N. Texas shingle problems turns to blame game

06:01 PM CDT on Thursday, June 19, 2008

By STEVE STOLER / WFAA-TV

THE COLONY - Just after the storms rolled through North Texas, homeowners in The Colony broke out their cameras to capture images of the damage.

While the storm's strong winds sent scores of shingles flying downward, Tuesday wasn't the first time roofs in the area were hit.

Pieces of them [have been] blowing off during every storm we had pretty much," said Dawn Blagg, a homeowner in The Colony. "If it was over 25 mph [or] somewhere in there, than we were missing pieces of roof."

Shingle manufacturer CertainTeed has been working with Lennar Homes to replace or reseal shingles at no cost to homeowners. Also, CertainTeed extended their five-year wind warranty to ten years.

But when April's powerful storms wreaked havoc on North Texas, that warranty suddenly ended.

"Just like if a car had a faulty product, it would be recalled and repaired," Blagg said. "We expect them to repair our roofs."

Homeowners in The Colony are caught in the middle of a storm between their builder, a shingle manufacturer and their insurance companies. T hey said no one wants to take responsibility for the damage to their roofs.

At the center of the controversy are shingles the home builder claims are more susceptible to blowing off in high winds.

For years, homeowners across the country have complained of problems with the same type of shingles people from Allen, Plano and now The Colony have expressed anger over. It seems any time the wind whips up, the shingles go flying off the roofs.

Blagg called CertainTeed and Lennar Homes after winds left a large portion of her roof without shingles. She was told to call her insurance company.

"And I said how can it be a voided warranty when it's a defective product," she said. "How do you void a warranty. And they said, 'Well, that's not our problem.'"

In a letter to Blagg's next door neighbor, Libby Schneider, the shingle manufacturer wrote, "because of the recent April storms in Dallas-Fort Worth, CertainTeed's obligations under its warranty had been voided. Published weather reports documented wind gusts far exceeding wind velocity of your warranty."

The company's warranty only covers wind gust up to 60 mph.

"Granted, it has been nine years, but shingles should last longer than nine years," Schneider said.

Blagg said her insurance company isn't likely to take care of the repairs either.

"They said they probably won't cover it because it's defective material," she said. "So, we're kind of all caught in a loop here."

CertainTeed sent News 8 a statement that said most of the repairs they did in The Colony were on houses more than five years old and several years beyond their warranty. They recommend homeowners discuss the problems with their local insurance companies.

Officials for Lennar Homes in Dallas directed News 8 to their corporate office in Miami, who did not return News 8's calls as of 5 p.m. Thursday.

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