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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Ice Dam Leaks are Caused by Bad Attic Ventilation

For no reason, for the first time, your roof leaked when it was covered with ice. You may think this is a normal occurrence just because of all the ice. But did you notice the leak occurred while it was still freezing? The roofing materials may be properly installed but lack of application of aerothermodynamics  to the entire roof system, which encompassing the living and breathing aspect of the roof and attic, has allowed your attic to heat up and melt the ice, which refreezes on the overhang, resulting in ice dams.

At a very technical training and certification program for roof mounted photovoltaic systems a fellow trainee stated that roofing was not rocket science. I begged to differ with him and then proceeded to go on an hour long, the short version, of Bernoulli as applied to the Venturi Effect. Not withstanding, the equations are not what is important to understand. Just accept the principle that air can be moved and if it is not, and it is near a heat source, it will become heated. Heat always goes where heat isn't and as no attic is perfect in containing climatized air, attic air become accelerated on a molecular level by the absorption of joules, BTU's or calories, depending on your field. These units then move into the roof and deck where the ice is melted. The resulting water then refreezes once past the warm wall and then enters your home, usually near the outside wall.

If a proper venturi had been established in your attic so that cold outside air could displace the warmed air, the freeze/thaw would not have happened. This vertical movement will not work if the exhaust vents are misplaced so as to short circuit this train of heat removal. In fact, lower exhaust vents actually become intake vents and will suck in snow and ice causing further damage.

The common misunderstanding amount the few educated roofing contractors is that the International Building Code, the governing body of law (code is law), requires the 300 Rule of Ventilation for roofs. The roof is required to add this so a roof is more than nailed on shingles. It is a comprehensive system.. Truth be told, if their is no vapor barrier between the sheetrock and the ceiling joists, the 150 Rule of Ventilation is the standard. I won't bore you with all the details as I've written extensively about this before.

The most important part is the roof leak caused by melting ice on a freezing day is just one symptom of an overall sick roof and home. Even the roofing manufacturers require the 300 Rule unless there is no straight bottom to top air/humidity exchange mechanism occurring. Then the 150 Rule kicks in.

If you actually believe that ice dam leak yesterday was bad, just wait until your roof and deck fails, which will cost you tens of thousands of dollars all at once. In the meantime increased utility usage, failed exterior paint, compressed insulation and childhood respiratory diseases and air condition system repairs and replacement will work their magic on your budget until the big one falls. Sure it might hail but your roof might fail in the next five years and that is when you get transferred or decide to move to a better school district. The home inspector will surprise you and the roof manufacturer will say that he told you so. 

You don't need to know all this. You just need to know that your leak is the result of a poorly designed balanced ventilation system. Or no design at all. Add a turbine, shut down your ventilation. Put on siding and don't remove the screened soffit vents, spray paint them shut, blow in insulation like a banshee on steroids with her eyes closed, or whatever poison you pick.

Your roof leak is only a symptom of much worse things to pass.





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, August 28, 2013

Texas House Bill 1183 and the Neighborhood Riot

I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm not sure what is going to happen but Monday is a new day in the roofing industry. Now, when it hails, instead of just having roofing salesmen running around trying to solicit your business you'll have public adjusters and attorneys also ring your bell.

Here's what happened; Licensing of roofers by the state failed because it would have raised prices but House Bill 1183 passed and it is going to slow things down real bad if you want a good roof. As reported by moi before in this little journal, most roofers accept the first low bid by the insurance and cut, cut, cut. They don't know what a building code is, much less what they state. Remember, code is law. All this guy does is run as fast as he can door to door selling cheap. And roofs protect everything you own, unless you own a yacht or airplane. But often these things have roofs, hangers, too, to put your shirt you lost on.

So the roof gets done wrong, ventilation is not done to code, the roof fails in eleven years and when you sell your home the roof fails inspection and you have to spend 20x's your deductible or more to replace it. But when you move your kid's respiratory illnesses suddenly go away. you haven't been reading have you.

Back to the chaos going on in the street. A  riot is on but there are only a few hundred public adjusters in Texas. All of them are in front of your home but they'll have a years work by lunch time. And your roofer can't talk to the insurance and you want a good job, not the Earl Scheib roof, because you have a good one that passes building codes. you also have code upgrade on your policy, which cost you 10% more, but the insurance won't pay for those upgrades because you don't have them now. What's a girl to do?

I think this might be the plan but I  make no pretense to being an attorney: 
1) You call the insurance.
2) The adjuster shows up and either let's your roofer discuss the claim or not.
3) If not then you need to find a public adjuster and reschedule.
4) The public adjuster meets the insurance or just provides an estimate and can claim up to 10% of the money if it has taken something like 48 hours to get the adjustment after the initial insurance adjustment.
5) The insurance company rejects the public adjuster's numbers and it goes to an attorney.
6) The attorney files suit with interest plus attorney's fees...from the start date (I'm not an attorney but I talked to two today).
7) The roofer might do the roof for the original money and wait for the suit to settle it or the roof waits for the court case to finalize.

Again, who knows what Monday will bring but I believe either the insurance companies are hoping most homeowners will cave and go cheap and quick like a whore in the alley with a John and a few will fight it out.

most of us have been upset and swore never to settle but the wife nags, the roof leaks, tensions rise and you take the money and run. The the roof leaks and you need another attorney or you go to sell your home and you  need one then too.

 This is going to get real hairy. You won't find a public adjuster and the insurance will thumb it' nose at you.

Have you heard of triple indemnity, where someone has to pay triple damages for trying to rip you off and violation the Texas Deceptive Trades Act? The attorneys are knocking on our door already and we're going to have you hire them. Because you ask? Because quality cost and cheap cost more, but later. And few insurance companies are not going to try and exploit this and that means you.
I'm too upset to read this and correct the grammar or remove the profanity...and I'm going to push send, like I do when I send regrettable emails.

In the end, I believe, just like the price fixing programs the insurance carriers used to keep prices down, which we took from them and used to get prices up, the same thing will happen but ten fold. The difference is the  public adjusters and attorneys have their fingers in the pie....because they've been invited.





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, August 8, 2013

Sequencing Your Energy Efficient Home Improvements.

So many restaurants and so little time. The same can be said for all the energy efficient products available for your home and choosing them in order of benefit and accounting for budget is very important.

Several months back I told the story of a home we redecked with radiant barrier deck, added insulation, ventilation and repaired his torn a/c ducts.  During the product selection process I noticed the customer had nice windows installed. When I commented on them he went into a cursing rage about the lying contractor and worthless windows he had paid for. I knew his energy loss was a serious problem. His a/c ran all day and in the winter his heat ran all the time. When the deficiencies were corrected, on the first night it went down to 35 degrees. He called to tell me his heater cycled only one time that night rather than run continuously. I informed him that his windows were now working. His correct order of repair would have been to fix his duct work rather that climatize his attic, then ventilate because Texas gets so hot, insulate to contain his energy, radiant barrier decking to keep the radiant heat out that penetrated his insulation and then the windows.

When you have a 165 degree oven on top your home you either lower the attic temperature or you start cooking in the attic. This particular home had three amplifying issues to a hotter home. First it was a lower slope keeping the roof close to the ceiling and allowing the radiant heat to stay radiant, rather than converting to convected heat over distance. Secondly it was a hip design so more roof was close to the ceiling than on a gable design where on the gable ends the roof is far from the ceiling. Lastly the deck was one inch plank and there was heavy framing lumber. This added more material to absorb the daily heat and then radiate heat longer into the night.

There are other products not covered here like roofs with a high Solar Reflective Index, a measure of how much light bounces off the roof and is not absorbed and how fast the roof material throws off the heat it has absorbed, will be discussed in the next blog and how they different systems effect each other.



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

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Insurance Companies versus The International Residential Code and City Building Officials



Most homeowners have "code upgrade" in their policy. You can find out by looking in the  "Building and Personal Property Coverage Form" or something like that. I am not an insurance adjuster but I've seen as many or more claims as anyone over the decades. This is the rub: building codes change and homes don't magically upgrade.

Now a disaster hits and your home is several years old. The codes have changed, you have to rebuild, but you have to rebuild better. Period. Code is law. If you have code upgrade then you should be okay, right? No, if you have State Farm. They want to know if the codes are enforced and they know most cities will answer that. It's like asking which laws I can break. no, it is exactly like that.

We've had several customers where we discovered the codes were not met, verified they had code upgrade and State Farm either said that if what I said was true they'd pay it or go ahead and we'll let you know. To finish the job we had to replace the decking on the homes. State Farm has copies of the code, has verified that it is code but won't pay because they say it might not be enforced.  If we hadn't replaced the decking the homeowner might have have had the entire roof and deck red tagged. Or years later when the home was being sold the inspector might have failed it causing a whole roof and deck system to be replace. The minimum would have been the roof started to leak and State Farm would not have paid for the damage because it was defective workmanship and not a sudden catastrophic loss. Great for State Farm because they could collect premiums on a roof they wouldn't pay for.

I've head that since a huge hailstorm hit Amarillo, which has some stricter building codes, especially for a roof, that State Farm Insurance is sending a liaison to reason with the building department. Good luck with those good ole boys. They may talk slow but they ain't stupid.

To place the word "enforced" of the word "code" is an attempt at deception. Here's some awesome reasoning from a wise modern philosopher in  "The Semantic Deception of Dialectical Theses"

"Before we begin examining specific damages, let us develop an appreciation for what is being sought out, as defined by the title of this article. What is, “the semantic deception of dialectical theses?” Everyone knows that a “deception” is a “lie,” so this is as good place a place as any to start our discussions. It isn't always the case that there is a “liar” telling us a “lie” when we are being deceived. A lie is a falsehood, but it is stated. An omission of information could be just as damaging and is still a deception, although not a lie. However, to deceive, to “create a deception” does involve work. Somebody or some thing has to “do something” to deliberately cause you to be deceived. So, stated or not, any deceptiveness we are about to discuss, by the rules of existence and definition, must be intentional. We will be well served by remembering this. You cannot be deceived by erroneous information that occurred “by accident,” this is simply you deceiving yourself with erroneous information. For it to be deception, there must someone doing the deceiving.......
 
..... The goal in our understanding of the semantic deception is twofold: First, we must know that abstract considerations are matters of opinion and that definitions, when reduced properly, should not end up contradictory. Now, let's remember that “a deception” requires a “deceiver.” So if we have a semantic deception, we have a message that is intentionally false, wrong and dangerous, in it's meaning." 
 
In other words, I think they are not paying their bills and living up to their contract. 


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, June 26, 2013

What To Expect From A Home Inspection

When you buy a home or have an insurance claim there are inspections that are designed to protect all the investors: the buyer, the insured and the mortgage company. Even the city tries to protect the occupants and the neighbors by making sure whatever is repaired is brought up to current codes.

If you leave your old gas lamp alone, and the codes have changed, you are grandfathered in and have to do nothing. If your neighbor's kid drives over your gas lamp and the codes have changed, you better not fix it or the municipal Brown Shirts will come and rough you up, or worse, shut you down, fine you and humiliate you in front of a block party.

If you have code upgrade on your insurance policy and your decking does not meet the IRC for your town, then they'll pay to replace it when hail damages your roof. Ha ha ha...what a laugh if you have State Farm. They're pretty good most of the time but when they decide to ignore the rules they rank up there with the best, or worse if you prefer.

Let's consider the home sale transaction: you get a  Realtor and she finds you your dream home, or at least a great deal. Most can't afford their dream home because they buy a number 6 at McDonald's and don't take a sack lunch. There's also Starbucks, Goody Goody and the lottery. But the Realtor is a professional and knows where to look, who to call and even shows up a night and on weekends. That's why they have nice homes.

The Realtor pulls out the book of vendors acquired over the years and calls a home inspector, a roofer, plumber and anyone else the home inspector has put into motion by questioning the workmanship, age and code compliance of a  particular home widget.
Now the inspector writes "check with a professional licensed roofer...there might be damage." his butt is covered now and he can't be sued (successfully because someone will take the case). If he doesn't write that and something on the roof is bad then he can be liable up to triple indemnity. So he pulls out the caveat card and washes his hands like Pilot.

There is no such thing as a roofer's license for Texas. Municipal licenses for roofers are a one line test: signature on a check that clears. Now you are ordained. Praise the lord. But everyone knows Jesus was not a roofer. He was the son of a Jewish carpenter and fisher of men. So get those symbols off you card right now before I call the Anti Defamation League. Those superheroes can take anyone down.

And no one even knows the new IRC code for ventilation: the 150 Rule if you don't have a vapor barrier between the sheetrock and the ceiling joists. you have to move the insulation out of the way to see that you don't have the mythical vapor barrier. So no homes should ever pass. Not here in Texas, except some of ours. Try to get State Farm to pay for that. Don't even ask Allstate.

If your roof is replaced the mortgage company will want to know that it has been done. The larger the claim the more layers of paperwork they will require also. WW9's, release of liens, signed contracts, the money in their account making interest while they release it in partial payments until you jump through burning hoops and do the Watusi backwards on one foot.

Then comes their inspector. He might even get out of his car. Didn't bring a ladder. Does not smile. Usually it is a wave and a kiss.

Then the city, who extorted one or two percent, on top of the one line test registration (an annual shake down) just because they can. And if you try to get around it they will double fee you. This guy is a law enforcement officer. He has a badge, can fine you, make you rebuild your home, get rid of your pets and have you incarcerated.

Does he see if your felt is over the drip edge on eaves and under on rakes? does he check to see if a venturi has been created in the attic based on the 150 or 300 Rules as the codes they enforce state must be done? How about a wide chimney without a cricket? A low slope roof having two ply felt? (These roofs are only done on weekends anyway.) Four nails, six on a 12/12? Gas flue pipes not cut off and not possessing a double wall kit with a type B cap, collar and base? Soffit vents unobstructed? Even a hole on the other side of the soffit vent?

Not one. Nothing. Some cities do have an attic inspection to make the roofer doesn't kill anyone else by leaving another gas flue disjambled (a very technical construction term not in wide use today) beneath the roof line.

Nope. none of the above by anybody. Did your roofing contractor even check out the roof?

This is a cold and lonely world and you better check for yourself.

Mr. K. is at fault for this rant because he couldn't believe none of the inspectors cared or tried to earn their money. And he bought a better roof for protection.




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

Friday, June 14, 2013

Roofing and Building Codes

 Over the years the building codes related to roofing have changed and so has the structural requirements for the deck and structure. Yet there is more to it than change. There is procedure.

Worldwide different processes are used. Many countries use central planning, allowing local jurisdictions to modify codes as they see fit due to different conditions like population density, heat , humidity, rainfall and flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes or soil conditions. The United States allows local jurisdictions to accept the model code of choice with addenda as each sees fit. In the past there was a conglomeration of the Universal Building Code, The Southern Building code, the International Standard Building Code, Building Officials Code Administrators International  and, a long time ago The Law of Moses that required a parapet to keep blood-guilt off the owners head because some drunk roofer fell off and got killed. Today the laws we bow to here is the International Code Council (ICC), which sprang from the big three Legacy Codes. I think OSHA came about from Moses crossing the Red Sea. Not to help the Hebrews ( Macho Jewish Beer) but the drowned Egyptian 5th Army. Later they made it past the Red Sea and into Sinai but again were caught circa 1974.

 The ICC is divided into the International Residential Code, International Fire Code, The International Plumbing Code, International Mechanical Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International Energy Conservation Code and ICC Performance Code.

Now, let's make no bones about it: when a code is adopted by a local jurisdiction, it is LAW! Code Enforcement Officials are law enforcement officers with the power to arrest and fine people and condemn properties or part of properties. A Red Card is not to be messed with. There is also a special clause at the end of the code we refer to as "The Gawd Clause." This is where the building inspector can make up any code on the spot as he sees fit.

If your home does not pass code during a sale, the inspector might call it out. You don't have to fix it if it were built that way under a different set of codes but if you change something like a roof, a gas lamp, a sprinkler system or a window, and the codes have changed, then you have to meet new codes. Items not changed and not sold are grandfathered in under the old code but grandpa gets up, then he needs to change his shoes to steel toed boots. If you don't follow the code there is no appeal. It is summary execution. Building officials, OSHA, EPA and other regulatory administrations have carte blanche to keep blood guilt from destroying your salvation.

There is no jury. There is no appeal. There is only pain and grief. So whenever you do some remodeling you need to know the codes or hire someone who does. If you have an insurance claim  you need to update the repairs to meet current code (law). If you have code upgrade in your insurance policy, you need to get it right the first time because the insurance won't pay to redo it. And if they won't pay the first time, it is time to rain holy hell upon them for asking to to be a criminal as State Farm has asked me to do by proving that current building codes are "enforced."

Don't get me wrong here because 95% of the time they are outstanding but they must not know who I am if they ask me to break the law. No saint am I but my ethics are intact and I'm incensed. My moral are okay too but that is a matter of judgement. Ethics can be know through pure logic and are not up to debate when scrutinized by enlightened men. Morals change with time, as do building codes. But a nation of laws must stand by it's laws unless they are tested to be incorrect by a jury of peers. That is another discussion that has been lifted from the courtroom and legal precedent by modern courts: the instruction of the judge to deem a law just or not.

No empowered governmental power, like building departments, concern themselves with right or wrong. It is the letter of the law you must follow, despite what State Farm thinks.





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

Monday, May 20, 2013

Needless Tornado Damage in Tarrant, Hood, Cleburne and Montague Counties

If builders weren't so criminal, a couple of hundred dollars per home could have kept the homes mostly intact  in the near misses yesterday. Just because a tornado smashes a home doesn't mean the next door neighbor needs to be leveled or mangled.

Home fortification is a cheap and easy thing to do. And your home won't blow away to Kansas Dorothy, er, Toto.

if Simpson Strong Ties are installed on the roof rafter to the wall, then it'll take twice as much wind to knock your top off. If they are placed on the outside wall to floor and again on the floor to the foundation, the home is much less likely to move.

Hand nailing the shingles, rather than blowing through them with 950+ mph nails, helps a lot. Using ribbed nails for the decking also helps prevent deck loss.

The plywood seams can be taped with a bituminous membrane so that if the roof blows off the water will be kept out until repairs can be made.

Doors opening outward also keep them from being blown inward, increasing the pressure inside the home. This difficult for those trying to bust open your door, and sometimes it is the good guys.

These simple little strong ties can make a tremendous difference in your family's survival and the protection of your property.

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

Friday, May 10, 2013

Sign Games: The Mind Games of Migratory Roofers

Wait until you read this one. Write it tomorrow.


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, May 8, 2013

Roof Poop

Yes Virginia, there is roof poop, and it is important to know who it belongs too. And I'm going to prove it.

If the roof suffers damage without wind, war or earthquake and large tears or holes exist, the roof  detective needs to evaluate the forensics. We can tell when trees have been cut down by swooping marks on the roof so isn't it logical to use other evidence to determine why a hole has been made. Fingerprints, claws marks and bite and gnaw marks are often left as hints at who your enemy is. On the other side, of the culprit that is, some droppings of the fecal type might give you clues.

Once you have enough experience looking at the dung/ roof damage combinations, without ever setting a foot on Texas A & M campus, you are soon able to tell the customer who, or what, damaged his, or her, roof. I've seen raccoon, peacock (read earlier blog of that interesting story), woodpecker (although they usually attack siding as the fowl did to my house before pulling insulation out and throwing it all over the yard before he vanished), squirrel, dog (the idiots let their dog get on the roof, human child (although no poop was left they tore up the roof...clothing held the evidence) possum, and cat. Yes cat. I waited until I saw the guy jump up there and pull wood shingles off. The client told me he saw the cat do it but I was skeptical until I saw it for myself. I love cats like that.

Knowing who pooped the roof can help in the elimination of the poop problem. This is no joke...No shit.

So after writing this I googled "roof poop" and found a whole universe of blogs and videos on this dark subject:
 https://www.google.com/search?q=roof+poop&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

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 17, 2013

Open Letter to GAF Master Elites and Ford

 We roofers, from installer, through salesmen, to company owners, buy a lot of trucks. We live in our trucks. Most spend more time with their truck than they do with their significant other. So the decision of what to buy should be made carefully, right? Nope I tell you. The decision has been made for you. Here's my story about the new space truck I bought from Westway Ford in Irving:

As all diligent buyers I did my homework and asked a lot of questions. I familiarized myself with all the available options. Now I'm a Ford man and always have been. Some will quit reading because this is as close to politics and religion as a man can get with other men. 

When I announced my intent to buy a new truck all my gym buddies started filling me with information and extolling the virtues of their trucks. Everyday for two weeks they'd ask me if I has made a purchase. We dudes are worse than women buying handbags on sale.  "For crying out loud. I'm taking my time because this is where my bondoons will nestle for the foreseeable future."

As my GAF Senior Territory Rep, Kenny Brock, would say "be sure and check out the GAF/Ford plan. I've heard good stuff about it from the Master Elites who've taken advantage of it." He would check-in periodically and ask me to tell him how it went and remind me of the GAF plan with Ford. He too was a hand bag shopper.

The big day came. I sharpened my sword, put on my armor and went into battle. Forward I marched onto the  dealer lot with my internet data, Edmond's True Pricing Report and my GAF X Plan from GAF and an experienced assistant to hand me my weapons.

The salesman greeted me at the door with a practiced smile and led me into the torture chamber. Soon a more experienced warrior arrived and we began the debate. Pens sparked against pen and fake smiles penetrated the battle. The first salvo was MSRP, a weapon used against the simple minded to think that a few grand off is a good deal.

The Ford soldiers went back and forth and got secret new deals from master control. One of them shuttled back and forth bringing "set in stone" pricing. Then we pulled out the Edmonds rapier. They continued with the same battle plan, ignoring the so called expert in pricing. Edmonds said $38,018, counting the rebates and discounts for a Lariat but not the King Ranch.

We went outside and I saw a one color pearl King Ranch. It was the color I wanted but was told King Ranch only came in two tone. It was love at first sight and I knew I had to rescue the damsel. She was prettier than the Lone Ranger's horse. I was consumed like a schoolboy but managed to contain my glee.

After failing to bring the kidnappers down I pulled out my GAF/Ford X Plan. The opposing warriors slumped and asked why I hadn't just showed them this earlier. Their hands were tied. They said they had to honor the pricing. I could see their commission checks leave their body like a soul from a fallen warrior. I looked into their eyes and listened to their Klingon death scream. We won. 

$50,500.00 MSRP fell to $43,000.00 and the warranty cost dropped by over half to $1300.00 for additional coverage on all the electronics.  

This truck is all business. It is a Texas Hot Rod Lincoln. With the twin turbo it is almost as fast as a 12 cylinder Jaguar I had years ago. The moon roof ( in Texan it is a sun roof and in Spanish it is a coconut burner or quema-coco), electric rear cab window, giant back seat,  heated and air-conditioned seats in front and back, GPS, Bluetooth,  Rich King Ranch Texas leather, Sony sound system better than the system in my home, Sirius Radio, navigation, backup camera, side steps for the sides and tailgate and beautiful wheels with Bridgestone tires make this the best and most beautiful truck I've ever owned.

After two guys at the gym saw it, I had new nicknames: Jon "white truck" Wright and Jon 'King Ranch pearl truck" Wright. Even those who had the 4x4 diesel F250's said my truck was better even though their MSRP was 10k more.

John Arellano, the Master Elite Southwest Region Manager, said "it exuded business." 

I have found love again in a man's handbag.

 





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

Friday, March 8, 2013

Beat My Chest and Crow

100,515 is the number of page views this forum has had in it few years in existence. If I've helped anyone, and a few have said I did, it is worth it. If all the experienced people of all the different professions could just help us all, this would be a much better world.
Now just who was that 100k visitor. The free roof is waiting for you in the front of the store.
Now I'm asking, I believe for the first or second time, for readers to share their roofing, siding, window, ventilation and solar stories with us. Stories tell morals and lessons to follow or not to follow. and if you really have the cajones you can become a follower. I promise to to send you anything but a message...maybe not even that.

By the way, the name Jon Wright Industries might become more common as insurance companies are trying to deny us general contracting fees when we handle a lot of various trades. It's not that we don't do the work, it is semantics to avoid doing what they should do. We did. We did all the work. We managed a lot of trades, some intersecting. We walked like a duck, smelled like a duck but our name was not duck like. So we weren't a duck? A rose by any other name is still a rose.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
      Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
      What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
      Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
      Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
      What's in a name? that which we call a rose
      By any other name would smell as sweet;
      So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
      Retain that dear perfection which he owes
      Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
      And for that name which is no part of thee
      Take all myself.

Take that Safeco.

Jon Alan Wright
Jon Wright Roofing, Siding, Windows and Solar
1915 Peters Rd., Suite 310
Irving, TX 75061
972.251.1818 Office
214.718.3748 Cell
972.554.8090 Fax
jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com
jonwright@jonwrightindustries.com
    Follow jwrightroofing on Twitter

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

How to Determine the Grade or quality of Your Laminated Shingle (almost a rant)

In the past it was rather easy to find out which of the three grades of laminated roofing was on a home, excluding other types like Class IV or Energy Star. We used a receipt or just looked at them. This was a time when adjusters were not blind. The Rage Virus effects vision terribly. See how their eyes look, going side to side while dripping blood.

Then came the Haag Gauge. It didn't measure calories in ice cream or compare it to other flavors, but was more of a caliper like we use to measure metal thickness. But the effected ones would cram it into place, knocking off gravel and contorting the asphalt, all the while howling fraud. now mind you, this seems to effect only the newest adjusters as the more experienced ones have been vaccinated.

Phase three was calling the inept counter clerks at a big box and asking them if 40 year still existed. There is a skew in the computer, therefore they must exist. If an honest inside adjuster was willing to be put on hold for an hour plus she would find out that the temp worker was oblivious and had never lived in the roofing world.

Level four was to call roofing distributors. With incompetent order takers who had only been there a couple of years (temps too) who had never heard of "The Great Shingle Regrade of 2001," using their ramblings as proof would be akin to using them as doctoral linguists on 'The Defenestration of Prague" when trying to use that bizarre word in a sentence. Well, thee adjusters who did this need to experience defenestration themselves.

Cinco: Then the lying began. "I measured it. It's a thirty year all day long!"

Six, pick up sticks:Later came the fake lab report. Intel backs up Farmers continually calling 40 years 30 year. repeatedly. So we changed the rules and found some honest experts. Our bones were not broken by sticks but the words still hurt. Like Robin Williams in "Moscow On the Hudson": "When you speak English, does your mouth hurt?"  The unqualified engineer is another faux weapon of the insurers. While every tile roof in one neighborhood (same brand) along with every other roof, this cracked up tile roof sustained no hail damage? Flagrant foul!

7:We sent shingles to the factory that made them and to Haag engineering. Wallah! We did know what we were talking about. now they forget the skew for the better shingle in the insurance program they forced upon us and trying using the cheaper skew and modifying the material cost. Why? Because by breaking their own rules they save money.

Using non experts, fake lab reports, misusing the adjusters shingle gauge, sneaking around and failing to meet us on site, and just winning by out waiting the homeowners patience, they insurance companies have saved themselves millions by putting on cheaper roofs than the homeowner deserves.

Admittedly many roofers lie and some adjusters respond alike. Yet the carpetbagger type of mushroom roofer that pops up after a storm won't argue this point. It takes time. He goes door to door saving deductibles, turning innocent people into felons, all the while making his money on volume. He does crappy work void of new parts and pieces and nail guns on cheap shingles using strangers. He doesn't care because he squeezes the job until a small profit shows up for little time investment.





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

Monday, January 21, 2013

Martin Luther King's Home and Roof

This is Martin Luther King's day. He stopped a lot of misery in his day and kept a lot away for us today. Occasionally in the history of man comes a man with right on his side and the patience to act on it. In this company I can count Mahatma Gandhi,  Nelson Mandela, and Abraham Lincoln. Today is the day we remember MLK. Few people are known by acronyms but if you have one, you are special: JFK, RFK, FDR, LBJ... no one says RMN for Nixon.

So I looked up his home and was startled to see a roof that used to be prevalent: asbestos tiles. These diamond shaped tiles laid flat, were nailed at the top and had an upside down brass hook in the face to keep them from blowing off. The asbestos was encapsulated in Portland cement, making it a transite asbestos containing roofing material, ACRM or just ACM. This makes the asbestos fibers tightly packed, which is hard to make friable. If you rough it up, cut it or crush it, the asbestos fibers become airborne. This is when the attorneys and doctors step in.

Left alone and free of algae the asbestos shingle would last a very long time.



When the asbestos was mixed with cement and a few other products it could be made into about any shape you wanted. See the ridge in the picture?

When I was in college I was tearing off one of these roofs after a hailstorm. I filled up a wheel barrow, turned it to go uphill, stepped back into a few of these plates lying on top of one another. boy was I glad there was a tree at the eave that i was crushed against by the runaway wheel barrow.
There is some beautiful workmanship in the clapboard siding ornamental railing and posts but the wood shingle stagger pattern is just great.

 Mastic Siding makes some vinyl products that look a lot like these and will last a very long time. But none of these products will last as long as MLK's ideas and dreams. 
I was going to see if my neighbors set out their trash and a number of them did, including the black folks across the street. I guessed the city might gather trash today but out of respect I didn't set it out. I admit that I was late in getting on the bandwagon for this great man but once on I am here forever. Without him I might lose some very good friends and employees.





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

Friday, January 4, 2013

What Else Does a Roofer Need to Know Besides Roofing

Everything and I'm going to prove it.

To be great in the roofing business a roofer also needs to know about any other part of the structure that the roof integrates with. Those building materials that are beneath, above, beside, and that pass through it effect the roof.

First, from below there is the decking, the framing, attic and foundation. Think I'm being extreme? What would you think if i counseled my client to go ahead and replace his roof right before he had his foundation repaired? anyone that did, I would say, either knows no better or is criminally immoral. The movement in a foundation is like a see saw, a teeter totter, because and inch under the house can fulcrum several on the roof. The decking either shoves together or separates. The framing comes loose. All havoc has reigned down on the home and it shows up worse on a roof.

Also the roofer needs to know the load bearing capabilities of the framing before he puts on a roof that is too heavy. More destruction to the framing, even the walls blowing out. Other times roofers need just to brace or level the roof

The attic, well if you've read three of my posts, you know what improper ventilation can do.

Once a customer wanted to tear off five layers of composition roofing off his home. I told him he needed to replace the deck, partially because it was riddled with nails, but in this case, to put on a heavier one with a heavier shingle. The house had settled comfortably under the geological layers of roofing and the doors and windows had probably been adjusted. More weighty decking and shingle would lighten the load still but without as much gravitational shock.

He didn't listen. He went cheap. He paid big time. The doors, windows and garage doors were dysfunctional and had to be rehung. The plaster cracked. The house was happier but the homeowner not.

Beside the roof are walls sometimes. If there is vinyl siding and the roofer flashes only behind this and not the wood underneath the vinyl or aluminum siding, the roof (wall) will leak. If the wall is decomposed repairs need to be performed for a water tight nexus. The roofer needs to work with either siding, masonry or wood. If the wall has windows above the roof the window might leak, but it will look like a roof leak. Bricks and stones need to be counterflashed sometimes into the mortar or stone itself.

The penetrations for the gas flues, the plumbing stacks, the chimney, bathroom fart fans and anything else that goes from below to above the roof can required that the roofer can do minor hot water heater and furnace adjustments. Improperly done and the house might burn down or make the occupants suffocate. Sometimes, depending on the new roof system, the sewer pipes need to be extended or moved. Even electrical and freon lines can be effected by careless roofing practices. Power fans and electric skylights can pose issues for the roofer.

If the siding or cornish work on the house have lead paint on them then the roofer needs to know painting and lead remediation.

The roofer needs to be aware of framing, structural loads, plumbing, HVAC, painting, electrical, carpentry, masonry, geometry, and, finally roofing. He needs to know how to build a house.

Now add OSHA, ventilation, and lead, he needs to be an EPA expert and a paramedic of sorts.

Some of these things he needs to work in association with other tradesmen on but if he doesn't have the basics down he won't know what he needs to do. He may not be able to fix the foundation but he needs to tell you when you need it done and when it needs to be done. Before he gets there. Then everything else might be even more messed up.



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