bad roofing contractor

tpsimer

Do I have to pay a contractor who put a roof on wrong. He only put three nails in 75 percent of the roof. He put the felt on the roof vertically instead of horizontal as it is meant to be laid for protection. He nailed through the sealing strip on all of the shingles and it says on the package "do not nail through sealing strip". There are other problems also. He said he will come back and fix it but will not put in writing what he is proposing to do. It is a Owens Corning product and they sent me a letter that they will not honor the warranty they offer on their product if it is not installed per Owens Coning instructions. They also offer a 25 year warranty covering labor and the contractor will not add that to the contract in writing. I told him since I had so many problems so far that I would want to opt for the extended warranty that I am supposed to be able to purchase within 60 days after installation. They said they will not even entertain the idea of selling me the warranty until after they do what they want to fix the roof and they are paid in full. They will put nothing in writing.

tinner666

See if you can get an OC rep to inspect the roof. If it's as you say, and they deny warranty and put it in writing, I'd look around for a roofer and get a new roof.
Get all your ducks in a row first, even taking the other to court to prevent any mechanics lien issues before hiring a roofer.

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Frank

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bobelectric

The contractor was from craigts list, right?

adrienne4468

The contractor was from Owens Corning's web site for Platinum Preferred contractors. Supposed to be the best of the best. However, they subcontracted the job to a group of untrained guys which when signing the contract I was told they did not do that. I was told that they have their own crews and only use them.
tony

adrienne4468

Actually he has threatened me more than a few times to sue me. The last I talked to him he was going to have his lawyer contact me. I really hope he does.
tony

MJW

That's how most of the "preferred" contractors work. Their crew is the ones from CL.

This is why referrals are best.

Not sure the laws in your state, but here in MN roofers must be licensed and insured. Both the contractor and subs. Ask the Contractor for proof of insurance for the subs. If he has nothing, you owe him nothing. Illegal work does not get paid for.

Good luck with your situation.

Slyfox

I would start working on getting an Owens Corning rep involved like Tinner said, that will go along way with any future warranty or legal issues, especially being the contractor is certified by that manufacturer.

I wouldn't make final payment, or any additional payments, period, until the work meets both yours and OC's approval.

Take pictures if your able to and keep track "in writing" the names of any workers, sales, supervision or owners as well as vehicle descriptions so you know who your talking about when you say this person did/said this, etc.

If your area requires a contractor to be licensed then they probably require a permit to be pulled and inspection, so contact your local City Administration Building and ask about that.

Getting a contractor from the BBB, Craigs List, Manufacturer site, etc.., only means they have never had a home owner file a complaint, it doe's not mean there haven't been displeased home owners.

Good Luck.

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crackdaddy

Like was mentioned before, Don't pay him a dime, but don't wait for him to do something first, I'd contact OC, another licensed roofer/GC and have them sign an affidavit that the work is inferior and not up to standard.

I would then contact a lawyer to keep them from from placing a mechanics lien on your property. Your lack of action could be construed in court that your just shirking your responsibility of paying. Be proactive.

Its not likely the guy is just going to walk away from 5-8k without a fight.
Just curious did it pass final inspection via your permit office?

Yes, lots of pics, I would also get the tag numbers of all the workers cars, personal contact info, addresses, license numbers, business license numbers etc.

adrienne4468

The contractor did not pull a permit. When I asked OC about whether their preferred contractors were supposed to follow the law and get permits they said "yes". They asked the contractor about this and the contractor said that the county had given a pass to permits due to the volume of work from storms recently. I also have some swamp land in arizona to sell OC at a later date. After checking only one permit was pulled in feb 2011 by this contractor.
There was no city inspection done because there was no permit pulled.
tony

Gymschu

What amazes me about bad roofing contractors is that the work is so damn hard that cutting corners in the above case saves you so very little in terms of effort. I mean, you still have to tear off, lay tar paper, put the shingles on..........seriously, does it really save much time or effort to cut corners as a roofer? Just amazes me.

crackdaddy

contractor said that the county had given a pass to permits due to the volume of work from storms recently.


Yea, well that's a lie. 100% sure of that.
Call the permit office and ask them and then ask the person at the office if they would sign and affidavit to that affect.

Did your contract state that they would pull permits, etc?

This guy sounds like a cowboy, and its unlikely he's going to do anything except threaten to sue, but a mechanics lien is a real threat though.

jimmy21

i would not pay them a dime. At first i was going to say, pay for materials and not labor. But what good are the materials when shingles are probably going to start flying off in a few years

adrienne4468

Got the letter from the attorneys office today. I am now in collections and if not paid in full I get the lein. Thank God I get to make this cowboy testify to the job he did. My insurance company is coming out today to do an independent inspection and will write up a report. I think I may even be able to get help from their attorneys. The inspector will let me know as soon as he gets here.
I would never recommend Owens Corning or any of their preferred contractors. There is no help from them at all if something goes wrong.
tony

jimmy21

i wouldn't really blame owens corning. That like getting a bad tile job and blaming the tile manufacturer.


Don't let them bully you around. Don't worry if they put a lein on the house. Just make sure you file all the paperwork on your end as well. If it ends up going to court, tell them you want them to pay for it to be torn off. Only an idiot would put the tar paper on vertically but its not the end of the world. 3 nails in a shingle is just ridiculous though

adrienne4468

I found some with only two. I haven't even climbed on the roof. This is just what I can see from standing on a ladder.
tony