I just received a letter from the manufacturer of my recently installed roof shingles. The shingle manufacturer is offering to send me a check for $7500 as "full release from any and all claims you have arising out of or in connection with the shingles." That is a $7500 refund on an $8000 roofing job! Is this money that I will have to use to have the roof redone because I went too cheap to begin with? Or is it a sumptuous windfall from my frugality-without-sacrifice* approach to personal finance? Here is the story so you can decide.
Last Fall, I applied my high-outlier-low-outlier approach to getting big job estimates to have my roof replaced.** I saved many thousands and still got a top quality job by a top quality installer using top quality shingles and carrying a full warranty on both the materials and the installation. At the end of the job, the installing company sent its inspector to check the results. He told us there could be a variation in the color of the shingles from what that color was supposed to be. I looked, but how would I tell if the nice color of the shingles was the nice color they were supposed to have? We agreed to have the manufacturer's inspector come take a look.
The manufacturer's inspector came, took photos and went. A short time later we received a letter from the manufacturer telling us that "the color problem you are experiencing will remedy itself after exposure to the elements... so please allow an additional 90 days for this process to take place... after which we will reinvestigate the matter."
Well, I guess they must have reinvestigated and found the color problem to still exist. And so I have that $7500 offer to settle my claim.
IF I had practiced frugality AS sacrifice, I would have looked for and settled for the cheapest roofing job I could get using the cheapest shingles I could find. But that is not what I did. I practiced frugality WITHOUT sacrifice* and looked for the lowest price I could get for a quality job from a quality installer using fully warrantable quality materials. And so, I have my top quality roofing job, shingles that are a bit off-color (to an expert) but still look nice, and an unexpected $7500 check on its way.
Is this dumb luck or the expectable reward from not being penny wise and pound foolish? You already know what I think.
*My Financial Independence Key:
http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.com/2013/12/17/my-financi...
**Big Job Estimates Save Me Big Money:
http://retired-to-win.savingadvice.com/2014/03/20/big-job-es...
April 12th, 2014 at 02:27 pm 1397312866
April 12th, 2014 at 05:49 pm 1397324964
just my 0.02 cents
April 12th, 2014 at 06:01 pm 1397325705
I appreciate the concern, but no no... there is nothing structurally wrong with these 30-year shingles. And the warranty on the installation (correct number of nails, type of underlay, and all) is separate from the shingles warranty and still in force. And, anyhow, the letter from the shingles manufacturer has a section setting out the defects and only color is indicated.
AND anyhow, the $7500 would more than cover the entire cost of new 30-year shingles.
April 12th, 2014 at 06:02 pm 1397325757
ThriftoRama Says:
Um, who cares if the roof shingles don't all match exactly. Cha-ching!
My sentiments exactly, Thriftorama!
Thanks for commenting...
April 12th, 2014 at 11:51 pm 1397346696
April 13th, 2014 at 01:17 am 1397351849
snafu Says:
"I find the whole 30 yr warranty a 'pie in the sky' as people move over a 30 year period..."
I would agree with you, but my wife declared before we had this roof done that it was the last one she would ever do because she has no intentions of moving from this house unless it is feet first. So, we shall see what we shall see...