bad roofing job, do I have any recourse?

9 years ago

we bought our house here in Michigan in 2010, and the year before in 2009, the roof was completely stripped off, new sheathing and shingles put on. we started having problems early on, in 2011, a strong wind caught one corner and lifted and peeled back a large section of shingles. I had a friend who does roofing look at it, and he said it looked like the original roofers had too much pressure on their air nail guns, and blew the nail heads too deep into the shingles or right through in some.

We thought about calling the insurance company, but decided to approach the original installer, who lives in the neighborhood and owns his own small home remodeling company. he said since we weren't the original owners, and he only warranties his work for one year, he'd have to charge us 400 for the repair. he blamed it on the strong wind that day, so we went ahead and paid him and let him repair it.

Then, two years later, last year in 2013, another large section broke loose, on the same side of the gable, but the opposite corner, at the top from the ridge, and started to slide and pivot in a counter-clockwise direction, causing the shingles in the middle section to buckle and stop the rotation. We called him again, he temporarily put the section in place, and again, tried to deflect blame this time saying it might be defective batches of shingles from the manufacturer, he'd check and get back to us. A week later, he said he's not sure what happened, I said could it be your guys had improper air pressure on their nail guns? he said I don't know, but I'll strip off and replace that side with new shingles at no charge. Well it was end of October, and getting cold, so I hoped everything was ok this time, and didn't get back up there to check as winter hit hard.

Now, with spring about here, we had a strong wind again a few weeks ago, and I saw a couple shingles flapping, got up there and could see half of that side of the gable had darker color shingles, which were sealed down, and the other half were all lighter color and not sealed down! Again, we got him over there, and told him about it, he wouldn't answer when I asked repeatedly why is the one side darker and the other lighter? He finally admitted that his guys sorted through the shingles after the tear off, and put the good ones back up there, they 'mixed and matched' them with the good ones! And as his 'fix' he offered to seal the lighter colored old ones, with tubes of sealant!

I had a reputable roofing company come over for an inspection/estimate, and he pointed more problems, exposed nail heads, 'short shingling', crooked rows of shingles, etc. and said 'this guys not a roofer'. So I have to replace the whole roof now, and wondering what is my recourse against the original roofer?

Featured Answer

User

8 years ago

So, why did you hire a deck guy to do your roof? I'm positive that you checked his license, insurance, and references--as a roofer. What other glowing reports of his skill in roofing did you glean from your research? What did the contractor's board say when you presented them with a claim against his licensure bond?

Low Bid Lawnguy Larry and his DIY printed business card wasn't enough of a red flag for you? Did he have to sell you Dr. Skinner's Bald Pate Cure and Remedy for Rheumatism for you to see that he was a snake oil salesman? Do you send money to televangelists for their million dollar jet fuel fund too?

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Comments (10)

greg_2010
9 years ago
I'd say that you have zero recourse. You didn't pay him anything.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
9 years ago
I second greg_2010's motion.
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annkh_nd
9 years ago
What a pain. I hope the previous owner of the house didn't use "new shingles" as a big selling point.
aidan_m
9 years ago
The next roofer you hire should offer a warranty of more than one year. Would you buy shingles that only carried a 1 year warranty?

That being said, the crappy roofed actually honored the warranty well beyond the limitations offered in the contract. He may be a really lousy roofer, but at least he's honest about his bad work.

To put things in perspective, I've heard from Michigan natives that a large house can be bought for just a few thousand dollars in many places around the great state. The shock to many of these new homeowners must come at the time when they need to spend some money on maintenance. The cost of a new paint job or a new roof can easily exceed the total value of the property. It is likely the reason that a roofer would automatically go to the cheapest bid possible, because they assume that every client just wants it that way. What would motivate the previous owners, who planned to immediately sell the house, to do it any differently?
pnbrown
9 years ago
If the nail is where it should be on the shingle, it is near impossible for the gun to drive it all the way through, so it was a situation of high air-pressure but especially really poor nailing. That is a result of people with not much time running a gun trying to work fast.
JoppaRich
9 years ago
"The next roofer you hire should offer a warranty of more than one year. Would you buy shingles that only carried a 1 year warranty?"

I had some small roofing work done last year (replacing some shingles that were improperly nailed), and I called probably a dozen places. I don't think anyone offers anything but a 1 year warranty.
aidan_m
9 years ago
One year warranty sounds about standard for a repair job.

For a new roof, meaning total replacement of the roof covering, we've often negotiated warranties of 15 or even 20 years. Flat roofs have a shorter warranty, as do commercial buildings. For a residential roof with significant pitch, if you buy a 50 year rated roofing product, there's a contractor willing to offer a 20 year warranty on the installation.
Brian Persaud
8 years ago
I had a bad experience with a roofer Jamie Dryden and his team. At the time his workers names were Ryan and Scott. He did my roof but he was leaking when it was done. He turned off his phone and never came to fix it. His phone is now out of service. He never replied to any of my emails either. He said he does decks and fences as his main job. Beware of him. At first he seems like a very genuine guy. This fooled me. He is just a crook and a bad roofer. His email is jdryden11@yahoo.com.
He gave me a business card that only had his phone number and "Northern attitude" on it. The work was done in Brampton, Ontario but he does work in Toronto and GTA areas as well. Dont trust him for your deck or fence either!
Susan D
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I also am having issues with 8 year old roof (expensive shingles also). I am being told by two roofing companies that the valleys were put up "poorly". So, now I have leaks and rotting soffits and such. I called the original roofers in Atlanta (Modification Roofing) several times and was told "my men know what the are doing and there is nothing wrong with the valleys; and I am two hours from your house and I won't come to check your roof when I know it is correctly installed". I am not sure what recourse I have after 8 years. But I am sad and fed up.