[Jim McC]

I have a leak that is dripping thru my bathroom exhaust fan. Today I found out that many of my roof shingles are cracked, and a couple pieces were broken off and lying on the roof. The shingles were installed in Oct. 1999, a little over 16 years old. BUT the shingles have a 40 year warranty. They are IKO Cambridge dimensional shingles. I was told today by a supply house that IKO is very tough to deal with for warranty claims. Is that true?

I called IKO's warranty dept. today and was told they will send me a warranty claim packet, with instructions. Also the warranty is pro rated and only covers materials, not labor. They said I need to send pictures of the bad shingles, samples of the bad shingles, and a copy of my contract from the installer.

Do you have any advice on how to proceed, so I can get my shingles replaced ASAP?

Thanks.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

Good luck with your warranty claim, they are usually tuff, but did you consider the water you see may be dripping condensation if the exhaust pipe temperature to the roof is below about an estimated 90°.

 

[Jim McC]

No. And I don't know what you mean.

 

[jimn]

Is the water coming through the exhaust fan ? Where do you live and how cold is it out? If it's cold you may just be having condensation issues form the moist air condensing in the exhaust tube . The leak may be just around the vent penetration through the roof. Nothing in your warranty that will solve that. However if your shingles are is in bad shape as you indicate then you have a separate and perhaps related issue. The company has indicate what you need to do to file a claim. If they honor the claim they only cover the shingles . Underlay, ice and water shields flashing, tear off etc. are not covered. The claim is also prorated . That means if the shingles are expected to last 40 years and cost 2000.00 new, then the will pay 1-(16/40) x 2000 or about 1200 in this case toward new shingles.

 

[SeniorSitizen]

No. And I don't know what you mean.

The same thing happens when there is a cold drink glass exposed to warm air in a room, moisture condenses on the outer surface of the glass. With your bath fan condensation is occurring on the interior surface of the exhaust pipe.

 

[craig11152]

To add to the discussion when I was last active in residential roofing the trend in warranty's was away from cash settlements and toward vouchers for more materials. That potentially results in the manufacturer making money on their own failed product depending on when the warranty claim is made.
If your shingles failed at 25 years they would give you a voucher to get enough shingles for less 1/3 of your roof. That forces you to buy the other 2/3 at retail prices which is sort of like a buy 2 get 1 free sale.

 

[PatChap]

Have you called a roofer to come look at it. You'll need someone to swap out the shingles for the warranty package. I haven't found IKO to be to hard to deal with on legitimate claims.
It takes a month or three either way. They don't make cash offers, they offer a certain amount of bundles of an equivalent product.

 

[SPS-1]

Call a reputable roofer to take a look at your roof. The leak may very well have nothing to do with the shingles. But you say the shingles look bad --- need a pro to evaluate. Is the original installer still around ? If they re-roof or repair your roof, they will save the bad shingles to send back --- and they (should) know to save the worst to send back.

Do most of your shingles look bad or just the occasional shingle?

You need to follow their warranty procedure. If you don't follow their procedure they might reject your claim. And if you don't have proper ventilation for your attic they may reject your claim. And if the installer did not follow all of their installation instructions they may reject your claim.

I once made a claim on organic shingles that failed after 10 or 11 years. There was a class action lawsuit, so that made it easier to get my claim through. Got $600 back on $3400 roofing job, but that's $600 more than I thought I would get. They wanted pictures, measurements of the house, pictures of the venting, description of the problem (make sure you use roofing failure terms), in the end never did ask to send back the old shingles though.

 

[ChuckF.]

Do Bing search on "IKO Cambridge class action". Lots of hits there.

 

[Jim McC]

Is the original installer still around ?

Do most of your shingles look bad or just the occasional shingle?

Yes, he's still around. He recommends I wait until spring to do the repairs because the shingles are too brittle from the cold weather.

Just the occasional shingle. Probably at least 20. I don't know. I can't get up there to check.

 

[gregzoll]

It is 40 years if properly installed by the manufacturer instructions. 16 years is really pushing it for any kind of roofing material. I highly doubt that IKO is going to do anything after 16 years at this point. 10-12 years under normal conditions, is usually the expected life of any roofing material, if not properly maintained, and the attic space kept cool.

I am suspecting that a part of your failure of the material was not only the attic getting too hot. But also improper insulation and direct Sunlight.

 

[SPS-1]

........... and direct Sunlight.

Probably in the fine print, if the roof is exposed to direct sunlight, the warranty is void.

Go ahead and make the claim, for your own satisfaction. But don't be planning on getting too much back.

 

[gregzoll]

Probably in the fine print, if the roof is exposed to direct sunlight, the warranty is void.

Go ahead and make the claim, for your own satisfaction. But don't be planning on getting too much back.

Every roof gets exposed to the Sun. The problem that causes the fiber matt and tar to break down, is an improperly vented attic, with more the 65% Sunlight.

There is no asphalt shingle out there that will last past 15 years. With the exception of Slate and some of the newer materials being used. The key is finding someone who knows how to properly install it.

 

[craig11152]

There is no asphalt shingle out there that will last past 15 years.

I realize I just took one sentence out of several but can you clarify that?

 

[1985gt]

There is no asphalt shingle out there that will last past 15 years.

So that's 100% false, there is plenty of asphalt shingles that will go far beyond 15 years, even with poor attic venting.


I shouldn't add this but I will,

Shingles will not last a "life time" nor are there "40 year" shingles, it simply doesn't happen, the warranties are a huge marketing gimmick.

There is a reason why the shingle manufactures have so many stipulations in the warranty, it's to make them last as long as possible so when they do fail and if you do still live in the same house and if you do still have the paperwork they can pay out or provide as little as possible.

 

[craig11152]

I bought my house in 1994. In the summer of 1993 the previous owner had a new roof put on....Certainteed XT25, Nickle Gray. I get up on my soon to be 23 year old 3 tab 25 year shingle roof several times a year to inspect. One of these years I'll probably say No Mas.

 

[craig11152]

I think there is a culture out there that suggests if your roof doesn't look new it needs to be replaced. They do age and they do wear out but the first sign of wear doesn't mean replace, it means monitor.

 

[1985gt]

My 3 tab architectural style ones are pushing 15-16 years. Little granule loss, not a big deal. They will last a good 5 more years.

 

[SPS-1]

I just had a new roof put on my house in the spring. Old one was 18 or 20 years old. Not sure what brand, but everything else on this house is the cheapest thing the builder could find. Flashing failed on at least 2 penetrations, and a fair amount of rot of roof sheathing due to no drip edge. But the shingles were actually still in good shape.

 

[Jim McC]

Thanks guys, but now I'm more depressed !!

Do you guys agree with what he said about waiting until spring to do the repairs? He said the shingles are too brittle from the cold weather now.