Author Topic: New roof. Contractor issues.  (Read 1015 times)

Kingcreek

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New roof. Contractor issues.
« on: August 24, 2022, 12:24:14 PM »
Backstory. Last fall I noticed hail damage when I was on a ladder cleaning my gutters. Called homeowners insurance co (American family). They tell me I have a grandfathered super delux gold plan that hasn't been offered for years.
They send a drone pilot out and video every square inch of the house, everything from ground level up. 3 days later I am told they approve a complete roof replacement, 48' of gutter, some flashing, etc and send me a check for total minus my $500 deductible.
Call the roofing guy I've used before. Good history and good reputation.
I think it might be the perfect opportunity to upgrade to steel and willing to pay some extra over the asphalt shingle replacement.
They look at it in March. Estimate is $5k higher for steel. I say do it. He says mine will be one of their first jobs this season. Mine isn't leaking and I told them I don't have to be done right now but I don't want to get caught by material cost changes. I even offer to pay half since the money is just sitting in the bank.
He tells me his 2 sons are taking over more and he is stepping back but still helping. I called or texted him once or twice every month and kept getting the same answer. "We're going to get to you soon, should be able to do same price." This as recently as 2 weeks ago.
Now, Friday he tells me they have an updated estimate and want to order pre cut steel this week. I said not until I see the "new estimate". Now we are $2k higher for asphalt shingles and $10k over the estimate for steel ($5k increase over March estimate.)
I've had a good relationship with them in the past but I told him no way. If they had done it when they said they would we wouldn't have this issue. I first talked to them in November. I'll be checking around and also contacting the insurance co. for an extension past the 1 year typically allowed for replacement.
I am not happy.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

Tuco

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2022, 01:54:29 PM »
That's tough. BTDT
Sure is enough to trigger a headslap.  Nothing  I can say will help - assuming there's no written contract based on your past experience and relationship.
Hope you can get this resolved (maybe call the former GM?) or get that deposit back.
Best of luck.
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2022, 02:39:09 PM »
Never gave them a deposit. They put it off and put it off kept saying oh yeah we will be starting yours next week or week after that. Their terms are 1/2 at start and balance on completion.
I think part of the problem is dad is letting sons run it more and more. And I know they bought some rural property and are rehabbing an existing house on it, building a second house and a pond for the family compound.
I’ve always dealt with dad and your word and a handshake would seal the deal.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

Declaration Day

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2022, 04:37:21 PM »
I'm sorry this is happening to you, but I'm going to give advice, as a former contractor (landscaping, not roofing), to everyone reading this:

NEVER tell a contractor "no hurry" or "it doesn't have to be done right now".  Nearly every contractor bites off more than they can chew, because it's hard to say no to money. They will almost certainly put you at the bottom of their list if you say that.

Personally, I never took money up front, so at worst, when I took on more than I could handle, I'd just end up saying "Sorry, I don't have time to do it." after a few weeks.  It didn't happen often, but I plead guilty.

Good luck, and keep us updated.

Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2022, 07:47:32 PM »
I live outside a small Midwest town. Maybe it’s old guy syndrome. Treat me fair and I’ll do the same.
They have done work for me before and I wrote them a good check and I was happy with the work, never complained.
I would have signed an agreement, made a deposit, etc but it was stated that it wasn’t necessary.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

Hawkmoon

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2022, 07:54:16 PM »
I think you figured out the problem -- the father you used to deal with has stepped back and is allowing his sons to run the business ... and they're running it into the ground.

I hope you find a better company going forward.
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2022, 12:52:29 PM »
Got a call from number one son this am. He said he had a new updated estimate for me. Dad told him to honor their first quote. Dad is coming by tomorrow and I’ll give him a check for 1/2 (and probably get an apology).
Back on track for now.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

grampster

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2022, 11:20:04 PM »
When we lived on the lake up north, we had a lot of Amish around.  They were very good and reasonable roofers, as well as building just about any type of building/structure, including furniture.  At that time, oil was pretty high; around 2008.  Asphalt shingles were really pricey as a result.  The Amish would do a steel roof for about the same price as asphalt at the time.  We sold the place instead and moved closer to family in our old hometown.
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2022, 11:55:10 AM »
Roof is going on. The son has been on the crew and has been cordial but a little cold towards me.
Dad stopped by yesterday to drop off some material and visited for awhile and was fine.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

K Frame

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2022, 12:02:52 PM »
"Roof is going on. The son has been on the crew and has been cordial but a little cold towards me."

Of course he is. You made him look like a complete and total douchenozzle in front of Daddy, and Daddy had to give him a whut fur...

 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Carbon Monoxide, sucking the life out of idiots, 'tards, and fools since man tamed fire.

Hawkmoon

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2022, 12:37:40 PM »
"Roof is going on. The son has been on the crew and has been cordial but a little cold towards me."

Of course he is. You made him look like a complete and total douchenozzle in front of Daddy, and Daddy had to give him a whut fur...

^^^ In addition to making the son look bad in front of his father, you also prevented him from making money on his screw-up. Considering how fast prices have been going up on pretty much everything, they may be doing your roof at cost, or even at a loss, due to the son's procrastination in starting the job when you wanted them to.

Boo hoo.
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RocketMan

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2022, 04:23:57 PM »
Sounds like the son is learning how to provide good customer service the hard way.  Hopefully the lesson will stick.
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BobR

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2022, 08:14:50 PM »
Sounds like the son is learning how to provide good customer service the hard way.  Hopefully the lesson will stick.

I would give odds it won't. ;)


bob

Hawkmoon

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2022, 09:23:06 PM »
I would give odds it won't. ;)


No bet.

I've read that a child's character is formed by the time they're 12 years of age. If this man child is old enough to take over the family business and hasn't learned that it's not good business to screw [former] repeat customers ... it's much too late to expect him to learn now. I predict he'll run the business into the ground with five years of the day the father completely withdraws. I've seen it happen.
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #14 on: September 18, 2022, 02:17:31 PM »
Update. I left home Friday morning with the understanding that they would be mostly done with just some minor trim work to complete this week.
Came home today (Sunday) with several obvious issues and a long way from complete.
I have a big dump trailer blocking my Jeep in the garage. (I can get the tractor out and move it if I need to)
Some puckering of the steel ridge and trim more than what I think would be acceptable. Some siding trim not yet remounted even though it looks like it could have been done in 10 minutes.
The roof is pretty well covered for rain with wrap over uncovered ridge but my big stainless fireplace chimney and diffuser cap are laying in the yard. I walked around expecting to see a big gaping hole and instead see uninterrupted steel roofing. Assuming this means they will want to get inside my house and attic space to cut through? Maybe they didn’t know how to boot and seal that big thing?
White carpet in the master suite to the scuttle hatch in the walk in closets not going to happen without me being present and very very involved.
We had a storm last night and there is material blown around the yard and 2 downspouts were off at the gutter.
They are a long way from getting the other $14,800 check.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

JTHunter

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #15 on: September 18, 2022, 10:27:18 PM »
Good grief !!  :facepalm:  [popcorn]
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #16 on: September 20, 2022, 01:41:10 PM »
Well other than a truck and enclosed trailer being removed, nothing  looks any different. No workers yesterday or today.
10k# dump trailer still blocking one side of my 2 car garage. Fireplace chimney still laying in the backyard, tyvek covering the one open ridge, and some steel panels making dead rectangles in the back yard.
I’m sure somebody is coming back to finish it but I wonder when. There is probably at least 2 days work remaining for 2 guys.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

JTHunter

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #17 on: September 23, 2022, 11:38:02 PM »
KC - here's one for you.
My house was built in 1961 and the roof was re-shingled in 2015.  Between my house and the neighbor's is a tall ash tree that is ~30" diameter 2' above the ground.  Over the last couple of weeks, it has dropped branches between 1" and 2.5" and ranging from 3 - 8' long.  Thursday, a tree trimmer was on the roof cutting off the dead wood when he apparently stepped on a soft spot and broke a 4" hole in the roof when the 1"x4" roof board cracked.  Fortunately, he wasn't injured.  He went and got a metal patch and spray sealant to keep the rain out for now.  Yesterday, I was able to get the company that did the roof in '15 to come and look at what might be needed for the repairs and an estimate.  They think they can replace 4-6 shingles and repair/replace the damaged wood for maybe $200.  I even have some left over shingles in the attic that we might be able to use for the repairs.  And that is on top of the $500 estimate from the trimmer.
All of this is going to come out of my pocket as there is a $1,000 deductible on the house.  At least it looks the weather is going to cooperate with no rain and temps in the low to mid-70s Sunday through Thursday.
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #18 on: October 26, 2022, 11:16:38 AM »
Well I’m not done with them.
Had them back 2x for some unfinished bits or rework.
The worst issue was they removed my fireplace chimney (class A stainless double wall) and then tried to reinstall it from the roof. It was crooked as hell. They came back and reflashed rebooted it with a bigger boot. I suspect they guessed wrong when they cut the hole in the steel roof and were trying to make it work. They added a brace but it was still crooked. Not as bad but still not straight.
I paid a chimney guy $249 to come and inspect it before having a fire. Explained the whole situation before booking him.
Yesterday he came in the rain and said he would not go on the roof. He went into the attic and took my phone and got video and pics of a failed joint and a gap in the pipe in the attic. He said he wouldn’t do anything with it because he didn’t want to void any roof warranty.
I called the roofers and had the chimney guy on the phone with them. Sent them video and pics.
Now they have to come back again and I’ll probably pay him another $249 to come back and verify it’s safe for me to have a fire in my fireplace. He is booked 2-3 weeks out but ideal situation would be to have him here when they are here.
I regret this steel roof. Wish I would have just replaced with 30 year asphalt shingles.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

K Frame

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #19 on: October 26, 2022, 11:22:33 AM »
Damn, Dude... What does the new owner's Dad say about all of this?
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #20 on: October 26, 2022, 11:30:10 AM »
Damn, Dude... What does the new owner's Dad say about all of this?
He's deer hunting up north. I sent the pics to him also so he is aware.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

HankB

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #21 on: October 26, 2022, 11:38:20 AM »
. . . I regret this steel roof. Wish I would have just replaced with 30 year asphalt shingles.
In hindsight I'll venture to say choosing steel over 30 year asphalt shingles isn't the problem, but rather it's not summarily firing this contractor back in August and hiring someone else.
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K Frame

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #22 on: October 26, 2022, 11:45:27 AM »
Yep, gotta agree with that.

I really wonder what kind of job they would have done with asphalt... probably equally shoddy, or worse.
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Kingcreek

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #23 on: October 26, 2022, 11:59:09 AM »
Yep, gotta agree with that.

I really wonder what kind of job they would have done with asphalt... probably equally shoddy, or worse.
They've done asphalt roofing for me in the past when Dad ran the crew and did a great job. They've been doing more and more steel last couple years but I think they have had some trouble getting and keeping good help and also maybe some "next generation syndrome". 
What we have here is failure to communicate.

K Frame

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Re: New roof. Contractor issues.
« Reply #24 on: October 27, 2022, 07:32:31 AM »
The magic words are "when Dad ran the crew."

It sounds like the son either doesn't know, or doesn't care, what he's doing.

And if getting good help is a problem affecting their steel roof installation, it's going to affect their asphalt roof installation, as well.
Carbon Monoxide, sucking the life out of idiots, 'tards, and fools since man tamed fire.