Just before publishing Roofing Ripoff, I had received responses from homeowners in all but a handful of states here in the USA and just about every province in Canada.
Here’s one of the first sad stories I received. It was from Mary Johnson who lives in Hamilton, Massachusetts. Here’s what she sent to me:
I paid extra for 30-year shingles. They had a great reputation and cost more. Within five years sections were disintegrating. Other areas still look fine. They are now twelve-years old and I’m going to have to replace them. The company was unresponsive to my questions.
As you can see, some of the shingles are just fine with normal aging. There are patches of severe damage, as if certain bundles were defective. On the backside of the house and garage, the shingles look normal (no shedding). The last photo shows the particles that have been shedding since the first year that the shingles were installed (2003). I sweep up the rubble weekly.
NOTE from Tim Carter: I explain in Roofing Ripoff why the shingles on the backside of Mary’s house look good. You might already have figured out part of the cause.