EcoStar Question

We are a 84 year old roofing company based in New England and one of my longtime contractors asked us to do a ''EcoStar'' roof on a new house. I told him we have never worked with this material but looking at it we could do it. It was spec'd with Federal Gray and Black. I told him to get a pattern layout how the architect wanted it layed. Calls back and said just follow the directions. We layed 1st a black and then the federal gray and so on and so on.Second course 1st a federal gray and then black so on and so on. Calls 10 days after the job was complete and said they didnt like the pattern layout.Now he holds $11,000.00 of my money and won't pay. My question is did I do something wrong here or you think he's trying to weasel his way out of paying. My thing is no one wanted to lay out a pattern and I told him up front i have never done one before. Any input would be great. Thanks David>>>

I went to the Eco-Star website and they have very clear instructions on how to blend colors. The decision to make a color dominant in a mix is up to the installer/owner, and I didn't see any recommendation for a specific mix. If 50/50 wasn't the desired blend, it seems someone should have noticed before the job was complete. It isn't like the job only took four hours. Why didn't the owner complain while the job was in progress. If they were there during the installation, I don't think they have a leg to stand on. If on the other hand, it was left up to you, then OOPS! Why didn't you ask them about the blend after a square or two was installed?>>>

I have done 4 ECO star roofs so far. I prefer real slate, but we give the customer what they want. One was all black and another a Federal gray. The other two were a four color blend. They all look nice. Like the other guys said, get the rep involved. What did your contract say? If they won't pay, I would lein the building!>>>

Too bad that you didn't CYA when they deferred the pattern installation decision to you.

But, as stated, what much more could you do with a 50/50 blend?

They are wrong, but they hold the money.

Get the rep involved like they said.

Ed>>>

You could say that you saw this century old roof in France and it was good enough for them, so pay me.

http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu195/GWMiller/Downspout/roof2.jpg

A 50/50 blend is tough to pull off without patterning. If using only 2 colors, I think about 70/30 blend is a better ratio.>>>

By the way on a related subject the Tamko Laramites are failing badly after only a few years! Just did a repair on a job that was done three years ago by another roofer. They were brittle as glass and I could hardly get the nails out without breaking the coarse above. Kinda reminded me of the super slate by Johns Mansville. I hate to see them after 15 years what they will look like.>>>

The problem is you made a pattern. They wanted, it sounds like, a random mix. To do this assuming you bought equal amounts of each is to mix them up as random as possible sorta like shuffling cards and then just nail them on as they are sent up. What you did has to look like crap in my book. Checkers anybody? I did blacks and reds last year, There were twice as many black as red. I figured out how many red per side and how many red per row so I had enough to complete the look to the peek. I would just put them in as I saw fit with no order at all. Stacking some and spacing some. It looked great. I would post pics but despite my best efforts I can't get it done.>>>

Sounds like a great idea to me Lanny>>>