GAF Theft and Home Depot

Now get this: why is it that a disproportional amount of GAF roofing materials are stolen from job sites? These shingles grow legs faster than a walking catfish or mudskipper. Let''s say GAF is 60% of the market, then why does it seem that GAF composes 95% of the theft? The answer is Home Depot.

Home Depot does not require a receipt for returns but Lowes does.  So does every other responsible retailer. Home Depot sells GAF and Lowes sells Owens Corning. We've called both and verified this after other roofing contractors told me about the "no receipt rule" at Home Depot. This info was disclosed when we were discussing the theft of GAF Timberline from their jobs and one from the contractors own home. The Certainteed rep says the GAF are stolen because they weigh less. According to one supplier, who weighed the shingles, the Timberlines from Home Depot weigh less than the ones he sells. I will not tell you who told me this because he no wanna problemos but the difference was considerable. I will conduct an inquiry myself and let you know. If anyone else has first hand data please let me know.

Do you think Home Depot cares if roofing contractors lose money, being that Home Depot is also a roofing contractor? They don't give cash, they give store credits. That is like making a sale. They get the profit on the back end like a pawn shop, a fence, an alley dealer. That may be a little rough but they are not acting like responsible members of the community. Those stolen shingle cause people hardship, drive up the cost of roofing, and run businesses out of business.

I personally find it unethical to receive materials back without a receipt and then make money with a captive customer with a store voucher. Profit is made by the mark up on the voucher purchases. The local police probably don't like it any better than I do.

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

   

Insurance Policies and Code Upgrade Rider

Until recently if something on your roof, or any other part of the home, was not up to code and replacement was covered by the insurance carrier, the insurance paid for the upgrade to code compliance. The insurance doesn't pay for sloppy workmanship, seconds or defective materials, or anything that is not a sudden loss by an "Act of God." But they would pay if a legal government entity like the state, county or municipality required better materials.

If a Homeowners Association or the Mafia required you to put on thicker shingles or decking you were out of pocket.

The change came recently as we fought the insurance companies to pay for better decks on homes with 3/8" decking and won. These thin decks had their roofs replace several times and like most roofs were improperly ventilated. They were safety hazards not only for the roofers but for anyone going up their to get an errant newspaper or put out a fire.

In the recent past many areas allowed fire resistant decking to be used on multifamily condos in lieu of through roof firewalls. The accelerated testing methods did not show that once heated the chemicals used for the fire retardant slowly destroyed the structural integrity of the manufactured wood. Sheet happens and sometimes 4x8.

Last summer an employee of an insurance company said he was going to talk to the cities and see if he could get some relief. That means inferior building codes. Now Irving allows for 3/8" decking to be laid over your worn out decking that is unfit for a sanitary landfill.

A small step for insurance, a giant fall for the firemen. Anyway, if you can find 3/8", it is not that much cheaper but the insurance doesn't have to pay for the removal and disposal of the old deck. This is the unblemished endorsement of shoddy workmanship that insurance companies warn you about.

In conclusion it is reasonable though. You shouldn't expect your insurance to remodel your home. Now go ask your agent if he's offered you the code upgrade feature and if there is anything else he should tell you before he gets you with the low bid policy that covers very little.

Do you even know what your deductible is and if it the same for all types of claims? If you ask your agent for advice and he's experienced, he'll probably get to work and explain your options. There are lots of shortcuts being thrown out there these days and you don't want to find out the hard way that you didn't have flood, fire, arson or code upgrade coverage.

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

   

The Evolution of Roofing Felt

Merriam Webster describes felt as such:

 feel

¹felt

noun \ˈfelt\

Definition of FELT

1

a : a cloth made of wool and fur often mixed with natural or synthetic fibers through the action of heat, moisture, chemicals, and pressure

b : a firm woven cloth of wool or cotton heavily napped and shrunk

2

: an article made of felt

3

: a material resembling felt: as

a : a heavy paper of organic or asbestos fibers impregnated with asphalt and used in building construction

b : semirigid pressed fiber insulation used in building 

We will discuss 3a, of course.

Originally there was just 15 lb., 30 lb., and copper felt. They were made from pulp made from rags, newspaper, and even old dollar bills. At the GAF plant on Singleton Blvd. in Dallas, TX, there was once a network of government agents guarding a convoy of armored vehicles coming from Treasury to guard the old dollar bills about to be mushed into roofing felt. 15 lb. weighed about 15 lbs. per square and 30 lb. did as its moniker stated also. Copper felt was a flashing, that I've actually seen, used for flashing. Copper was laminated to the asphalt impregnated felt. Watching the felt and asphalt get it on has scarred me for life.

There are other old felts, like asbestos, that we won't talk about because the censors at the EPA are in the next room. By the way, it was replaced by fiberglass felt.

Some felts were used for built up roofs, known as BUR, because they are used in layers with an interply of asphalt, to build up layers. Later they were punctured full of holes so the fumes and vapor could escape. This felt has been long gone from my life but could still be in use in colder climes. Non-fiberglass felts work well where it is so cold the fiberglass felts shatter.

The problem with 30 lb. as an underlayment is that it can wrinkle, even after it has been installed, and it is also a vapor barrier. This will accelerate the demise of a less than perfectly ventilated attic as it is moisture, and not heat, that is the Great Satan of Roofing.

On low slope roofs two ply of 15 lb. is mandated because it eliminates the weakness of a two inch lap that one ply of 30 lb. has plus the wrinkle factor. Any wrinkles on a roof between a 2/12 and 4/12 is a cardinal sin. 30 lb. under composition can be an original sin if it is not ventilated buy the rules governing fluid dynamics and moisture migration. These be Bernoulli, not to be confused with the great Texan Burnelli, and Venturi. If you are lost here you're going to flunk the test at the end of the blog. So you better go back to the beginning and start taking notes.

Sometime back in the late 1980's the 15lb. became #15 and 30 lb. became #30. This was because they weren't what they used to be. They lost their tonnage and the lb. suffix became a "#" prefix.  Sorry Capitalist Pigs, of which I am a card carrying member.

So what's an ethical roofer to do? Fret? Cry? Stomp his feet until something better comes along? Assuredly we did and the roof god Techus provided us with an alternative to sin. Synthetics, something short of sin but in the same category. This is because there are some really bad ones and some okay ones and some really fantastic ones. You've got a complete cornucopia of synthetics and hybrids out there that could confuse even the most learned of roofing Philosophers and Sophists.

Some synthetics breath and others do not. Permeability, my friend, is the mother of roof penicillin. Whether it be in the movement of attic air or the containment of humidity in the undergarments of roofing, the issue is the same: moisture ruins organic and metallic materials.

The hybrids are asphaltic felts that lay flat like #15, ugh, but have the strength of #30.

Now, let's talk new construction versus re-roofing steep roofs. When roofers roof new homes they can use #15. They roll felt and lay roofing. They do not need to walk on the #15, and if they did they'd be mangled in some way or another. #15 will not support a person on a steep roof. When re-roofing a steep roof, the roofers must dry in the home rapidly to protect the contents and the finished product: sheetrock, paint, insulation, carpet, etc.

In the recent past all the way back to my ancient beginnings as a roofer, insurance companies paid for #30 on insurance claims pertaining to steep roofs. This protected the roofer from certain death. Now they cheap out and only pay for #30 if it is on the roof prior to replacement. I've told them that one day a roofer will break his neck and they will be included in the lawsuit. I hope some attorney comes across this and uses it in his filings.

There is so much more more to tell about felt but my felt pen is running dry.

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

   

Every Hailstorm Is Exactly the Same

Just like that Nine Inch Nails' song, "Every Day Is Exactly the Same", every hailstorm is exactly the same.

"But I can tell you exactly how it will end. There is no love here.
I'm writing on a little piece of paper
I'm hoping someday you might find
Well I'll hide it behind something
They won't look behind...

...I can't remember how this got started
Oh, but I can tell you exactly how it will end."



You signed that paper and you don't know the guy. He knocked on your door and the lizard part of your brain bought and now your cerebral cortex cannot rationalize it. 

This is your home. You only worried about a deductible and free sounded good, yet the costs are tremendous.

First there will be no one around to fix the leaks, there will be no warranty because he doesn't have any idea what the warranty caveats are, and you lost out on the non-prorated part and the labor part of the warranty because he is not certified.

By using someone off the manufacturer's already culled list your chances are greatly enhanced at getting a quality product on the most expensive item you've purchased to date: your home and all of its contents.

A good hand nailed roof with balanced, and I mean balanced, ventilation is pretty awesome stuff but having a transferable 100% material and labor warranty for 50 years, when most roofs won't pass inspection after eleven or twelve, is more than a great thing. It is an insurance policy. And if you have doubt, just look at how much your insurance is paying for it.

Rarely does an insurance company pay correctly the first time out and the door knocking roofer doesn't care because he'll just cut product out, use a felt stretcher and a sky hook, and hire strangers lurking around Home Depot to put on your roof. You can't get the better warranty if all the proper accessories aren't used and you don't get the minimum if you don't follow the "300 Rule of Balanced Ventilation".

So when the mushroom roofers pop up and start jumping out from behind the bushes trying to get you in a hurry, calm down and take a breath, and if you need an answer now the answer is no. Haste makes waste.

Crosby, Stills and Nash sang about it in "Deja Vu":

"And I feel
Like I've been here before
Feel
Like I've been here before
And you know
It makes me wonder..."



Jon Wright again.

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