Rick's Ramblings

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

The House Needs New Shingles?!

Over the weekend a man stopped by the house and declared, “You have those defective shingles on your roof.” Then continued to tell me about defective Owens Corning shingles that the company was replacing at no cost and that he could help me make the claim for new shingles and do all the work at no cost to me.

Sounded to me like a scam.

But, on further investigation, maybe he and his claim is legitimate.

I climbed up on the roof, and sure enough the shingles, which have a 40 year warranty, were blistered and cracked and some were falling apart.

I called a phone number he gave me (1-800-ROOFING) and got an Owens Corning representative on the phone. She asked me a few questions, including some I could not answer (“Exactly what month and year were the shingles installed?”, “What color are they?”, “How many squares of shingles do you have on your roof?”).

She is sending me a “claim kit” which has the paperwork and instructions on how to file a claim. Apparently I am to remove 2 of the damaged shingles and send them back, along with some completed paperwork and some (non-digital) photos. The roofer that first brought this to my attention has volunteered to do all this work for me—assuming, I guess, that I will use him for the reroofing job.

All the current shingles must be removed and the roof prepared and dried-in. Then, new shingles will be installed. What a pain.

The defective shingles are Owens Corning Oakridge Pro 40 shingles. They were very popular when we built our house in the mid-90s because of their color and shape—asphalt shingles that have the appearance of oak shake shingles.

I’ve called my builder to bring this to his attention, ask for his opinion on the situation, and to validate the legitimacy and qualilty of the roofer, but haven’t heard back. I’m going to call my insurance agent, too. I’ll let you know how things proceed.

Comments:

1. Quick update. The man who stopped by the house has one unresolved complaint against him at the BBB. Further, upon talking to my original construction company, the shingles I have are actually defective and may need to be replaced. Apparently, Owens Corning is putting together an information package for consumers regarding this. They are also quite upset, perhaps even pursuing legal action, against this roofing contractor for his practice of misrepresenting the situation to consumers, particularly the elderly, talking them into services they do not need.

   Posted by Rick  on  07/07/2004  at  11:16 AM

2. I got the warranty claim kit from Owens Corning yesterday. It is pretty complicated. I need to take some very specific photographs as well as remove two damaged shingles from the roof (and replace them.)

   I got hold of the roofing company that my builder currently uses and they volunteered to come out to the house, take a look and, if there are defective shingles, help me do the claim. If there is a settlement, then I’ll use them for the subsequent work.

   Posted by Rick  on  07/14/2004  at  09:55 AM

3. Turns out, the roofing company I contacted was NOT the one used by my contractor. I tried calling them and their phone was disconnected so I called another outfit with a similar name (thinking I was calling the right people). It doesn’t matter, these guys seem okay and check out with the BBB.

   They came out this morning and inspected the roof. Sure enough, in most places there are relatively severe cracks and splits with some places that have been blisters that have “popped” create holes in the shingles.

   They are going to contact their supplier and get some advice. Looks like I’ll be moving forward with the claim though.

   Posted by Rick  on  07/15/2004  at  03:12 PM

4. Well, the claim kit is now shipped by UPS. I’ll let you know what happens.

   Posted by Rick  on  08/17/2004  at  05:50 PM

5. Last week I got a check from Owens Corning for the materials and labor to replace my defective shingles. Actually, it was for 80% of the cost of the shingles plus labor, derated against the original shingles’ 40-year warranty.

   I got a bid to do the work from a local, reputable roofing company. So, it looks like there will be a happy ending to this strange saga.

   Posted by Rick  on  09/29/2004  at  06:37 PM

Enter your comment below. Note, your comment will be publicly viewable by anyone who visits this site.

<< Back to Home

Membership

About

Use this form to read comments and add comments you may have about this article.