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rough edges with much missing gravel on Timbertex

5K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  ParagonEx 
#1 ·
I recently had a GAF lifetime system installed and noted that the Timbertex Hip and Ridge shingles used to cap the ridge vent and all peaks have very rough edges from which the grit is missing (1/8 to 1/4 inch missing in some places. When I contacted the roofing contractor about this, he replied that this is because they come in sheets of 3 and must be separated by bending and tearing at the perforations. He stated that the rough edges and missing grit would not compromise the life of the shingles but I contend that once the grit starts falling off anywhere on a shingle there is continual loss as wind, rain and other objects hit these shingles so, in fact the lifetime is shortened. Additionally, it is an eyesore - I did not pay almost $15,000 for roofing to the have some of the most visible spots look prematurely aged. In searching some other forums, I noted that some professionals use roofing shears or knives to cut along the perforations rather than bending and tearing to prevent this problem. I believe that the crew doing my roof should have done this as soon as they noted the cap shingles were not tearing apart cleanly.

Could one or more of you experts weigh in on this issue, to inform me if the life of the caps is shortened and whether it is standard professional practice to accept the rough edges when bending the GAF product apart leaving the customer's roof with a rough appearance.
 
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#3 ·
As much as those things cost you would think GAF would come up with a better way of packaging them, every job we get a few that just tare off.
Personaly I just set them aside, later I flip them over and use a framing square and utility knife to remove that small tip that looks poopy.
They also need deeper perferations, you end up have to use a utility knife to seperate them since there 3 layers thick.
 
#4 ·
Wow! Thanks for the quick response!

Slyfox - attached are some pictures of the worst case scenarios. A few are a little blurry as I was in a hurry when I took them but the damage is evident. The blurry Screened porch hip roof 7 one is meant to capture the cap shingle to the very left where the grit is gone from the entire lower right corner. I did not take pitures of the ridge cap shingles on the top roof as I did not want to drag my camera 36 feet up a ladder but this occured on all 4 roofs that have peaks but was most prevalent on the hipped screened porch roof which (of course) is the one most visible roof right outside of my second floor bedroom window.

Joecaption - You made my point that, if they were having difficulty separating them, they should have used a utility knife. I agree that GAF should improve this product. If they take the time to perforate them, how much longer could it be to simply precut them and package them as single units.
 

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#7 ·
Ok I retook pics with flash - let's hope this works because the initial onse seem to have darkened when I uploaded. Here are 6 taken with flash. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
 

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#8 · (Edited)
Don't look like Tmbertex to me, just reg- ridge caps.

There's no excuse for the rough edges, that will happen with any manufacturers ridge caps unless you snap them properly, which these guys obviously did not.
This is not a longevity issue tho, it's an eyesore/aesthetic issue.

I would contact the installer and sway him/her into sending someone out to at least change out the worse of caps.
If they want your reference for future work they'll do it.

Edited to add:
Looks like there may be a nail pop up or two in those photo's, maybe not, could be bird poop or something..
It looks like they cut the face of the ridge cap that raps the two hips at the ridge, make sure they caulked the exposed nail there if that is the case.

Those are both legit reasons to insist the installer come back and take a look at the roof.
 
#9 ·
Those are Timbertex and that's the way they break sometimes. That's just GAF quality, IMO.

A roofer with a hook blade could clean them up so they look a little better or replace them. It's good practice to cover the exposed nails with some roof cement or caulking, but I wouldn't worry about it leaking. That nails is probably going through 6-8 layers of roofing.
 
#12 ·
I'm not trying to say there not GAF, just that they don't look like Timbertex.
Might just be my eyes playing tricks but I don't see the extra build up in them, they look like standard GAF h&r to me.

Yes a good blade will clean them up, I had to do the same with the Certainteed h&r I installed yesterday because I had two old bundles "7 bundles delivered" that simply left bad edges.
 
#10 ·
I appreciate all your help!
Are you sure these are not Timbertex because I purchased the lifetime GAF shingles and I thought to get that warranty Timbertex had to be used for the caps? If they are not Timbertex, what else could they be? Do other hip and ridge shingles come perforated?

They did caulk the exposed nails and the cut on the cap spanning the two hips but they did not caulk the nails on the final cap on the top roof so now I have to climb a ladder 36 feet to do that myself. If I replace the caps myself (see explanation below why I will not let the installer do this) can it wait until spring and which product do you think this is (GAF??) so I can purchase the closest to what is there?

I will no longer deal with the installer as I am in the process of compiling a consumer protection case against his company. In addition to this sloppy work, his crew did $4000 damage to my stucco walls by cutting up way too high to insert the flashing on every wall and they cut right through the lathe and protective tar paper undercoat which created a nightmare for me when I started replacing the stucco (i.e. no wooden lathe to attach the galvanized mesh to as a base for the first stucci coat), Also, while cutting the stucco they damaged the bottom pieces of 6 window casings (2 of them double windows) that I had just caulked and painted even cutting a piece of the end of one of them so it no longer lines up with the side piece and the delivery trucks for the supplies and dumpster damaged my lawn and perennial beds on both sides of the driveway also demolitioning 2 sprinkler heads (the company continued to send out trucks too big for the driveway after I warned them of the damaged created by the first truck and asked them to prevent further damage). He has also not supplied me with the GAF warranty papers.
 
#13 ·
They look like GAF Seal-A-Ridge. These will still make your 30 year, excuse me, Lifetime roof warranty valid.

Just because you haven't received the warranty papers from the contractor doesn't mean the warranty isn't registered. This takes time for GAF to get the information sent out to you.

From the pictures you showed, the roof looks fine, except for the nail heads should be caulked.

What does his contract say regarding damage to your property that may happen due to normal construction conditions?
 
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