Because The Contractors, Being Considered By Mirabella in 2022, Were NOT Approved By The Manufacturer To Offer The Better Warranty
Mr. Wemhoff’s July 10, 2022 Letter To The Board:
Apparently, Mirabella is preparing to execute a roofing contract. The following information describes the exceptional warranties available from GAF Materials Corporation (a GAF shingle is being considered). However, the warranty must be selected before the contract is executed.
Warranties
GAF’s roofing products division offers three advanced, purchased warranties: The System Plus, the Silver Pledge™ and the Golden Pledge®. The latter two, Silver and Golden, are exceptional in their coverage, with Golden only slightly more expensive than Silver. The Golden Pledge® provides a 25-year Workmanship warranty, compared to 10 years for Silver Pledge™.
Note, in the table below, that All Weather Contractors, for example, offers a worrisome “1-year warranty.” Further, the Golden Pledge® has a longer non-prorated period: 25 years compared to 20 for Silver Pledge™.
Who Is Eligible?
These two warranties can be offered only by GAF Master Elite® certified contractors. Of the 72 GAF certified contractors in Jacksonville, only 19 are Master Elite® contractors. Six of the 19 have received GAF’s Presidential Award. Certifications are awarded by GAF after review of installation practices; they cannot be purchased by contractors.
However, none of the three contractors reviewed by Mirabella in 2021 is Master Elite® certified. Both CG Roofing and All Weather Contractors are GAF-certified, but not Master Elite® certified. Dehlinger is not certified by GAF in any manner. These certifications can be verified at this GAF site.
| Contractor | GAF Certification Type | Warranty Offered By Contractor | |
| CG Roofing Group LLC | GAF Certified™ | Not Master Elite® | “5 year labor warranty on craftsmanship” |
| All Weather Contractors | GAF Certified™ | Not Master Elite® during the contract period | “1-year warranty for workmanship” |
| Dehlinger | Not GAF Certified™ | Not Master Elite® | “3-year warranty against defective workmanship” |
Costs
For a Mirabella roof deck of approximately 9,400 square feet, the costs of the warranties are roughly $800 per building for Silver Pledge™ and $1,400 per building for the Golden Pledge® warranty. In addition to the required Master Elite® contractor certification, the project must install five (5) specified GAF accessories: Leak Barrier, Starter Strip, Roof Deck Protection, Attic Ventilation and Ridge Cap.
However, most of these components will be installed regardless (or should be installed), so there is negligible additional component cost. The GAF warranties merely require that these components be GAF-brand products. And, in the CSI specifications most are already identified as GAF products.
Bid Uniformity & Attorney Review
The contract proposals received by Mirabella from prospective contractors in 2021 lacked uniformity, so are difficult to compare. Each proposal cited differing material needs, costs and warranties, making comparative evaluation unnecessarily difficult. And, the proposals were presented in the form of contracts.
Future contractor proposals can be made more uniform and thus advantageous to the Owners. To achieve that end Mirabella, on the front end, should clearly delineated all of the project features, standards, specifications and mandated warranties, leaving no detail unaddressed. Then, all applicants would bid on precisely the same project elements, stipulations and quality – to the benefit of the Owners.
Finally, this is a large-scale commercial project. Consequently, the primary practice area of Mirabella’s attorney should be construction contract law, not condominium law.
Please assure me that you received this message. A “Got it” will do. And, of course, feel free to ask any questions.
Best Regards,
Philip Wemhoff