Recently a listener called our radio program to complain that the warranty he had on his roof was not being honored by the manufacturer.

The caller said that the damaged area covered his entire roof about 2700 square feet. The composition roof shingles were cracking horizontally and vertically. He went on to say that the roof covering manufacturer had first offered him $500 to repair his roof. The caller was angry because he was told that the whole roof would have to be replaced. At a cost of over $4,000.

He told us that he repeatedly complained to the roofing manufacturer who eventually agreed to provide the roofing material to replace the entire roof, and over $1,400 in cash to cover some of the installation costs. "I think they are crooks," he said. "First, they wanted to give me $500 for a roof that will cost $4,000 to replace. Now they want to give me more, but it isn't enough to do the replacement."

We asked the caller to send us copies of all of his correspondence with the roofing company, photos of the damage and a copy of the original warranty. He did.

What we discovered was a surprise. When the roofing company offered $500 they were doing so in strict accordance with their written warranty. And legally, were not obligated to do any more than that.

The caller thought he was buying a roof covering with a 20-year warranty. What he didn't realize was that it was a prorated warranty and that full replacement was good only during the first year. After that, the manufacturer's prorated warranty covered material replacement only no removal of the bad material, and no labor for the installation of the new.

Based on this, we started checking around and made a discovery: Manufacturer's warranties for composition roof covering material are somewhat useless after one year regardless of whether they claim 20-, 30-, 40 or even 50-year coverage.

California has a "hidden defect" law that could be used to get satisfaction from a manufacturer who sells a faulty product no matter what the warranty states. If you're having a warranty problem, check to see if your state has legislated an act for your protection against "junk bond"-type warranties.

In California, consumers can check with the Contractor's State License Board. Other states manage these laws through their departments of industrial relations.

In any case, it might be wise to also demand removal and replacement labor for at least five years from the contractor. More often than not the contractor will hand you the manufacturer's warranty and not offer one of his own.

If a warranty is an important part of your consideration of the purchase of a product, read it thoroughly before you sign. As our caller discovered, a twenty-year warranty on a $4,000 roof could be as little as $500 in the fifth year.

In a recent column on kitchen remodeling we recommended selecting a material other than marble for kitchen countertops. Our suggestion elicited the following:

I would like to have the Carey Brothers talk to a professional marble manufacturer before they make negative comments about a product they have no knowledge of. Charles A., San Francisco, CA.

It was with great puzzlement that I read your article in our paper regarding marble kitchens. Most people will automatically assume you are speaking about all stones. Peter G., Sacramento, CA.

We have been in the marble business in San Francisco for 75 years and take exception to your paragraph regarding use of marble on kitchen countertops. In Europe entire kitchens (sinks included) are made of white marble. Granite is preferred over marble because it is harder than marble and rarely will stain with proper use. Nancy D., San Francisco, CA.

Our response to the first comment:

Marble is not manufactured. It is a natural material. Actually, marble is mostly limestone and limestone is mainly calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is found in bones, shells, etc. Under heat and pressure for many years, the bones and shells become hard and are known as marble. Although some marble is quite hard, most marble is relatively soft at least as stone goes. Marble and granite are not at all alike and are not in the same family of stone. Granite is a very hard stone that consists chiefly of crystalline quartz, feldspar and mica hard stuff.

To the second:

We're sorry if our article led you to believe that we feel that all stones are bad for kitchen counters. The counters in one of our kitchens is all granite, and although it does stain, it is unbelievably beautiful.

And to the third:

We just got back from a tour of four European remodels. One in Portugal, one in Spain, and two in France on the Riviera. These were whole-house remodels in very expensive neighborhoods. One of them was to cost $2,000,000. In most of the homes we visited marble was everywhere, walls, floors and stairs. And it was mostly white or white with light gray veins, but no sink tops. Most of what we saw were china pedestals in baths and plastic laminate or ceramic tile in kitchens.

Marble is everywhere in Europe because it is readily available there (major quarries exist in Portugal). There, the best marbles can be purchased by the average income earner. This is not so in the USA. Here, the best slab marbles are very costly. Conversely, Europeans consider wood a luxury.