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

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

www.jonwrightroofing.com

   

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

www.jonwrightroofing.com

   

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

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

www.jonwrightroofing.com

   

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

jonwright@jonwrightroofing.com

www.jonwrightroofing.com