CertainTeed Corporation which is the parent company of Bufftech Brand Products offers a warranty protection plan called Sure Start Protection.

According to Certainteed:

CertainTeed vinyl fencing, decking and railing products are covered by Sure Start protection for a period of five years following the date when installation has been completed. Under this warranty feature, CertainTeed, at no charge, will repair or replace, at its option, any fencing, decking or railing proven to be defective during the five year Sure Start period. CertainTeed’s maximum liability under Sure Start will be equal to the reasonable cost to replace the defective fencing, decking or railing at its current value, including labor.

What does this mean for the end customer?

Bufftech Sure Start Protection or Certainteed Sure Start Protection will enable you to have peace of mind when purchasing a Bufftech vinyl fence. If any problems where to happen within the first five years you are covered under the Sure Start warranty.

What makes a good aluminum fence? If you are looking at purchasing an aluminum fence you need to consider the following information.

1. What is the “Name Brand” aluminum fence you are looking at purchasing. In other words who is actually manufacturing the fence you are going to buy.  How long have they been manufacturing aluminum fence?
2. Do they have a warranty? Did you actually read the so called “lifetime warranty” or just assume that it will cover you 5 years after your purchase your fence. Ask then for a copy of the warranty so you can read over yourself what it actually covers.

3. How thick is the aluminum? Aluminum fence comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes and you can be easily lured in wanted to purchase a cheaper aluminum fence, but you need to see why its cheaper. If you are sacrificing the wall thickness of your posts and sections then it is not worth your saving in money. Aluminum is a softer metal and if you do not have thick walled aluminum fence, the it will be easy to bend, break, crack and that will not make the longevity of your fence much much shorter. Be sure to ask the following questions:

a. How thick is the posts (Line Posts, End Posts, Corner Posts)?
b. How thick is the Gate Posts?
c. How thick is the rails?
d. How thick is the pickets?

If a company is not able to support you with specifications sheets on the thickness of their fence then you have a problem.

Do you know how to measure a 0.080 wall? Oh course not… you need special tools called a caliper in order to measure wall thickness. Since you don’t know how to measure the wall thickness then you are going to have to take their word for it. So make sure you get specifications to back up what they tell you over the phone.

4. Are the gates welded? If the gates are not welded then after a few years the gate will start to sag and have a hard time latching. Then after 5 or so years it will start to put stress on the hinges which will cause the gate to pull off its hinges.

5. Who are you actually giving your payment to? Who is that business? How long have they been selling that aluminum fence?

6. How is the fence painted? The best aluminum fence is powder coated. But be sure to check that it is a real powder coat and not a “Dipped and baked” alternative. Ask them for supporting documentation about their powder coating.

If you take all the steps above that you are going to have a great new aluminum fence added to your yard. Don’t let me be a discouragement to you. As the customer it is your due diligence (that means its your job) to do the prior research before you buy your fence.

My phone is always ringing off the hook and one the questions I get a lot is “how do I know I am going to actually receive a real Jerith fence?”. People are getting weary of buying over the internet and have been victims of bait and switch. How do you know if your fence is really manufactured by Jerith Manufacturing Company, Inc?

Jerith goes to great price in order to make sure their customers are getting the “Jerith” name brand. If you already have a aluminum fence and you want to know if its a Jerith fence, or if you are buying a fence and you want to know how to see if you are a victim of bait and switch then this is what you need to look for.

How can I tell if I received genuine Jerith products?

Gates – the two top caps on the sides of a gate have the logo

Posts – our standard flat post caps have a raised Jerith logo. (Note: Ball caps do NOT have a logo on them.)

Sections – the Jerith logo is stamped into one end of each horizontal rail

As you can see it is very easy to quickly find out if the Jerith fence you just bought it really a Jerith Aluminum Fence.

If you don’t see the Jerith logo in all of these places, please contact our Customer Service Department at 800-344-2242 because you may not have genuine Jerith products!