How Investing in a Roof Membrane Will Save You Money

Mario Ibanez on Jun 20, 2017 1:44:11 PM

Pepperidge Farm

We all love to save money (some of us to a fault), which can sometimes lead to purchasing low priced products that are not worth the price you paid for them. In the quest to save money, we’re really looking for value. The exception to this rule is when the item being purchased is only serving to fix a short-term condition or situation.

This mistake of buying cheap as opposed to buying value is greatly magnified when the item purchased is very expensive. Unfortunately, the pressures against spending what appears to be significantly more, are great. The promises being made by would-be vendors are a panacea, leaving the unsuspecting or uneducated buyer to make what appears to be the logical choice: the cheaper one.

Like many other things, we subconsciously assume that a new large ticket item, such as a roof, should last for many years, trouble-free. 
The problem is that in as little as 6 to 10 years, questions such as, “how long was this roof supposed to last?” or “Is there a warranty?” can be forgotten, either because the paperwork gets lost or employees move on or other reasons. This often leads to roofs not lasting their warranted or implied time period.

As a society, we have been conditioned to rely on warranties as if, it is the existence of one, that makes the product last. Or, if a product lasts a long time that it should have a warranty for that length of time.  Nothing is further from the truth. A product or material either lasts or it does not, and making (perceived) promises on paper will not change the reality. For example, I will sometimes ask “Do you get a warranty on 2,500 psi (or greater) concrete, whether a slab or a wall?” The answer is no. When I ask why, I usually get a blank stare. On occasion, the answer comes back: because concrete lasts. Precisely. Because concrete lasts, why would you need a warranty? A warranty gives us confidence in the product (which up until the point of purchase may or may not have been in question). By paying for a warranty, we are buying confidence in the item and somehow that makes us feel good. If the warranty is free it may also buy our confidence.  In either case, our confidence is really in the writing on a piece of paper. We must keep in mind that sometimes the less trustworthy an organization may be, the more they are willing to promise.

The true test of performance is time, not lab tests and warranties. When relating this to selecting a roofing system, it is important that you can identify a system that has performed for the length of time that is being purported, without having had significant change to its formulation or how it is made, that is the product to choose. Selecting a competent installer is crucial. Bottom line: a roofing system with a proven track record that is properly installed and inspected every year will save you money in the long run and can outperform its warranty by many years. 

FiberTite is the only manufacturer that I know of that can point to many roofs which have outperformed their warranties. And in cases where they may have been replaced, typically the owner was not aware of the performance of the material.

A FiberTite roof system will typically outlast most other roof systems by at least 1.5-1 and often 2 to 1. This is a bold statement, but we have roofs in service that are 25 to 35 years old, while many of our competitors would be hard pressed to get you on one that was even 15 years old.

For more information on 25+ year roofs, visit www.fibertite.com/25years.

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