles.

If you want protection use a certified roofer. GAF Master Elite, Certainteed Shingle Master Roofer, or Owens Corning Preferred Contractor. That way you'll get a great warranty from a roofer that has been in business for some time, has insurance, has passed a test, is committed to ongoing training, and has a great local reputation. Otherwise you have a goofball on your roof. This is the status of roofing today: certified roofers or carpetbaggers.

Due to the seeming decline of the local BBB organizations into dues collecting outfits, you can turn to Angie's List.

Ask yourself this question: What was this guy doing last week? Where did he get his roofers? Has the ink dried on his card? Ask for December, January, February, or March references and then some older ones too. Look at his license plates, drivers license, and see if his BBB report is more than three years old. Most roofers, 80% according to the yellow page people, are out of business in two years.

What about hand nailing with hot dipped galvanized nails rather than shooting the roof on with electroplated nails?

This hail storm has sent you a new roof whether you want one or not as well as gutters, screens, windows, A/C repairs, and other stuff. Why make a quick decision? Take your time. If he needs an answer now the answer should be "No!"

What about the 300 Rule? Does your roofer know it? Too simple not to.

Take your time. Your roof is too important. It protects everything you own.

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

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Responses to Two Good Questions from Reader: Nat


nat said... 
Why do you call Malarkey an evil manufacturer?
Because Malarkey says they will investigate a warranty claim and then completely ignores it. Their warranty is a worthless lie. Even their officers lie to the consumer and the contractor. They have no intention of ever taking care of defective material unless sued. I was in shock when their rep said he went by a job, after about two years of complaining, and never picked up the materials from the ground where we left them, after having waited for hours with no call or cancellation. He lied and said the roof was improperly ventilated when the roof was a poster boy for perfect ventilation. Lies upon lies warrant nomination for evil. Theft also places one in that category. 

nat said...
How would liability insurance make anyone a better roofer? Insurance protects the one who purchases it. Mandatory auto insurance never made the roads safer. Envy is the driving force. "I pay insurance to protect myself. I am going to make everyone else get it so they have to pay, too."
Great question. The answer has several layers. The first is that any company that protects its customers from its own actions is providing a superior service. Insurance covers more than disaster while the job is in progress. Completed operations and product liability can keep a customer from having to file on his own insurance or keep him from suing someone later down the line. If drivers had higher ethical standards, then by virtue of having higher standards, they are improved. Maybe the actual skill set is not improved, but an invisible hand makes the consequences of his bad decisions less. Protecting yourself versus not protecting yourself is a virtue and virtue is virtue. A virtuous driver is better than a non-virtuous driver. Homeowners have certain minimum expectations from the businesses they invite onto their property. Even a good contractor may find that circumstances have put him out of business, for example health, and if his customer is protected from failed work, then a superior service has been rendered. 

Homeowner's insurance does not cover bad workmanship nor the damage it causes. By virtue of being able to be insured, a homeowner knows his roofer has some stability. Ask any roofer. It is hard to get. To be a certified roofer for GAF, CertainTeed, or Owens Corning, a contractor must be insured. When we put on a roof there are no other drivers. There is only one. The insurance may not make a roofer's nails work better but if he does a repeatedly poor job and gets sued, he won't be able to find insurance. Maybe insurance is just indicative that a roofer possesses superior business qualities, and that, too, is part of the overall performance of a roofer.

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

Friday, April 1, 2011

The Three Types of Plated Roofing Nails

Protecting the steel in the roofing nail from the corrosive effects of humidity, pollution, ice and snow, heat, and water can be accomplished in three ways. Most have heard of only two, galvanizing and electroplating. The third system, mechanical plating, is not very common so I'll only briefly touch on it.

The mechanical method is basically rolling the metal bits in a tumbler with zinc and glass balls after flashing them with copper. This method achieves the middle thickness of zinc of the three methods but the bond between the rounded pieces of zinc are very weak

Imagine a bolt outside holding your kid's playhouse together. The pretty bright shiny bolt is electroplated with zinc while the hot dipped galvanized is dull. Come back next year and the shiny bolt is rusted and can give your kids tetanus.

Zinc is a sacrificial metal that gives itself to the steel to protect it from rust. If the steel rusts it won't be there to do its job and as it weakens it will make everything ugly with stains.

Electroplating results the absolute minimum amount of zinc over the metal as possible while hot dipped galvanizing, a very redundant term, allows for the most amount of zinc possible. At over 800 degrees, as this is a molten metal, several layers of protection occur. The first three layers are an iron/zinc allow that are actually harder than the steel base while the outside layer is pure zinc. If the zinc is ever scratched or compromised, a flash rust spot will occur but the zinc's electrons will sacrifice themselves to prevent further degradation. The zinc will migrated up to 1/4" to heal the wound in the coating. That is why zinc acts like an anode to steel, sacrificing itself to protect the nail.

The top layer of zinc, or forth, reacts with oxygen to become zinc oxide, which reacts with carbon dioxide, which becomes zinc carbonate. This patinas to a gray color and forms a crystalline structure referred to as a spangle. This process leaves about 50 microns of zinc as opposed to the 3 microns, yes three, that electroplating leaves. Ant those three microns are of inferior quality to the fifty that hot dipped galvanized have. In fact, we offer a double hot dipped galvanized steel roofing nail.

The choice boils down to an electroplated nail with about three microns of pure zinc or a four layer coating of zinc alloys 50 microns thick. Which do you think will pass the salt fume test better, the electroplated nail struck by a pneumatic driver blade and over driven or a hot dipped nail planted by a roofing hatchet that is only driven flush?

Senco claims it nailer with a hardened blade delivers 884 pounds of power per square inch. The regulator can take that down to about 70 to 120 in/lb. Since the nail head is only about 1/10 of a square inch, and I'm guessing, then that is up to 1200 foot lbs into the nail head if the driver is not worn. That will knock the zinc out of anyone.

FYI, many architects require hot dipped galvanized nails on open bottom structures without soffits because they don't want the rust showing up underneath.

Ask your roofer to bring you a sample of his nails. If they are shiny, there is not enough zinc to protect the steel. If they are dull, like the nails you remember, they are like the nails you remember.

Ask your roofer if he uses nails made by Chinese political prisoners or free Americans. Ask if they are hot dipped galvanized or electroplated. Ask who made them. Ask if the nail is important or not.

Why don't roofers use these better nails more often? Guess.


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

Top Ten Roof Issues with Insurance Coverage

Since this article was written much has changed. Texas has passed the Barratry Law , which forbids roofers from acting like Public Adjusters, which is good, but also keeps roofers, specifically roofers, from discussing policy. I cannot mention class IV discounts, whether or not you have "Code Upgrade," or anything. This is not all bad as we know many roofers are unscrupulous, yet Texas refuses to pass a roofer license law. The Texas Roofing Contractor's Association of Texas, "RCAT", model requires a company to have insurance and pass a business test and either a low slope test or a steep slope test. Residential or commercial basically. As the insurance board is staffed with CEO's from the insurance industry they don't want it. Making roofing a real business would make the prices go up.
Most of us look at this as consumer protection but some look at it as a way to lock out competition. Those that feel  that way should be careful because it might happen to them.
The worst homeowner policy ever is being pioneered by Allstate. The roof will have only an Actual Cash Value worth with a deductible and non recoverable depreciation spread out over eleven years. So at about 7 or 8 years you have no roof coverage at all.
I can tell you to read your policy or start saving now.

1) Is my depreciation recoverable?

Depends on your policy. Full homeowner's policies have no depreciation in reality. The purpose of the hold back is for the customer to settle for what value he has left in the roof and pocket the money or to receive the hold back when the roof is completed. Profiting from an insurance claim is a crime and those who try to do so should not be surprised if they find themselves arrested and convicted.

If you have a fire or renter's type of policy, you won't receive any depreciation compensation. On full replacement policies, Texas does not allow for depreciation but in word alone. The money is recoverable as long as you have services performed that match up to the claim or better but you won't be paid for better. But if the policy is the type that has non recoverable depreciation, you can put on a lesser roof at no penalty other than having a lower property value or drive up appeal....and a cheaper roof.

.Most insurance adjusters want to find a way to total damaged roofs without losing their jobs but they must remain within reasonable parameters when adjusting roof damage. Otherwise they'll lose their jobs.


2)Does the insurance owe for a new roof if the damaged part cannot be color matched?

No. Usually they'll do a regional or entire slope repair.

3) Will the insurance pay for damage caused by old roofing or defective workmanship?

No. The damage must result from a hole or other catastrophe that occurred suddenly. If you allow your roof to leak, it is your problem.


4) Can I lose my depreciation.

Yes. You usually have one year to report damage once you know about it. This is a negative nearly impossible to prove if you take the Fifth Amendment.

Within one or two years from the claim, depending on your policy, you must complete and invoice the work or the funds are lost. You may apply for an extension but you must do so within the provisions of your insurance policy. They'll give you one to two more years. Ask what it is.

5) What if we discover additional costs while the roof is in progress?

They're called adjusters because they can adjust their totals and line item costs. Be sure the roofer owns a camera and documents everything. Usually a good roofer will know everything with a thorough roof and attic inspection. Once we had the insurance pay more to remove six layers of felt left by each succeeding roofer.  The photos showed it was a mountain of black paper chips. Since the laps were aligned on each roof it appeared that there was a soldier step, a double course, every three feet. Six layers of felt are thinner than the twelve were the laps took place. Six thicknesses of felt is pretty substantial.

6) Is rot covered?

Not normally because it took place over time. Remember the suddenness of damage requirement for catastrophic damage. Neglect is not not insurable.

7) Are termites, rodents, and other beasts covered?

Not normally. You may get a rider to cover something like a deer or bear looting your home but raccoons and squirrels cannot be convicted for vandalism. you can kill them though, if you are really hacked off enough.

8) What if some non-certified idiot destroys my home while roofing it or a lot of damage occurs after he is gone?

If he knocks down your home or allows water to penetrate and he is not insured, your insurance will cover it. He will be subrogated in the hot Texas son and his first born son will be taken. but remember, rain penetration is not always the roofer's fault. if rain is not forecast and a freak storm occurs, his insurance will probably beat your insurance in court. Freak storms are just that:freak. Roof removal may not proceed with impunity though. If rain is predicted and the fools remove your roof covering, they are guilty.

Bad or defective workmanship is not a covered peril. The insurance considers it your fault for letting the roofer do the job. did you check to see if he was certified by GAF, Certainteed, or Owens Corning? Have you seen a certificate of insurance? Roofers that have insurance paste it to their foreheads with enhanced lighting while thet twrill and plie. References? Anything? Ouija Board consultation? If there is a leak and the roofer has gone back to Austin or Topeka, it is not the insurance companies fault. This is not a sudden act of nature like a car driving into your home.

9) Will filing a claim effect my premiums or insurability?

Hell yes! Not only might the insurance turn down your claim, they might send you a letter giving you thirty days to get a new roof. Now you are in the pool, the insurance pool, and you don't have a paddle. The drain is open and the boat is beginning to twirl and plie. There is no insurance for this. Remember one of my first blogs about Strangers? Knock, knock, knock...we'd like to know if we could endanger your home by seeing if we get lucky and get an easy adjuster. It's like playing roulette or going door to door and pulling one armed bandits, but done by two armed bandits.

Roof claims don't hurt too much if they go through because you can't prevent hail like you can a burglary or a car or plane crashing into your home.

10) What about gunfire?

As long as the bullet is an innie and not an outieCinco de Mayo coverage because of all the celebratory gunfire. This custom has been eliminated by the Americanized immigrant wife. That is why my immigrant male friends call this "no man's land."

War is straight out. It is your duty to arm yourself and protect your property from invading marauders, sometimes called murderers. Just give the wife the gun and tell her that those misogynists outside have eyes on her flowers that she spent two years getting you to plant.

Final words: anything is insurable. Just ask Jennifer Lopez's bondoon, Betty Grable's legs, and Tom Jones' chest hair. Your wife can even take out insurance on you without you knowing it.

Protect yourself with good coverage, good roofers, and good materials.

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
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