Christina Spicer  |  October 3, 2017

Category: Consumer News

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A worker installs panels beige siding on the facade of the houseCertainTeed Corp. and its parent company, Saint-Gobain Corp., were hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the vinyl siding produced by the companies is defective.

Lead plaintiffs allege in their class action lawsuit that vinyl siding sold under the brand name “CertainTeed” blisters and degrades under normal use. The class action includes pictures of warped and wavy siding on the plaintiffs’ houses.

The plaintiffs claim the CertainTeed vinyl siding on their homes began to degrade, blister, warp, melt and deform; however, when the plaintiffs contacted the company, they were allegedly told the company would not perform repairs because the damage was caused by “heat distortion” from glass reflection.

“CertainTeed vinyl siding fails to conform to the public’s reasonable expectation of the product’s durability and longevity, and the company’s promise of ‘Quality made certain, satisfaction guaranteed,’” the CertainTeed class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs, residents of various states, including New Work, Florida, Minnesota, Main, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee, allege that CertainTeed vinyl was marketed to them as able to withstand the extremes of weather and atmosphere. They also note that the siding comes with a lifetime warranty that is transferable to other owners.

“Defendants’ vinyl siding warranty provides that if CertainTeed determines, in its sole discretion, that its siding products have a manufacturing defect under the terms of the warranty, defendants will either (1) pay to repair, replace, refinish, or coat any siding product it determines has a manufacturing defect, or (2) refund the amount paid by the original property owner for the siding products plus the cost of the labor of the original installation,” states the lawsuit.

According to the CertainTeed class action, the manufacturer is responsible for the damage caused to their siding under the terms of their warranty.

“The CertainTeed Limited Lifetime Warranty provides warranty coverage against manufacturing defects, including but not limited to ‘blistering,” allege the plaintiffs. “The Warranty also covers damage caused to the vinyl siding by ‘normal exposure conditions,’ and in its Limitations section, makes no mention of any warranty exclusion relating to non-flame heat from any source. The Warranty specifically contemplates that the vinyl siding will be subject to ‘exposure to sunlight and extremes of weather and atmosphere.’”

Further, say the plaintiffs, the makers of CertainTeed vinyl siding never verified that the damage was caused by any additional source of heat or reflections off glass. Nor were the plaintiffs warned against installing the siding where glass would reflect, alleges the class action lawsuit. Additionally, argue the plaintiffs, it shouldn’t matter that the damage was caused by reflected sunlight – reflected sunlight is a normal condition the siding should be able to handle without deforming.

“CertainTeed Saint-Gobain’s denial that its vinyl siding is defective as a result of melting or distortion from sunlight reflecting off windows or other building materials fails the essential purpose of the warranty, i.e., that the siding is free from defects under normal exposure condition,” alleges the CertainTeed class action.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide Class of people who own homes or other structures with CertainTeed vinyl siding, along with subclasses of several states.

The lawsuit seeks damages along with an injunction stopping CertainTeed from falsely marketing the vinyl siding as durable in all weather.

The plaintiffs are represented by Donald W. Boyajian and James R. Peluso of Dreyer Boyajian LLP.

The CertainTeed Vinyl Siding Class Action Lawsuit is Chizniak, et al. v. CertainTeed Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:17-CV-1075, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

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29 thoughts onCertainTeed Class Action Says Vinyl Siding is Defective

  1. William Depippo says:

    I just had Certainteed Monogram siding installed in March of 2023 and immediately it started bubbling, distorting and melting, they are blaming my neighbors windows. They told me to have the neighbor cover the windows with screens! This is a defective product what are my options?

  2. Paul caley sr says:

    My house had CertainTeed vinyl siding and still is, 25 years ago. 3 years later they replaced it for fadeing.. 5 years later they did front of it 5 years later they did 3/4 of my house. Lifetime Warrenty they say? I started another claim in 2020 at the time they said it was with in spec? Even though it has begun turning white chocks coating and mold on one wall. I just requested another claimant they wouldn’t even come look at it. Sent me a copy of lifetime warranty showing me what’s not covered? They blamed it on the invierment I live in? State of mass. Air pollution and that I didn’t wash my house regularly. That’s the short story.

  3. Delaware resident says:

    My CertainTeed siding was installed in 2010 all looked good for 5 and1/2 years. My neighbor cut down a big tree that was between our houses and within a few months I saw what looked like waves in the siding. The siding installer came and looked at it and said he had never seen this before. It was past the 5-year warranty. I contacted Certain Teed explained the distortion. About a month or so later I received a letter stating that it was the reflection from my neighbors LOW E windows. It sure was. Our houses are maybe 18 feet apart and the west side wall of my house was covered with probably 12 reflective stars that traveled with the sun. I looked to my insurance company for help but got none. Their only answer I got from them was to contact the neighbor and her insurance company. I did that and my neighbor sold her house. My new neighbor would not allow us to install a solar screen product to her windows. So, the siding continued to melt and kept melting. She sold her house. It is now 2023 and my side wall is Gorilla taped up. Fortunately, my new neighbor is allowing us to install the solar screen product. After spending 11 thousand dollars in 2010 to have the house sided, we get to do it all over again thirteen years later but at a higher cost. The siding estimator through learning and seeing this problem thinks these windows should be removed from the market. I learned everyone from the manufacturers, installers and insurance companies pass the buck and it is up to the homeowner of the damaged home to live with it. Until the glass is replaced with regular glass, solar screen, tinting and awnings are only a temporary solution. Good luck to all who experience this issue. I hope you have a really good neighbor because chances are you are on your own.

  4. Patricia Lai says:

    I just had certainteed vinyl siding in slate installed on my home in June and one month later I noticed bubbles appearing on the parts of my home that get some sun. When I called certainteed they came out and inspected and said it was the installation. My contractor went to bat with certainteed and got material from them and I only just had the panels replaced in March. It’s just the beginning of April and here are the bubbles again. It’s clear to me that this is not an installation issue because it ONLY appears on the parts of the house where there is sun. No where else!!!! If there is a class action lawsuit, count me in.

  5. anjie says:

    This produce is cheap subpar quality that does not withstand normal sun reflective temperatures/wear and tear. I installed CertainTeed Monogram siding in Tuxedo September 2022 and by November I have a ripple effect on 4-5 upper rows of siding. December 21, 2022 a CertainTeed rep came to my home to see the issue and blamed it on my neighbor’s windows. They recommended I have my neighbor put full screens on their windows to fix the issue, which is an unacceptable solution. January 11, 2023 (3 weeks later) I am now seeing new “bubbles” on a lower row above my basement window that has a plastic window well cover. I am not sure if now the sun is bouncing off that?? I called back the rep to let him know about the new bubbles and that the screens on my neighbor’s house is not a solution and he let me know a field supervisor would come check it out. He did show up today, only to confirm the windows are doing it, did not address the ones by the window well, and let me know he will get back to me in 2 weeks to see if there is another resolution, but was very clear he didn’t see one except to add full screens to my neighbor’s windows. I NEVER had this problem with the siding I replaced which shows this is a product quality issue. I spent thousands to upgrade/update my siding and instead of being excited about my home’s new look I am full of regret.

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