Rant Incoming: Bad Roofing job, just over 6 months old

Clockworkmike

Clockworkmike

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*Alright, disclaimer: Im pissed off and just ranting so read on with caution lol*

Back in June, our roof got damaged by hail and wind pretty bad. We called the insurance company and made a claim. Went through a few contractor bids and they agreed on one. My house isnt that big, so the bid was $6500 and that included : New 40 year laminated shingles, new drip edge, new underlayment and 4 sheets of plywood if needed. They used only 2. They did the job within a day, tore up my yard pretty bad and i had to haul in top soil from the trucks they pulled up. Clean up was another issue, as i had 2 plastic shopping bags filled to the brim with old roofing nails laying all over my yard and shingle debris. Most of the debris, they swept into my attic from the vent ridge the removed. But i was grateful to get the job done and even tipped all 4 of the laborers since it was July 4th weekend and they came out.

Anyways, in the past month we began noticing roofing nails dripping bad, which can happen from humidity issues, but no real wood leaking. We last were up in the attic about 2 weeks ago, same thing. Today however, my wife went up and we have wood sagging, cracked open and white mold between 4 roof trusses. Around the sewer vent line, the wood is almost collapsed. It looks like a roller coaster basically.

We never had ANY problems with leaks from even our old roof, just noticed shingle damage. But this has been plagued and way worse than the old one. So in the morning, i guess i get to call my insurance company and make a report. Problem is, its winter time and replacing or repairing the roof with snow a constant factor makes things extremely difficult.

FML!
 
Clockworkmike said:
*Alright, disclaimer: Im pissed off and just ranting so read on with caution lol*

Back in June, our roof got damaged by hail and wind pretty bad. We called the insurance company and made a claim. Went through a few contractor bids and they agreed on one. My house isnt that big, so the bid was $6500 and that included : New 40 year laminated shingles, new drip edge, new underlayment and 4 sheets of plywood if needed. They used only 2. They did the job within a day, tore up my yard pretty bad and i had to haul in top soil from the trucks they pulled up. Clean up was another issue, as i had 2 plastic shopping bags filled to the brim with old roofing nails laying all over my yard and shingle debris. Most of the debris, they swept into my attic from the vent ridge the removed. But i was grateful to get the job done and even tipped all 4 of the laborers since it was July 4th weekend and they came out.

Anyways, in the past month we began noticing roofing nails dripping bad, which can happen from humidity issues, but no real wood leaking. We last were up in the attic about 2 weeks ago, same thing. Today however, my wife went up and we have wood sagging, cracked open and white mold between 4 roof trusses. Around the sewer vent line, the wood is almost collapsed. It looks like a roller coaster basically.

We never had ANY problems with leaks from even our old roof, just noticed shingle damage. But this has been plagued and way worse than the old one. So in the morning, i guess i get to call my insurance company and make a report. Problem is, its winter time and replacing or repairing the roof with snow a constant factor makes things extremely difficult.

FML!
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I have worked in construction....I have definitely seen mickey mouse roofing.
It sounds like the whole thing should be torn off and done over the right way...I would have a qualified 3rd party contractor inspect it and decide what was done wrong.
Your going to need a qualified person to see that it is done over correctly -- for certain this time.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
I have worked in construction....I have definitely seen mickey mouse roofing.
It sounds like the whole thing should be torn off and done over the right way...I would have a qualified 3rd party contractor inspect it and decide what was done wrong.
Your going to need a qualified person to see that it is done over correctly -- for certain this time.
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Agree completely. I was telling my wife we may have to hire an inspector ourselves to verify this all if the insurance inspector doesnt catch it. Luckily, the WV Contractor's Association mandates a 1 year warranty for all construction work, no questions asked ( my electrical company has had to bide by this as well for something as simple as bad light fixture ballast/driver). So worse for worse, they are bound by that a minimum. Its just absolutely frustrating to have to deal with this crap, especially in the dead of winter where weather is a constant factor to be watching out for, for further damage.
 
99% of all roofing companies are freakin gypsy grifters.

The other 1% just haven’t elevated their scam level yet.

The last roofer on my property decided to double the quoted $32,000 price after the job was completed and threatened to kick my ass when I called him absurd.

Sorry this happened to you.
 
CoyotesGator said:
99% of all roofing companies are freakin gypsy grifters.

The other 1% just haven’t elevated their scam level yet.

The last roofer on my property decided to double the quoted $32,000 price after the job was completed and threatened to kick my ass when I called him absurd.

Sorry this happened to you.
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I appreciate that my friend. Its just a load of dog poop lol

The dude quoted $32k and tried to double that?!? What the hell was he planning on using: Titanium Alloy? Lol thats ridiculous!
 
CoyotesGator said:
Yup.

It got kinda ridiculous. Pulling that attitude on someone less understanding of stupid might not turn out as well for him.
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The quote i got before this contractor was some group out of Maryland called One Day Roofing. For a house like mine with a very simple 4-12 pitch gabled roof , 1200sq ft: they quoted $16800 for shingles and $31100 for metal. I laughed on the phone and said " Did you mess up on a decimal point somewhere?" They got mad and said that was very competitive. ( a typical shingle roof of that area here is between $5800-7500 while a metal is between. $7000-$10000 on the worst day).
 
CoyotesGator said:
Yeah man, every last one a scam artist.

Tell ya the moon, give you the shits, and charge four times for the pleasure.

At least the underpaid laborers that did my house did a reasonably good job.

I feel for you.

Don’t let them drag it out until you give up.
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Oh im gonna be on the phone first thing in the morning with the insurance company for sure lol this pissed me off beyond belief. Like i said, my attic is just a 4/12 pitch so its pretty low profiled, but we store decorations in the middle and it was taking down some stuff today that we noticed this mess. Its always been really well ventilated and in 11 years, never saw a drop of water. Now its a damned rainforest lol
 
That sucks. Roofs aint no joke. That ply will have to come off & hopefully joists arnt rotted also. When the wife got the TBI, i added a Master downstairs cause she couldn't do the steps anymore. I do not play on constructing the roof. Done right its a basic simple process but contractors..if ya dont know a good one ,..a bunch are "self: deemed experts in a way. PA added the contractor law..you immediately could file a claim for that.

My addition was overkill when i built it ..kinda funny up against a house built in 1880's

Was estimator/project manager for years up until 2008 housing/construction/banking BS went down in August.

Roofing repairs are the trickiest..temporary fixes can happen but most end up being a rip to the joist situation in the damaged areas..water..it will & does seek level..so it will take a path,,nail hole..run between joists ..down & over..identifying the whole problem is the only way to fix a leak in the long run..once it does leak..it will always freak ya out ..
 
That sucks-- just had our done a couple years ago thanks to Hurricane Irma took almost a year to get it -- (supply and demand after a hurricane) someplace here still have blue tarps on the roof ....(Irma was in 2017 for "scope")
Even WITH insurance it cost me about what yours did Mike ..(and this place is SMALL-- again supply/demand) .......job was adequate but not stellar huge crew had it all ripped off cleaned repaired and done in 1.5 days ...
 
Appreciate all you guys listening to my nonsense ranting lol

I called the insurance company and they told me unfortunately ill have to deal directly with the contractor since its a workmanship warranty issue ( kind of figured that). So now I get to talk to this gypsy today and go from there. Hopefully he does the right thing under the 1 year warranty rule but i wouldnt be surprised if i dont have to file a dispute with the Better Business Bureau and WV Contractors Association. We'll see
 
Clockworkmike said:
Appreciate all you guys listening to my nonsense ranting lol

I called the insurance company and they told me unfortunately ill have to deal directly with the contractor since its a workmanship warranty issue ( kind of figured that). So now I get to talk to this gypsy today and go from there. Hopefully he does the right thing under the 1 year warranty rule but i wouldnt be surprised if i dont have to file a dispute with the Better Business Bureau and WV Contractors Association. We'll see
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Most definitely go on the State Board of Registration, that's why they license those guys.

If he's not registered.... well it varies state to state, but doing that type of work without a state paper is usually a criminal matter.

It's definitely worth it to run his number, just to make sure he's not renting someone elses credentials.
 
So sorry to learn of this issue. Ran into it myself after being in the same house for 30 years...
Things wear out and need replacing.
Our area requires a building permit for just about everything you do to a home, inside or out.
At first I thought this was a curse, just another way for the county bloodsuckers to squeeze some more $$$ out of you...
Boy was I wrong.
The permit is your friend.
It all but guarantees a quality job from the contractor the FIRST time, or the county inspector won't pass it.
Then the lazy f#*&$ contractor has to re do it on his nut.
The bottom line is it won't get passed till it's up to code.
We learned this due to an incompetent AC contractor, and a fly by night concrete guy.
True misrepresentation and outright lying.
Said they were doing us a favor by not pulling a permit, job will be done quicker and we'll save money.
Guess what? It was a bogus job and the AC guy was using someone elses contractors license.
We had zero recourse when all the ductwork collapsed in the attic. We called the name on the license.
They claimed no knowledge of our work and no responsibility.
I called the county, only to be told that the job was done illegally without a permit and I was screwed.
Spent the next few days rehanging & replacing sections of ductwork.
Same with the carport slab. After a year the slab settled over six inches on the outside, as well as several huge cracks.
My carport has close to a 10 degree lean. If you pull in, the car door opens easily. If you back in, you have to open the door uphill.

When it came time for the big money item, the roof, we were educated enough to ask if they needed a permit or not.
Two contractors actually said no, it just delays the project. Oh OK, thanks for your time.
Licensed, bonded, and insured contractors and proper building permits may cost a bit more up front, but at least the job only has to be done once.

Good luck Mike, hope you get a satisfactory outcome.
 
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