March 28, 2025 • 33 mins
A massive hailstorm just hit Greensboro NC with golf ball-sized projectiles, and your roof might be compromised without you even knowing it. General contractor Donnie Blanchard pulls back the curtain on what happens when hail strikes your shingles and why the damage matters even when there's no immediate leak.
The roofing industry harbors a dark side that emerges after every major storm. Donnie warns about predatory "storm chasers" – out-of-state operators who flood neighborhoods with aggressive sales tactics, encouraging unnecessary insurance claims that can follow you for life. These contractors often pressure homeowners to sign contingency agreements that lock them into using their services, only to disappear when warranty issues arise later.
Your insurance policy likely works differently than you realize when it comes to roof damage. Most carriers now use "test squares" to count hail strikes and determine replacement eligibility, while separate wind and hail deductibles ranging from 1-2% of your home's value have quietly replaced the standard $500-$1,000 deductibles common a decade ago. Filing a claim without legitimate damage creates a permanent record that follows you regardless of which insurance company you use.
Donnie explains exactly what to look for after a storm – from dented gutters and handrails to subtle indicators in your attic – and shares insider knowledge on flashing, proper installation techniques, and exciting advancements in roofing technology. GAF's new shingles now offer 25-year algae protection through time-released copper oxide treatments, while designer shingles continue gaining popularity for their distinctive appearance and durability.
Before you call your insurance company about potential storm damage, contact a reputable local roofing company for an honest assessment that won't jeopardize your insurance history or leave you with subpar repairs and vanishing warranties.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Carolina Contractor Show with
your host, general ContractorDonnie Blanchard.
Okay, donnie, you're not a bigNCAA bracket person, or you
aren't this year, did you even?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
fill one out.
I'm ashamed to say I did not.
This is the first time I haveit in a long time.
But man, we've just been sobusy, and thanks be to the Lord
for that one, because you knowthings were slow through the
winter, but we're coming outswinging and so?
No, the answer is no.
I'm a big Duke fan, but I didnot even have a chance to show
them working their way all theway to the championship.
(00:33):
How about?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
you.
Yeah well, that's all big, fineand dandy, but, more
importantly, we're entering thethird year of the Home Builders
Supply Eric Smith InvitationalNCAA Brackets.
I'm the two-time defendingchampion of this.
Everybody's picking Duke thisyear, though for the most part I
did.
Now that everything's locked in, you can't cheat.
One person picked Auburn and atthe recording of this show
(01:00):
they're all still in it.
I mean, it's just the firsthalf of a day.
I did miss theCreighton-Louisville game.
Did you see any of that today?
You're probably working.
I had a TV behind me, no funnyenough I did.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I went next door to the office and got a quesadilla
from Wings to Go which isphenomenal these days and while
I was waiting on my quesadillathey had the Louisville game on.
They had the Louisville game onand Louisville didn't look like
they were doing so hot.
I want to say they're one oftheir main shooters got hurt
while I was sitting therewatching the game, so I didn't.
I didn't see a good endinginsight for those guys, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
It wasn't that you knew by halftime that they
weren't going to come back fromthat.
And kudos to Creighton.
It's not like a big upset.
Was number nine over numbereight Right?
But anyways, our work, becausesome jobs if they have people
doing brackets they don't wantmoney because it kind of hits
that gray line of is the companyor business endorsing gambling
or holding it.
So they do a paid day off forthe winner.
(01:53):
Winner takes all.
So it's kind of cool thateverybody's going.
Hmm, I could get a paid day offand nobody likes me at work
because they think I cheat,because I don't watch college
basketball hardly at all.
I don't analyze, but I justlook at trends, I guess I would
say.
And interestingly enough,there's only been one time where
all number one seeds ended upin the final four.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
We'll see.
I'm rooting for you, notagainst you this year.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, man, they'll be mad if I win it for the third
year.
They'll think there's a fix.
Okay, let's get to work.
This is the Carolina ContractorShow and again, my name is Eric
Smith, two-time defendingchampion of the Home Builders
NCAA men's basketball bracket.
During this time of year Peopledon't like me at work because
they think it's a rigged gameand I always win it.
(02:38):
But hey, we'll see.
This year I'm not feeling quiteas confident.
Across from me, Donnie Blanchard, owner of SureTop Roofing.
Owner of Blanchard BuildingCompany, also a licensed general
contractor, and boy, it sure isgoing to be good for today's
show to have you on, Donnie,because, being the owner of
SureTop Roofing and knowing theinside and outside of roofs and
how to not only put on a newroof or a new build when we have
(03:03):
storms roll through, like wedid last week, storm damage is a
big thing and there's a lot ofthings that can happen to a roof
that you might be able to seeand might not be able to see.
So today we want to start offtalking about what to do if you
think you might have stormdamage, or maybe you didn't even
have storm damage, or you didand you don't even think you had
(03:27):
the damage because you justdon't have that trained pro eye.
So, uh, I say we just jump intothis real quick, Donnie.
What's?
What's the first thing peopleneed to be aware of when it
comes to their roof after a bigstorm?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Well, there's several things, depending on whether it
be wind or hail damage.
I'll start with hail, becausewe just had that huge hail storm
run through Greensboro and it'sthe first time in more than a
decade we've had hail that size.
So certain parts of Greensborogot over golf ball size and
personally I looked at a few ofthose houses and you know, golf
ball size hail stone does a lotof damage.
(04:01):
It'll shred the siding, itreally compromises the roof and
I'll get into the ways it doesthat in a moment.
But, uh, the obvious things arethat you want to just take a
look around the house, usuallybetween your cars, if they're
sitting outside the garage andyou're landscaping.
You know that stuff kind ofshreds everything in its path.
So if things are in disarray, uh, you can probably bet that it
(04:22):
did the same thing to your houseand your roof is still
functional after a hail storm.
I've never seen a circumstancewhere a hail stone made it all
the way through the roof andmade a hole in your roof.
But it does compromise thefinishes, meaning the asphalt
layer, that that basicallyprotects the fiberglass mat of
your shingles, you know it.
Uh, the aluminum, the gutterssystem.
(04:42):
It's going to basically dentthose up and compromise the, the
baked on finish there.
So it does.
It can do a lot of damage andand it's not uh damage that's
going to affect you immediately.
But if you let it go over time,those things are going to wear
out a lot quicker than theywould have hey donnie.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Side note is that fancy copper trim more
susceptible to dents than like atraditional metal roof.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Absolutely.
With the flashing that you have, the thickness of the aluminum
is similar to the thickness ofthe copper and, especially if
you have, we use a flat sheet ofmetal sometimes instead of the
aluminum to do our flashing.
But copper is just so malleable, it's soft, and so if you have
copper it's a double-edged swordbecause it's going to show the
(05:28):
hail damage a lot worse thanmetal would.
And if you have the right kindof insurance, then they're going
to pay for that and they'regoing to pay more for that
copper.
But if I had it to do and Ididn't have a copper theme, I
would side with metal every timebecause it just holds up better
.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I think maybe talking about storm damage to your roof
, then obviously a tree or abranch or something falls.
We know that's going toprobably do something, but let's
probably focus on the hailtoday.
And one thing I do want tostress is there's a difference
between someone like you whoowns an established, reputable
company that's local.
(06:02):
The big problem when stormscome through are storm chasers.
There's several things.
You have to look out for astorm chaser.
You got to avoid them, buthere's how you can.
There are a couple of thingsyou can tell.
One of them is they pop up outof nowhere.
Usually, something on theirtruck indicates they're out of
town or even out of state,sometimes states away.
(06:23):
Describe your battle with stormchasers when they come into
town after a big storm, donnie.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Well, whether it's legit damage or not, they're
knocking on every door and thoseguys are very aggressive.
We've seen just in the lastcouple of days they've been here
from Texas, myrtle Beach,florida, indiana so hailstorms
haven't been as prevalent in thelast 10 years as they were in
the previous 10 before that.
So these guys are vultures andthey come and they don't care
about you.
(06:51):
They don't care about your uh,your insurance claim history.
They don't care about, uh,anything except turning a quick
buck.
So they may knock on 40 or 50doors in a day and they're going
to tell you a hailstorm, passthrough here.
You, your 40 or 50 doors in aday and they're going to tell
you a hailstorm, pass throughhere.
Your roof is damaged is usuallytheir tagline, and they'll want
to get up there and take a look.
Most people say if it doesn'tcost me anything, go ahead.
(07:11):
Well, they're going to tell you, without you seeing for
yourself, that you have haildamage up there and they're
going to encourage you toinitiate an insurance claim.
What they're not telling you isthat if you really have minimal
hail damage there's a sign ofhail but it doesn't look like
you've had displacement ofasphalt granules and, like I
mentioned earlier.
We'll do a deeper dive on thatof what a hailstone actually
(07:33):
does to an asphalt shingle, butthey're going to try to get you
to initiate that claim becauseif they do that to 20, 30 people
and get that many bites in aday, then half of those may end
up being insurance claims thatgo through and so you get your
roof replaced on the insurancecompany's dime and it's just not
a.
It's not a process.
That's only up and up and it'svery dishonest.
Uh, the one thing that they doand we've preached about this
(07:55):
and I think it's been a whilesince we did a roofing show but
they will say that, uh, you needto sign this contingency
agreement and what thatcontingency agreement states is
that if I get the insurancecompany to pay for your roof,
then you are obligated to gowith us as your roofer and that
gives them an open door to tryto milk the insurance company
(08:16):
for all they can get.
And when I said it's verydishonest, it's very unfair to
the insurance company.
That is and someone like uswe're locally owned, operated.
The insurance companies knowthat we're honest operations, so
they refer people to us whenthey call to say, hey, do I have
damage, they'll ask me to goout there and check it out and
(08:36):
just give them an honestassessment and a lot of times,
more times than not, we say no,you don't have legitimate damage
and you may have a little bit,but it's not enough to qualify
for replacement.
You know you don't havelegitimate damage and you may
have a little bit, but it's notenough to qualify for
replacement, which is the exactopposite of what a storm chaser
will do.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Can you, donnie, with your experience, pull up to the
curb of a house because someonecalled and said, hey, sure, top
roofing, I think I may havedamage?
Can you just, in their driveway, identify something from, just
from your truck?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It's tough from the truck, other than the
landscaping being shredded, likeI mentioned earlier, you can
see that if they haven't cleanedthat part up.
But you really need to getclose to the house and the way
the insurance companies labelthis is collateral damage,
meaning something other than theroof.
So handrails, downspouts forgutters, things that you can see
and touch right there from theground.
A lot of times those are, youknow, the handrails are hollow
(09:30):
PVC or, of course, thedownspouts are um, aluminum and
they're going to show.
They're going to show a hailstrike If there were any hail
present that was big enough todo any damage.
Those are good indicators.
Your outside vehicles, like Imentioned earlier, and I know
the one thing we joke about is,you know your mailbox will tell
the tale and that's the easiestway.
But it takes a heck of ahailstone to dent a mailbox
because most of those are athicker gauge aluminum I'm sorry
(09:51):
, thicker gauge metal.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Does SureTop Roofing handle the insurance?
So if you say yeah, your roofis damaged, you need to contact
the insurance company.
Is that something you help ahomeowner with?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
If they ask, yes, we do and we're glad to do that.
But we're upfront about whatthey should expect.
And a lot of times people willsay we want to handle our
insurance claim Ourself, willlet you know if it's approved or
denied.
And then there are other peoplewho we've gained their trust
over the years and they want usto meet the adjuster and pretty
(10:23):
much handle everything start tofinish.
I tend to say that the lattergives you better success because
we don't push and we certainlydon't even tell you to initiate
the claim if your damage isn'tlegitimate.
I should have mentioned that afew seconds ago when we were
talking about what happens ifthey do deny the claim.
But if you call an insuranceadjuster out, go through with
the claim and they don't findany damage or they find minimal
(10:44):
damage that doesn't even exceedyour deductible, then you have a
claim history from that dayforward and that follows you, no
matter which insurance companyyou have, for forever.
So it makes you a calculatedrisk and the answer is yes, it
can make your premiums go up and, like I mentioned, those storm
chasers, they don't care aboutany of that.
They're just trying to get in,get your roof and get gone.
And so those guys, they're justbad all the way around and from
(11:09):
a warranty standpoint they'renot going to come back.
From an installation standpoint, they don't have local
installers.
They're just trying to findsubcontractor crews any way they
possibly can.
So, uh, encourage everybody ifthey're from out of state or
have a 1-800 number on theirtruck, don't answer the door,
and if you do, politely let themknow that you'll be going with
somebody local.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, and I was going to mention that about
warranties and installation, andthey're going to do things that
will, even if you get thehigh-end shingle, say the GAF,
if you don't use starter stripthat's recommended or it's not
installed by a certifiedinstaller, the warranty isn't
going to be there.
And those guys that are lookingto shred a roof, put a new one
on, get a check and get out oftown.
They're not going to come back.
(11:48):
If you have a small installerror where some shingles
weren't put in correctly,they're going to be up and
disappear.
So, like you said all around,if they're not from town, avoid
them like the plague and call anestablished local roofing
company that can take care of it, and we'll put that information
up on the website.
Of course we havesuretoproofingcom, but you can
(12:08):
also find it atthecarolinacontractorcom.
Do want to mention we uploadthese shows onto our YouTube
channel.
We have links there, along withall the other social media.
So again, hitthecarolinacontractorcom.
So we've talked about thebasics people can look for.
Missing shingles is kind of anobvious thing.
If they're turned up or bent,that's a time to call a pro.
(12:29):
Inside the house would there beindications of roof damage?
But you see it on the inside.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yep, let me answer that one in one second.
I want to comment on what yousaid about missing shingles or
shingles turned up.
That falls in the category ofwind damage and if your
insurance company comes out,they're going to delineate that
the cause of loss matters andevery cause of loss has a
separate deductible.
So if it's wind damage, they'llwrite the roof as wind damage,
which is very straightforward.
(12:55):
Hail damage is subjective tothe adjuster or the insurance
company's requirements.
With hail damage, what they dois what they call a test square.
So they'll draw out a 10 by 10section on every slope and they
count how many hail strikes theycan find in that 10 by 10 area.
So I won't call anybody by name, but there are some insurance
companies who just absolutelywill not pay unless there are,
(13:16):
unless that test square is justpeppered.
And there's other people thatsays, hey, if there's you know
six or eight in there, thenwe're good to go.
But uh, to comment on thatseparate deductible issue, one
thing that I've been seeing, andsince my insurance adjuster
days, gosh, 12, 15 years ago 15years ago everybody had a $500
or $1,000 deductible.
Well, the insurance companiesgot wise that so many folks are
(13:39):
out there filing claims for windand hail that they have issued
I'd say 90% of the population aseparate wind and hail
deductible and sometimes that'sanywhere from 1% to 2% depending
on the cost of your premium.
So usually you're usually ableto choose which one you want,
but most of the people choose ahigher deductible.
So I've been running into folkssince this hail storm hit that
have deductibles anywhere fromtwo to four to $5,000 on a
(14:02):
larger home and and that'sreally a big decision you got to
make you still win.
If they pay for it and you comeout of pocket everything but
that $3,000, then it's still awin, but it's not like it used
to be All right.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Thank you for doing that Again.
It's why we like having someonewho's a professional when it
comes to roof repair, because itis a big investment and people
don't understand how theinsurance policy follows you.
Okay, so I was going to say soagain.
Is there something you can seeinside that you can't see
outside that might indicate trueroof damage?
(14:34):
Right?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Not.
Uh, really not with with hail,with wind, the answer is yes
because, uh, normally with winddamage it'll flip a shingle back
and tear it off and it's justgone, even if it's creased or or
raised still have wind-drivenrain get under there.
If there's any kind of damage toflashing or pipe boots,
normally that just gives astraight line of water to come
down.
And I tell people, if you'reagile enough to get into your
(14:56):
attic, that's a good way tostart.
Go in the attic, pop on thelights and if there's a drip in
any direction, you can usuallysee it.
The reason that's a better waythan looking from the inside is
that insulation in the overheadceiling is usually going to
absorb rain for, I don't know,months in some cases.
So, depending on the type ofinsulation, it could turn into a
big sponge up there and it willmask the problem for a long,
(15:19):
long time.
So, getting in the attic andjust laying eyes on it and we do
that when we come and inspect aroof we'll inspect in the attic
for you at no charge.
But really you have to be inthe attic during a rainstorm and
it's just kind of one of thosethings that falls on the
homeowner in most cases.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Granular damage to the shingle versus a shingle
wearing out?
Can hail really make enoughdamage that the granular makeup
of that shingle starts comingoff?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yes, and so how hail damages a shingle is it
displaces the granules, meaninglike, uh, you know they, they,
they show pictures of a asteroidhit on the moon or or you know
some kind of uh, something thatmakes landfall here and it just
basically displaces the dirt ina circular shape.
It's that on a very small level.
(16:03):
And and what's happening is,when those asphalt granules are
displaced, it exposes thefiberglass mat below, and the
fiberglass mat is the realroofing material.
The color that you see is inthe asphalt granules, and all
those asphalt granules are doingis protecting the fiberglass
mat.
So basically they're like asunscreen.
And people confuse that becausethe asphalt looks like it's the
(16:25):
roofing material but it's reallynot what's keeping the water
out.
So the way that themanufacturers word the warranty
information is after a hailstormyour warranty is voided with
most of the manufacturersbecause they claim that the
shingle will deteriorate at anaccelerated rate.
So once that fiberglass mat isexposed, it's going to spiderweb
to the next hail strike and thenext hail strike and basically
(16:50):
when that roof was made, to losegranules at a certain rate over
time.
So you know, granule loss isnot something that's not
supposed to happen, but when itdoes it at a faster rate and
that 30 year roof that you usedto have breaks down in 10,
that's why it is warranted as alegitimate insurance claim.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
If you hear branches hitting your roof in the middle
of a storm, that thud that weall fear and I don't mean big
six-inch around diameterbranches, but you hear a lot of
branches and you have branchdebris in your yard and maybe
there's nothing sitting on yourroof after the storm.
If you hear that, is thatprobably a reason you should
call to get an inspection.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I think so Absolutely .
Um had a windstorm blow throughmaybe three, four weeks ago and
, um, you know, especially ifyou're in a wood, heavily wooded
lot, that's something thatyou'd be wise to get checked out
, because it's nothing for a abranch to just make contact in
in the absolute right way.
Where it hits between two roofrafters and all you have there
(17:51):
is a piece of shingle and then ahalf inch piece of plywood
there, so something the diameterof your wrist could hit that
and it could go through yourroof.
I just had that happen.
My fiance's house had basicallylooked like it's covered in
tree debris and one of thosepieces of debris happened to go
all the way through and it wasfunny because it continued to
rain after that and it sealed sotight when it went through the
(18:14):
roof that she didn't get anywater inside.
But that that's definitelysomething worth checking out.
So if you I'd say a goodindicator is if it's not plain
to see if you have a lot of treedebris on your roof, you know
that's one of those things wherewe can come look at it and just
make sure everything is okay.
And and you know a lot of times, if it's not a lot, we'll just
take care of the tree debris andknock it off there for you.
(18:35):
But, um, yeah, we had a.
We had a really sweet lady callin last week after the storms
and her name was Ann Allen.
She's 90 years old and Ms Allenwas just.
I don't have any grandparentsleft, so I just I love older
people and when I say thislady's 90, but her yard looks
like she's about 40.
She maintains an amazing, anamazing lot.
(18:57):
I mean all the way around her.
She has a border all the wayaround her house and um, uh,
just, I was just blown away thatshe was 90 years old.
Uh, she still had it, has itall together and and, as a hard
worker, and uh, of course, herroof.
You know it wasn't in thegreatest shape, but we could
have got her down the road alittle bit longer, with maybe a
(19:19):
repair, but I think she justwants to.
Hey, we'll be glad to check youout for maintenance sake and
and I think we're going to endup putting a new roof on for her
, but we don't charge anythingfor that service.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
So, yeah, please call if there's anything in question
like that you know that is abonus if you go through the
process of having to get a newroof and maybe, especially if
you have a more neutral color,say a white house, and you have
a gray shingle on it, you couldsit there and go well, can I
change colors?
Because if you're not doinganything crazy, the price is the
same.
(19:48):
You could go with a really darkcharcoal, or more a black color
on your roof and make it lookkind of like a new house, as
long as it matches some of yourother trim, and that's, I guess,
kind of a cool opportunity tochange up your house.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, roof is a big deal when you pull in.
She has a the Allen lady I justmentioned.
She has a reddish color shingleand it goes with the theme of
her shutters and even the therock border that she had around
her house.
It all goes in and she has ablack accent brick in her brick
veneer.
So we whittled it down to redor black and you know that black
high definition shingle that weput on everywhere is just so
(20:23):
sharp that she said she thoughtshe would just change it up,
like you mentioned.
And when I say that black highdef shingle, it's going to make
her house look like a completelydifferent home.
It's going to do the trick,makes it pop.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
I want you also to quickly explain, as we mentioned
at the beginning of thisepisode about flashing.
Some people don't understandwhat it is, so they're not sure
what they should be looking for.
So could you give a basicdefinition of what flashing is
and how people could identify iton their house or around the
chimney, for example, and howthey could identify if maybe
(20:54):
it's damaged and they need tocontact you?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Right.
So flashing goes anywhere.
You have a roof slope meeting avertical protrusion, so
anything that comes up throughyour roof or if your roof butts
into a chimney, then that'sgoing to require flashing.
And there's two types.
There's step flashing andcounter flashing.
The step flashing is what'sdoing all the work and if you do
(21:17):
the shingles up the side of abrick chimney, for instance,
every shingle gets an L-shapedpiece of flashing.
So you put the shingle down, theL-shaped piece of flashing, and
you nail that flashingunderneath what would be the
next shingle up, so the stepflashing goes under each one to
shed water.
The step flashing has to becapped off with the counter
flashing, which is what you see,that the straight line metal,
(21:39):
and so a lot of times, dependingon the application, a lot of
times if you have a vinyl sidingchimney or vinyl siding on the
house, you only need the stepflashing and the J channel and
the vinyl serve as the counterflashing.
But if you have a brick veneerchimney I think you have that at
your house then you'll want togo with the uh, with with the
counter flashing on top.
That matches the roof color inmost cases and a couple of
(22:01):
different ways.
People like that, eitherstraight line in some
circumstances, or they want thatwhat you call stepped, and so
it steps along the mortar jointsof the brick and it's a little
more expensive to do that andyou know, it's a good look and
it's how they used to do everysingle house, but it takes about
all day if you have severalareas that need to be cut in
that way.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
And you don't spend a whole lot of time looking at
the flashing around the base ofyour chimney and stuff like that
.
And of course we already know,donnie not a big fan of chimneys
because that's a possible pointof intrusion by water I love a
chimney and so you know eachtheir own.
We can still manage to getalong, you know, it's okay.
Gutters and downspouts veryimportant and ever driven by a
(22:48):
house and you see the what Icall the waterfall effect going
over a gutter, which clearlyindicates if it's not a
obviously a monsoon but a normalrain.
You've got clogged gutters,you've got a big issue and that
can lead to to a bunch of otherstuff.
And you do gutters also, right.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Yeah, we do, and I like to encourage people and,
depending on the size of thehouse, if it's a smaller house
with a modest roof pitch, thatwatershed is not going to come
off but so aggressive.
But if you have one of thesehouses that are so popular now,
with a 30 foot rafter run and a12, 12 pitch, and you know that
that baby is 45 feet in the air,then it's a no brainer to go
with six inch gutters, and thestandard gutter size is a five
(23:28):
inch.
It doesn't sound like a bigjump to go to the six inch, but
the amount of volume that it canhold is exponentially more hits
it can really handle and you'renot just accounting for volume,
you're counting for runoffspeed and at the bottom of those
valleys that's a lot of waterchanneled to that one specific
spot.
But yeah, the gutters.
If anybody had hail damage andwants the gutters replaced, I
(23:49):
highly encourage that.
$1 more per foot is well worthit to go with a six inch.
What kills me is the people whodo their gutter.
They replace their gutters andthen they call us for the roof.
I'm thinking that was the cartbefore the horse, but it is what
it is and we're very carefuland and we still make it work.
But the right order is rooffirst, gutter second.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
So you would come in at, like you'd come to my house
and you'd peel off the gutters.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Then peel off the roof, put the roof on and then
put on the new gutters.
I guess it's that simple.
No, a lot of times we leave thegutters in place because we
want to make sure that the waythat we cut our shingles sheds
appropriately into the gutter.
That's there.
So we let the gutter folks takedown the gutters when they do
the replacement, because theycan see what you have and it
kind of gives them a pattern tofollow as well.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Once again why you need a pro to do this, because I
would have just thought commonsense it's like deconstruction
and reconstruction of the roofand the gutter system.
But that makes perfect sensebecause until they see the slope
and how everything is, theycould put in wrong size or maybe
have the angle, Because thereis a little science to the angle
of the gutter against the roof.
It's not like a perfectly flatpoint.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
We have shingle overhang requirements where the
shingle overhang has to go aspecific distance into that
gutter for the gutter to beeffective and, like I mentioned,
every roof is different.
So we kind of like to leavethose in place and make sure we
do it right.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Hey, that's the number one thing is get the job
done right, especially when itcomes to your roof.
Suretoproofingcom is theroofing company that Donnie owns
, if you want to give them acall if you suspect you have any
roof damage or anything likethat.
Now let's nerd out for a coupleminutes that we have left.
In the Carolina Contractor Showyou see information and things
(25:32):
that are new products or newinstalls or anything.
We got advancements that areworth talking about coming down
the road new shingles, newinstallation techniques
something that the averageperson might not get, but the
nerd and all of us who likeconstruction would.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I'll backtrack for a second, and I think the last
time we did a roof show, the HDZwas the big new thing that GAF
had come out with, and highdefinition is the HD.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And then I know you say Z stands for zombie, but
they would never go with that.
They wouldn't go with it.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Yeah, so it stands for strike zone, because when
they put the top and bottomlayer of that architectural
shingle together, a high nailedroof is just about the worst
thing you can have, and that'sthat's pretty darn common.
So what they did to offset thatis, they made a bigger strike
zone, so it's almost two inches,just shy of two inches, so that
the installer in the field hasa bigger variance to install
(26:20):
that nail.
Field has a bigger variance toinstall that nail, and that was
the big thing back then.
Designer shingles are slowlybut surely making a comeback and
there was a day when they saidthat designer shingles would
replace architectural shingles,the way that architectural
shingles replaced three tabshingles.
So we actually own the domainname designer shingle no S,
designer shingle dot com andwe're we're in the process of
(26:42):
redoing the website.
We'll do a big show about that,but we're I bought I don't know
how I got it, but I gotarchitectural shingle dot com as
well and we're doing a big, bigwebsite which is already in
place at designer shingle, butwe're going to overhaul the
whole thing and incorporate thatinto the suretoproofingcom
website so that we havebasically an online gallery that
that anybody can use, whetherit be a customer or a competitor
(27:05):
.
We're going to make it superfriendly.
But to answer your question,that was a long winded back
answer.
Um, to answer your question, Ithink the latest greatest thing
is that, uh, back answer.
To answer your question, Ithink the latest greatest thing
is that GAF had a series calledAmerican Harvest and there were
a bunch of new colors that cameout with American Harvest and
they used to cost a little morebut they incorporated that into
the HDZ line.
So basically, american Harvest.
(27:31):
We have all these new beautifulcolors to choose from.
There may be a lead timedepending on the color because
they're not a common stock item,but they did include those in
the HDZ line.
But the biggest breakthrough isthat they have a 25-year algae
warranty on the shingles now.
So for the whole time we've beenin roofing it's been a 10-year
algae deterrent warranty and ifyou've ridden down the street
and you see these folks whosehouses face the north, they have
(27:53):
these ugly algae streaks andyou know a lot of people get
roof replacements just becauseof that.
But this new algae warranty, oralgae deterrent warranty, has
been increased from 10 years to25 years, which is really strong
, and the way they pull that offis they treat these things with
copper oxide in the plantduring the production process
(28:14):
and the way that they stepped itup from a 10, that was how they
did the 10 year.
The way they stepped it up isthey almost have uh what's a
good way to explain it A timerelease capsule.
So they have these almost likea time release pill that you
would take time released copperthat will uh release over the 25
year span and it releases anever so slight amount of that,
(28:35):
but that's enough to keep thatalgae from growing on there for
25 years, really strong and thestrike zone was to make it
easier for installation rightthe z that was that was strictly
.
They didn't want anybody to andfrom their, from their end, they
don't want a bunch ofmanufacturer defects or they
don't want claims that they haveto come out and then they say,
well, you, you high, nailed it,you installed it wrong in the
field.
And I think that's what reallylit the fire for them to make
(28:58):
that advancement, becausethey're coming out there and the
shingles are coming apart andthey're saying, well, that
wasn't our fault, our shinglewas fine, you installed it
incorrectly.
So when they saw that, for afew years, uh, they responded
accordingly, which I think iswonderful because they got
proactive and they said we'regoing to make this change.
And they, they mechanicallyattached the bottom and the top
layer, sort of like a plasticpackage.
(29:18):
You know, when we were kids orwhen I was a kid, it was a lot
longer for you, but, um, when wewere kids, it you could just
pull a package apart and thenthey made you work for it.
You know, they mechanicallyattached that perimeter in the
plastic where they embedded thetop and the bottom layer.
Same exact concept with theshingle, but it's very simple
but genius.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Well played.
You deserve that.
I usually give the smart aleckremarks, but you landed that
plane very well.
I will bow to your excellencetoday on the smart ass joke.
You got me by a few years.
Yeah, yeah, you got me on that.
I do want to say that I'mfamiliar, obviously, with
designer shingles, architecturalshingles and, man, it's a
little bit more money per squarebut they are cool looking when
(29:59):
they get done on a house.
I would have never thoughtbefore I got introduced to you
and then how all this kept going, that I would drive around and
go, ooh, they got those nice newdesigner shingles.
They're really nice lookingwhen they're put up on a house,
whether it's an old house orbrand new build, they look so
(30:20):
sharp.
So I'm excited talking aboutthe designer shinglecom site in
the future when you get thatrevamped.
Yes, sir, likewise I have a lotto say about it.
All right, well, we uh againstress if you think you had
storm damage, especially hadstorm damage, especially to your
roof, go ahead and give SureTopRoofing a call.
There's several locations.
The easiest thing to do is goto SureTopRoofingcom and call
(30:41):
from there and set up anappointment.
As Donnie said which, again, Ididn't know, donnie, all this
time, one of the things you dois you can come out and just
take care of basics.
They might not have roof damage, but repairing pipe boots yeah,
I said it roof damage, butrepairing pipe boots yeah, I
said it.
Pipe boots that dry, rot outand putting down nail pops and
stuff.
That by itself is a greatlittle service to be able to
(31:01):
provide people, if you can say,hey, that's all we had to do,
you had some loose stuff, but,man, your roof protects
everything inside your house, solet him come out there and look
at it and make sure it's right.
It's not going to take long andyou're just going to get a much
better roof install when you dosomebody local.
And again, avoid the stormchasers that are coming into
(31:22):
town to do these repairs becausethey're going to hit you quick,
take care of the insurance andleave you with a problem.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Hey, speaking of insurance, I recently got
connected with someone from theDepartment of Insurance, so I
think a good follow up to thisshow is that we should get them
on in the future.
They, they policed the stormchasers and the word on the
street all these years was thatonly Texas and Florida did that,
because they have hailstormsevery year in Texas and
hurricanes every year in Florida.
Well, that's not so.
(31:49):
And this department, I guess inNorth Carolina, they lay low,
I'm sorry, the division of theDepartment of Insurance in North
Carolina.
They lay low until they don't.
And so the fellow that I metsaid that they were all highly
trained.
He said we got no new guys.
Everybody's a seasoned vet inhere.
And when people commit theinsurance fraud through the
storm chasers where they go,damage the roofs and we didn't
(32:11):
mention that earlier, but thatdoes happen where they tear
shingles up and try to get aclaim, this guy said they're the
folks who police that, and Ithink that that'll be a great
show.
They'll have a lot to say.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
We'll put information up on the website,
thecarolinacontractorcom andlook for a future show talking
to the experts in North Carolinaabout tackling insurance fraud,
especially when it comes to thestorm chasers.
And again, I cannot stress thisenough, it's not hard to do
Contact suretoproofingcom.
(32:42):
Let them come look at your roofIf you had storm damage or you
think you had storm damage, andput your mind at ease.
Let them take care of you andyou can sleep better at night,
not wondering if you've gotdamage that's going to turn into
a bigger problem.
Website Website, again,thecarolinacontractorcom, and we
thank you for tuning in,checking us out on YouTube and
we will see you again next week.
Thanks for your time everybody.
(33:02):
Thanks for listening to theCarolina Contractor Show.
Visit thecarolinacontractorcom.
Welcome to the Carolina Contractor Show with
your host, general ContractorDonnie Blanchard.
Okay, donnie, you're not a bigNCAA bracket person, or you
aren't this year, did you even?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
fill one out.
I'm ashamed to say I did not.
This is the first time I haveit in a long time.
But man, we've just been sobusy, and thanks be to the Lord
for that one, because you knowthings were slow through the
winter, but we're coming outswinging and so?
No, the answer is no.
I'm a big Duke fan, but I didnot even have a chance to show
them working their way all theway to the championship.
(00:33):
How about?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
you.
Yeah well, that's all big, fineand dandy, but, more
importantly, we're entering thethird year of the Home Builders
Supply Eric Smith InvitationalNCAA Brackets.
I'm the two-time defendingchampion of this.
Everybody's picking Duke thisyear, though for the most part I
did.
Now that everything's locked in, you can't cheat.
One person picked Auburn and atthe recording of this show
(01:00):
they're all still in it.
I mean, it's just the firsthalf of a day.
I did miss theCreighton-Louisville game.
Did you see any of that today?
You're probably working.
I had a TV behind me, no funnyenough I did.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I went next door to the office and got a quesadilla
from Wings to Go which isphenomenal these days and while
I was waiting on my quesadillathey had the Louisville game on.
They had the Louisville game onand Louisville didn't look like
they were doing so hot.
I want to say they're one oftheir main shooters got hurt
while I was sitting therewatching the game, so I didn't.
I didn't see a good endinginsight for those guys, yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
It wasn't that you knew by halftime that they
weren't going to come back fromthat.
And kudos to Creighton.
It's not like a big upset.
Was number nine over numbereight Right?
But anyways, our work, becausesome jobs if they have people
doing brackets they don't wantmoney because it kind of hits
that gray line of is the companyor business endorsing gambling
or holding it.
So they do a paid day off forthe winner.
(01:53):
Winner takes all.
So it's kind of cool thateverybody's going.
Hmm, I could get a paid day offand nobody likes me at work
because they think I cheat,because I don't watch college
basketball hardly at all.
I don't analyze, but I justlook at trends, I guess I would
say.
And interestingly enough,there's only been one time where
all number one seeds ended upin the final four.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
We'll see.
I'm rooting for you, notagainst you this year.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yeah, man, they'll be mad if I win it for the third
year.
They'll think there's a fix.
Okay, let's get to work.
This is the Carolina ContractorShow and again, my name is Eric
Smith, two-time defendingchampion of the Home Builders
NCAA men's basketball bracket.
During this time of year Peopledon't like me at work because
they think it's a rigged gameand I always win it.
(02:38):
But hey, we'll see.
This year I'm not feeling quiteas confident.
Across from me, Donnie Blanchard, owner of SureTop Roofing.
Owner of Blanchard BuildingCompany, also a licensed general
contractor, and boy, it sure isgoing to be good for today's
show to have you on, Donnie,because, being the owner of
SureTop Roofing and knowing theinside and outside of roofs and
how to not only put on a newroof or a new build when we have
(03:03):
storms roll through, like wedid last week, storm damage is a
big thing and there's a lot ofthings that can happen to a roof
that you might be able to seeand might not be able to see.
So today we want to start offtalking about what to do if you
think you might have stormdamage, or maybe you didn't even
have storm damage, or you didand you don't even think you had
(03:27):
the damage because you justdon't have that trained pro eye.
So, uh, I say we just jump intothis real quick, Donnie.
What's?
What's the first thing peopleneed to be aware of when it
comes to their roof after a bigstorm?
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Well, there's several things, depending on whether it
be wind or hail damage.
I'll start with hail, becausewe just had that huge hail storm
run through Greensboro and it'sthe first time in more than a
decade we've had hail that size.
So certain parts of Greensborogot over golf ball size and
personally I looked at a few ofthose houses and you know, golf
ball size hail stone does a lotof damage.
(04:01):
It'll shred the siding, itreally compromises the roof and
I'll get into the ways it doesthat in a moment.
But, uh, the obvious things arethat you want to just take a
look around the house, usuallybetween your cars, if they're
sitting outside the garage andyou're landscaping.
You know that stuff kind ofshreds everything in its path.
So if things are in disarray, uh, you can probably bet that it
(04:22):
did the same thing to your houseand your roof is still
functional after a hail storm.
I've never seen a circumstancewhere a hail stone made it all
the way through the roof andmade a hole in your roof.
But it does compromise thefinishes, meaning the asphalt
layer, that that basicallyprotects the fiberglass mat of
your shingles, you know it.
Uh, the aluminum, the gutterssystem.
(04:42):
It's going to basically dentthose up and compromise the, the
baked on finish there.
So it does.
It can do a lot of damage andand it's not uh damage that's
going to affect you immediately.
But if you let it go over time,those things are going to wear
out a lot quicker than theywould have hey donnie.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Side note is that fancy copper trim more
susceptible to dents than like atraditional metal roof.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Absolutely.
With the flashing that you have, the thickness of the aluminum
is similar to the thickness ofthe copper and, especially if
you have, we use a flat sheet ofmetal sometimes instead of the
aluminum to do our flashing.
But copper is just so malleable, it's soft, and so if you have
copper it's a double-edged swordbecause it's going to show the
(05:28):
hail damage a lot worse thanmetal would.
And if you have the right kindof insurance, then they're going
to pay for that and they'regoing to pay more for that
copper.
But if I had it to do and Ididn't have a copper theme, I
would side with metal every timebecause it just holds up better
.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
I think maybe talking about storm damage to your roof
, then obviously a tree or abranch or something falls.
We know that's going toprobably do something, but let's
probably focus on the hailtoday.
And one thing I do want tostress is there's a difference
between someone like you whoowns an established, reputable
company that's local.
(06:02):
The big problem when stormscome through are storm chasers.
There's several things.
You have to look out for astorm chaser.
You got to avoid them, buthere's how you can.
There are a couple of thingsyou can tell.
One of them is they pop up outof nowhere.
Usually, something on theirtruck indicates they're out of
town or even out of state,sometimes states away.
(06:23):
Describe your battle with stormchasers when they come into
town after a big storm, donnie.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Well, whether it's legit damage or not, they're
knocking on every door and thoseguys are very aggressive.
We've seen just in the lastcouple of days they've been here
from Texas, myrtle Beach,florida, indiana so hailstorms
haven't been as prevalent in thelast 10 years as they were in
the previous 10 before that.
So these guys are vultures andthey come and they don't care
about you.
(06:51):
They don't care about your uh,your insurance claim history.
They don't care about, uh,anything except turning a quick
buck.
So they may knock on 40 or 50doors in a day and they're going
to tell you a hailstorm, passthrough here.
You, your 40 or 50 doors in aday and they're going to tell
you a hailstorm, pass throughhere.
Your roof is damaged is usuallytheir tagline, and they'll want
to get up there and take a look.
Most people say if it doesn'tcost me anything, go ahead.
(07:11):
Well, they're going to tell you, without you seeing for
yourself, that you have haildamage up there and they're
going to encourage you toinitiate an insurance claim.
What they're not telling you isthat if you really have minimal
hail damage there's a sign ofhail but it doesn't look like
you've had displacement ofasphalt granules and, like I
mentioned earlier.
We'll do a deeper dive on thatof what a hailstone actually
(07:33):
does to an asphalt shingle, butthey're going to try to get you
to initiate that claim becauseif they do that to 20, 30 people
and get that many bites in aday, then half of those may end
up being insurance claims thatgo through and so you get your
roof replaced on the insurancecompany's dime and it's just not
a.
It's not a process.
That's only up and up and it'svery dishonest.
Uh, the one thing that they doand we've preached about this
(07:55):
and I think it's been a whilesince we did a roofing show but
they will say that, uh, you needto sign this contingency
agreement and what thatcontingency agreement states is
that if I get the insurancecompany to pay for your roof,
then you are obligated to gowith us as your roofer and that
gives them an open door to tryto milk the insurance company
(08:16):
for all they can get.
And when I said it's verydishonest, it's very unfair to
the insurance company.
That is and someone like uswe're locally owned, operated.
The insurance companies knowthat we're honest operations, so
they refer people to us whenthey call to say, hey, do I have
damage, they'll ask me to goout there and check it out and
(08:36):
just give them an honestassessment and a lot of times,
more times than not, we say no,you don't have legitimate damage
and you may have a little bit,but it's not enough to qualify
for replacement.
You know you don't havelegitimate damage and you may
have a little bit, but it's notenough to qualify for
replacement, which is the exactopposite of what a storm chaser
will do.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Can you, donnie, with your experience, pull up to the
curb of a house because someonecalled and said, hey, sure, top
roofing, I think I may havedamage?
Can you just, in their driveway, identify something from, just
from your truck?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
It's tough from the truck, other than the
landscaping being shredded, likeI mentioned earlier, you can
see that if they haven't cleanedthat part up.
But you really need to getclose to the house and the way
the insurance companies labelthis is collateral damage,
meaning something other than theroof.
So handrails, downspouts forgutters, things that you can see
and touch right there from theground.
A lot of times those are, youknow, the handrails are hollow
(09:30):
PVC or, of course, thedownspouts are um, aluminum and
they're going to show.
They're going to show a hailstrike If there were any hail
present that was big enough todo any damage.
Those are good indicators.
Your outside vehicles, like Imentioned earlier, and I know
the one thing we joke about is,you know your mailbox will tell
the tale and that's the easiestway.
But it takes a heck of ahailstone to dent a mailbox
because most of those are athicker gauge aluminum I'm sorry
(09:51):
, thicker gauge metal.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Does SureTop Roofing handle the insurance?
So if you say yeah, your roofis damaged, you need to contact
the insurance company.
Is that something you help ahomeowner with?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
If they ask, yes, we do and we're glad to do that.
But we're upfront about whatthey should expect.
And a lot of times people willsay we want to handle our
insurance claim Ourself, willlet you know if it's approved or
denied.
And then there are other peoplewho we've gained their trust
over the years and they want usto meet the adjuster and pretty
(10:23):
much handle everything start tofinish.
I tend to say that the lattergives you better success because
we don't push and we certainlydon't even tell you to initiate
the claim if your damage isn'tlegitimate.
I should have mentioned that afew seconds ago when we were
talking about what happens ifthey do deny the claim.
But if you call an insuranceadjuster out, go through with
the claim and they don't findany damage or they find minimal
(10:44):
damage that doesn't even exceedyour deductible, then you have a
claim history from that dayforward and that follows you, no
matter which insurance companyyou have, for forever.
So it makes you a calculatedrisk and the answer is yes, it
can make your premiums go up and, like I mentioned, those storm
chasers, they don't care aboutany of that.
They're just trying to get in,get your roof and get gone.
And so those guys, they're justbad all the way around and from
(11:09):
a warranty standpoint they'renot going to come back.
From an installation standpoint, they don't have local
installers.
They're just trying to findsubcontractor crews any way they
possibly can.
So, uh, encourage everybody ifthey're from out of state or
have a 1-800 number on theirtruck, don't answer the door,
and if you do, politely let themknow that you'll be going with
somebody local.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Yeah, and I was going to mention that about
warranties and installation, andthey're going to do things that
will, even if you get thehigh-end shingle, say the GAF,
if you don't use starter stripthat's recommended or it's not
installed by a certifiedinstaller, the warranty isn't
going to be there.
And those guys that are lookingto shred a roof, put a new one
on, get a check and get out oftown.
They're not going to come back.
(11:48):
If you have a small installerror where some shingles
weren't put in correctly,they're going to be up and
disappear.
So, like you said all around,if they're not from town, avoid
them like the plague and call anestablished local roofing
company that can take care of it, and we'll put that information
up on the website.
Of course we havesuretoproofingcom, but you can
(12:08):
also find it atthecarolinacontractorcom.
Do want to mention we uploadthese shows onto our YouTube
channel.
We have links there, along withall the other social media.
So again, hitthecarolinacontractorcom.
So we've talked about thebasics people can look for.
Missing shingles is kind of anobvious thing.
If they're turned up or bent,that's a time to call a pro.
(12:29):
Inside the house would there beindications of roof damage?
But you see it on the inside.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Yep, let me answer that one in one second.
I want to comment on what yousaid about missing shingles or
shingles turned up.
That falls in the category ofwind damage and if your
insurance company comes out,they're going to delineate that
the cause of loss matters andevery cause of loss has a
separate deductible.
So if it's wind damage, they'llwrite the roof as wind damage,
which is very straightforward.
(12:55):
Hail damage is subjective tothe adjuster or the insurance
company's requirements.
With hail damage, what they dois what they call a test square.
So they'll draw out a 10 by 10section on every slope and they
count how many hail strikes theycan find in that 10 by 10 area.
So I won't call anybody by name, but there are some insurance
companies who just absolutelywill not pay unless there are,
(13:16):
unless that test square is justpeppered.
And there's other people thatsays, hey, if there's you know
six or eight in there, thenwe're good to go.
But uh, to comment on thatseparate deductible issue, one
thing that I've been seeing, andsince my insurance adjuster
days, gosh, 12, 15 years ago 15years ago everybody had a $500
or $1,000 deductible.
Well, the insurance companiesgot wise that so many folks are
(13:39):
out there filing claims for windand hail that they have issued
I'd say 90% of the population aseparate wind and hail
deductible and sometimes that'sanywhere from 1% to 2% depending
on the cost of your premium.
So usually you're usually ableto choose which one you want,
but most of the people choose ahigher deductible.
So I've been running into folkssince this hail storm hit that
have deductibles anywhere fromtwo to four to $5,000 on a
(14:02):
larger home and and that'sreally a big decision you got to
make you still win.
If they pay for it and you comeout of pocket everything but
that $3,000, then it's still awin, but it's not like it used
to be All right.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Thank you for doing that Again.
It's why we like having someonewho's a professional when it
comes to roof repair, because itis a big investment and people
don't understand how theinsurance policy follows you.
Okay, so I was going to say soagain.
Is there something you can seeinside that you can't see
outside that might indicate trueroof damage?
(14:34):
Right?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Not.
Uh, really not with with hail,with wind, the answer is yes
because, uh, normally with winddamage it'll flip a shingle back
and tear it off and it's justgone, even if it's creased or or
raised still have wind-drivenrain get under there.
If there's any kind of damage toflashing or pipe boots,
normally that just gives astraight line of water to come
down.
And I tell people, if you'reagile enough to get into your
(14:56):
attic, that's a good way tostart.
Go in the attic, pop on thelights and if there's a drip in
any direction, you can usuallysee it.
The reason that's a better waythan looking from the inside is
that insulation in the overheadceiling is usually going to
absorb rain for, I don't know,months in some cases.
So, depending on the type ofinsulation, it could turn into a
big sponge up there and it willmask the problem for a long,
(15:19):
long time.
So, getting in the attic andjust laying eyes on it and we do
that when we come and inspect aroof we'll inspect in the attic
for you at no charge.
But really you have to be inthe attic during a rainstorm and
it's just kind of one of thosethings that falls on the
homeowner in most cases.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Granular damage to the shingle versus a shingle
wearing out?
Can hail really make enoughdamage that the granular makeup
of that shingle starts comingoff?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yes, and so how hail damages a shingle is it
displaces the granules, meaninglike, uh, you know they, they,
they show pictures of a asteroidhit on the moon or or you know
some kind of uh, something thatmakes landfall here and it just
basically displaces the dirt ina circular shape.
It's that on a very small level.
(16:03):
And and what's happening is,when those asphalt granules are
displaced, it exposes thefiberglass mat below, and the
fiberglass mat is the realroofing material.
The color that you see is inthe asphalt granules, and all
those asphalt granules are doingis protecting the fiberglass
mat.
So basically they're like asunscreen.
And people confuse that becausethe asphalt looks like it's the
(16:25):
roofing material but it's reallynot what's keeping the water
out.
So the way that themanufacturers word the warranty
information is after a hailstormyour warranty is voided with
most of the manufacturersbecause they claim that the
shingle will deteriorate at anaccelerated rate.
So once that fiberglass mat isexposed, it's going to spiderweb
to the next hail strike and thenext hail strike and basically
(16:50):
when that roof was made, to losegranules at a certain rate over
time.
So you know, granule loss isnot something that's not
supposed to happen, but when itdoes it at a faster rate and
that 30 year roof that you usedto have breaks down in 10,
that's why it is warranted as alegitimate insurance claim.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
If you hear branches hitting your roof in the middle
of a storm, that thud that weall fear and I don't mean big
six-inch around diameterbranches, but you hear a lot of
branches and you have branchdebris in your yard and maybe
there's nothing sitting on yourroof after the storm.
If you hear that, is thatprobably a reason you should
call to get an inspection.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I think so Absolutely .
Um had a windstorm blow throughmaybe three, four weeks ago and
, um, you know, especially ifyou're in a wood, heavily wooded
lot, that's something thatyou'd be wise to get checked out
, because it's nothing for a abranch to just make contact in
in the absolute right way.
Where it hits between two roofrafters and all you have there
(17:51):
is a piece of shingle and then ahalf inch piece of plywood
there, so something the diameterof your wrist could hit that
and it could go through yourroof.
I just had that happen.
My fiance's house had basicallylooked like it's covered in
tree debris and one of thosepieces of debris happened to go
all the way through and it wasfunny because it continued to
rain after that and it sealed sotight when it went through the
(18:14):
roof that she didn't get anywater inside.
But that that's definitelysomething worth checking out.
So if you I'd say a goodindicator is if it's not plain
to see if you have a lot of treedebris on your roof, you know
that's one of those things wherewe can come look at it and just
make sure everything is okay.
And and you know a lot of times, if it's not a lot, we'll just
take care of the tree debris andknock it off there for you.
(18:35):
But, um, yeah, we had a.
We had a really sweet lady callin last week after the storms
and her name was Ann Allen.
She's 90 years old and Ms Allenwas just.
I don't have any grandparentsleft, so I just I love older
people and when I say thislady's 90, but her yard looks
like she's about 40.
She maintains an amazing, anamazing lot.
(18:57):
I mean all the way around her.
She has a border all the wayaround her house and um, uh,
just, I was just blown away thatshe was 90 years old.
Uh, she still had it, has itall together and and, as a hard
worker, and uh, of course, herroof.
You know it wasn't in thegreatest shape, but we could
have got her down the road alittle bit longer, with maybe a
(19:19):
repair, but I think she justwants to.
Hey, we'll be glad to check youout for maintenance sake and
and I think we're going to endup putting a new roof on for her
, but we don't charge anythingfor that service.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
So, yeah, please call if there's anything in question
like that you know that is abonus if you go through the
process of having to get a newroof and maybe, especially if
you have a more neutral color,say a white house, and you have
a gray shingle on it, you couldsit there and go well, can I
change colors?
Because if you're not doinganything crazy, the price is the
same.
(19:48):
You could go with a really darkcharcoal, or more a black color
on your roof and make it lookkind of like a new house, as
long as it matches some of yourother trim, and that's, I guess,
kind of a cool opportunity tochange up your house.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Yeah, roof is a big deal when you pull in.
She has a the Allen lady I justmentioned.
She has a reddish color shingleand it goes with the theme of
her shutters and even the therock border that she had around
her house.
It all goes in and she has ablack accent brick in her brick
veneer.
So we whittled it down to redor black and you know that black
high definition shingle that weput on everywhere is just so
(20:23):
sharp that she said she thoughtshe would just change it up,
like you mentioned.
And when I say that black highdef shingle, it's going to make
her house look like a completelydifferent home.
It's going to do the trick,makes it pop.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
I want you also to quickly explain, as we mentioned
at the beginning of thisepisode about flashing.
Some people don't understandwhat it is, so they're not sure
what they should be looking for.
So could you give a basicdefinition of what flashing is
and how people could identify iton their house or around the
chimney, for example, and howthey could identify if maybe
(20:54):
it's damaged and they need tocontact you?
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Right.
So flashing goes anywhere.
You have a roof slope meeting avertical protrusion, so
anything that comes up throughyour roof or if your roof butts
into a chimney, then that'sgoing to require flashing.
And there's two types.
There's step flashing andcounter flashing.
The step flashing is what'sdoing all the work and if you do
(21:17):
the shingles up the side of abrick chimney, for instance,
every shingle gets an L-shapedpiece of flashing.
So you put the shingle down, theL-shaped piece of flashing, and
you nail that flashingunderneath what would be the
next shingle up, so the stepflashing goes under each one to
shed water.
The step flashing has to becapped off with the counter
flashing, which is what you see,that the straight line metal,
(21:39):
and so a lot of times, dependingon the application, a lot of
times if you have a vinyl sidingchimney or vinyl siding on the
house, you only need the stepflashing and the J channel and
the vinyl serve as the counterflashing.
But if you have a brick veneerchimney I think you have that at
your house then you'll want togo with the uh, with with the
counter flashing on top.
That matches the roof color inmost cases and a couple of
(22:01):
different ways.
People like that, eitherstraight line in some
circumstances, or they want thatwhat you call stepped, and so
it steps along the mortar jointsof the brick and it's a little
more expensive to do that andyou know, it's a good look and
it's how they used to do everysingle house, but it takes about
all day if you have severalareas that need to be cut in
that way.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
And you don't spend a whole lot of time looking at
the flashing around the base ofyour chimney and stuff like that
.
And of course we already know,donnie not a big fan of chimneys
because that's a possible pointof intrusion by water I love a
chimney and so you know eachtheir own.
We can still manage to getalong, you know, it's okay.
Gutters and downspouts veryimportant and ever driven by a
(22:48):
house and you see the what Icall the waterfall effect going
over a gutter, which clearlyindicates if it's not a
obviously a monsoon but a normalrain.
You've got clogged gutters,you've got a big issue and that
can lead to to a bunch of otherstuff.
And you do gutters also, right.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Yeah, we do, and I like to encourage people and,
depending on the size of thehouse, if it's a smaller house
with a modest roof pitch, thatwatershed is not going to come
off but so aggressive.
But if you have one of thesehouses that are so popular now,
with a 30 foot rafter run and a12, 12 pitch, and you know that
that baby is 45 feet in the air,then it's a no brainer to go
with six inch gutters, and thestandard gutter size is a five
(23:28):
inch.
It doesn't sound like a bigjump to go to the six inch, but
the amount of volume that it canhold is exponentially more hits
it can really handle and you'renot just accounting for volume,
you're counting for runoffspeed and at the bottom of those
valleys that's a lot of waterchanneled to that one specific
spot.
But yeah, the gutters.
If anybody had hail damage andwants the gutters replaced, I
(23:49):
highly encourage that.
$1 more per foot is well worthit to go with a six inch.
What kills me is the people whodo their gutter.
They replace their gutters andthen they call us for the roof.
I'm thinking that was the cartbefore the horse, but it is what
it is and we're very carefuland and we still make it work.
But the right order is rooffirst, gutter second.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
So you would come in at, like you'd come to my house
and you'd peel off the gutters.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Then peel off the roof, put the roof on and then
put on the new gutters.
I guess it's that simple.
No, a lot of times we leave thegutters in place because we
want to make sure that the waythat we cut our shingles sheds
appropriately into the gutter.
That's there.
So we let the gutter folks takedown the gutters when they do
the replacement, because theycan see what you have and it
kind of gives them a pattern tofollow as well.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
Once again why you need a pro to do this, because I
would have just thought commonsense it's like deconstruction
and reconstruction of the roofand the gutter system.
But that makes perfect sensebecause until they see the slope
and how everything is, theycould put in wrong size or maybe
have the angle, Because thereis a little science to the angle
of the gutter against the roof.
It's not like a perfectly flatpoint.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
We have shingle overhang requirements where the
shingle overhang has to go aspecific distance into that
gutter for the gutter to beeffective and, like I mentioned,
every roof is different.
So we kind of like to leavethose in place and make sure we
do it right.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Hey, that's the number one thing is get the job
done right, especially when itcomes to your roof.
Suretoproofingcom is theroofing company that Donnie owns
, if you want to give them acall if you suspect you have any
roof damage or anything likethat.
Now let's nerd out for a coupleminutes that we have left.
In the Carolina Contractor Showyou see information and things
(25:32):
that are new products or newinstalls or anything.
We got advancements that areworth talking about coming down
the road new shingles, newinstallation techniques
something that the averageperson might not get, but the
nerd and all of us who likeconstruction would.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I'll backtrack for a second, and I think the last
time we did a roof show, the HDZwas the big new thing that GAF
had come out with, and highdefinition is the HD.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And then I know you say Z stands for zombie, but
they would never go with that.
They wouldn't go with it.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Yeah, so it stands for strike zone, because when
they put the top and bottomlayer of that architectural
shingle together, a high nailedroof is just about the worst
thing you can have, and that'sthat's pretty darn common.
So what they did to offset thatis, they made a bigger strike
zone, so it's almost two inches,just shy of two inches, so that
the installer in the field hasa bigger variance to install
(26:20):
that nail.
Field has a bigger variance toinstall that nail, and that was
the big thing back then.
Designer shingles are slowlybut surely making a comeback and
there was a day when they saidthat designer shingles would
replace architectural shingles,the way that architectural
shingles replaced three tabshingles.
So we actually own the domainname designer shingle no S,
designer shingle dot com andwe're we're in the process of
(26:42):
redoing the website.
We'll do a big show about that,but we're I bought I don't know
how I got it, but I gotarchitectural shingle dot com as
well and we're doing a big, bigwebsite which is already in
place at designer shingle, butwe're going to overhaul the
whole thing and incorporate thatinto the suretoproofingcom
website so that we havebasically an online gallery that
that anybody can use, whetherit be a customer or a competitor
(27:05):
.
We're going to make it superfriendly.
But to answer your question,that was a long winded back
answer.
Um, to answer your question, Ithink the latest greatest thing
is that, uh, back answer.
To answer your question, Ithink the latest greatest thing
is that GAF had a series calledAmerican Harvest and there were
a bunch of new colors that cameout with American Harvest and
they used to cost a little morebut they incorporated that into
the HDZ line.
So basically, american Harvest.
(27:31):
We have all these new beautifulcolors to choose from.
There may be a lead timedepending on the color because
they're not a common stock item,but they did include those in
the HDZ line.
But the biggest breakthrough isthat they have a 25-year algae
warranty on the shingles now.
So for the whole time we've beenin roofing it's been a 10-year
algae deterrent warranty and ifyou've ridden down the street
and you see these folks whosehouses face the north, they have
(27:53):
these ugly algae streaks andyou know a lot of people get
roof replacements just becauseof that.
But this new algae warranty, oralgae deterrent warranty, has
been increased from 10 years to25 years, which is really strong
, and the way they pull that offis they treat these things with
copper oxide in the plantduring the production process
(28:14):
and the way that they stepped itup from a 10, that was how they
did the 10 year.
The way they stepped it up isthey almost have uh what's a
good way to explain it A timerelease capsule.
So they have these almost likea time release pill that you
would take time released copperthat will uh release over the 25
year span and it releases anever so slight amount of that,
(28:35):
but that's enough to keep thatalgae from growing on there for
25 years, really strong and thestrike zone was to make it
easier for installation rightthe z that was that was strictly
.
They didn't want anybody to andfrom their, from their end, they
don't want a bunch ofmanufacturer defects or they
don't want claims that they haveto come out and then they say,
well, you, you high, nailed it,you installed it wrong in the
field.
And I think that's what reallylit the fire for them to make
(28:58):
that advancement, becausethey're coming out there and the
shingles are coming apart andthey're saying, well, that
wasn't our fault, our shinglewas fine, you installed it
incorrectly.
So when they saw that, for afew years, uh, they responded
accordingly, which I think iswonderful because they got
proactive and they said we'regoing to make this change.
And they, they mechanicallyattached the bottom and the top
layer, sort of like a plasticpackage.
(29:18):
You know, when we were kids orwhen I was a kid, it was a lot
longer for you, but, um, when wewere kids, it you could just
pull a package apart and thenthey made you work for it.
You know, they mechanicallyattached that perimeter in the
plastic where they embedded thetop and the bottom layer.
Same exact concept with theshingle, but it's very simple
but genius.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
Well played.
You deserve that.
I usually give the smart aleckremarks, but you landed that
plane very well.
I will bow to your excellencetoday on the smart ass joke.
You got me by a few years.
Yeah, yeah, you got me on that.
I do want to say that I'mfamiliar, obviously, with
designer shingles, architecturalshingles and, man, it's a
little bit more money per squarebut they are cool looking when
(29:59):
they get done on a house.
I would have never thoughtbefore I got introduced to you
and then how all this kept going, that I would drive around and
go, ooh, they got those nice newdesigner shingles.
They're really nice lookingwhen they're put up on a house,
whether it's an old house orbrand new build, they look so
(30:20):
sharp.
So I'm excited talking aboutthe designer shinglecom site in
the future when you get thatrevamped.
Yes, sir, likewise I have a lotto say about it.
All right, well, we uh againstress if you think you had
storm damage, especially hadstorm damage, especially to your
roof, go ahead and give SureTopRoofing a call.
There's several locations.
The easiest thing to do is goto SureTopRoofingcom and call
(30:41):
from there and set up anappointment.
As Donnie said which, again, Ididn't know, donnie, all this
time, one of the things you dois you can come out and just
take care of basics.
They might not have roof damage, but repairing pipe boots yeah,
I said it roof damage, butrepairing pipe boots yeah, I
said it.
Pipe boots that dry, rot outand putting down nail pops and
stuff.
That by itself is a greatlittle service to be able to
(31:01):
provide people, if you can say,hey, that's all we had to do,
you had some loose stuff, but,man, your roof protects
everything inside your house, solet him come out there and look
at it and make sure it's right.
It's not going to take long andyou're just going to get a much
better roof install when you dosomebody local.
And again, avoid the stormchasers that are coming into
(31:22):
town to do these repairs becausethey're going to hit you quick,
take care of the insurance andleave you with a problem.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Hey, speaking of insurance, I recently got
connected with someone from theDepartment of Insurance, so I
think a good follow up to thisshow is that we should get them
on in the future.
They, they policed the stormchasers and the word on the
street all these years was thatonly Texas and Florida did that,
because they have hailstormsevery year in Texas and
hurricanes every year in Florida.
Well, that's not so.
(31:49):
And this department, I guess inNorth Carolina, they lay low,
I'm sorry, the division of theDepartment of Insurance in North
Carolina.
They lay low until they don't.
And so the fellow that I metsaid that they were all highly
trained.
He said we got no new guys.
Everybody's a seasoned vet inhere.
And when people commit theinsurance fraud through the
storm chasers where they go,damage the roofs and we didn't
(32:11):
mention that earlier, but thatdoes happen where they tear
shingles up and try to get aclaim, this guy said they're the
folks who police that, and Ithink that that'll be a great
show.
They'll have a lot to say.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
We'll put information up on the website,
thecarolinacontractorcom andlook for a future show talking
to the experts in North Carolinaabout tackling insurance fraud,
especially when it comes to thestorm chasers.
And again, I cannot stress thisenough, it's not hard to do
Contact suretoproofingcom.
(32:42):
Let them come look at your roofIf you had storm damage or you
think you had storm damage, andput your mind at ease.
Let them take care of you andyou can sleep better at night,
not wondering if you've gotdamage that's going to turn into
a bigger problem.
Website Website, again,thecarolinacontractorcom, and we
thank you for tuning in,checking us out on YouTube and
we will see you again next week.
Thanks for your time everybody.
(33:02):
Thanks for listening to theCarolina Contractor Show.
Visit thecarolinacontractorcom.
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