[sean_maxwell]

I had a brand new architectural shingle roof installed and completed in February 2020. These events have taken place during / after the installation:

• Excessive roofing material and hardware (ripped shingles, wrappers, nails, staples, etc.) have been left in the yard, and/or missed after completion
  
• Yard has been ripped up by truck driving onto lawn
  
• Mysterious bend in gutter, that I have no memory of prior to install (rain water now leaks in that gutter area)
  
• Flashing around chimney was not replaced
  
• Attached pool shed/roof was removed, but not replaced with shingles. Instead Feltbuster was installed and left on the roof. Days later, the Feltbuster paper ripped up on the corner, allowing rain water to leak into the attached storage shed.
  
• Our drip edge was not totally replaced, and in some areas where it was replaced, different mismatched sizes were used. At this point, it is either original drip edge, missing drip edge completely, or the new mismatched sizes
  
• Flashing around the chimney was replaced after contacting the roofer, but the flashing area leaked excessively during our first rain
  
• They came out and caulked around the flashing to "repair" it
  
• They offered no solution to the drywall damage around the chimney
  
• A ridge vent shingle (in the middle of the row) blew off days after the chimney flashing leak

My question is, do any of these events sound even remotely normal? I suspect that most of you will say "hell no!" but I've been very patient with this roofer thus far. I'm just at my wits end at this point, and would like some advice.

 

[chandler48]

Hopefully you are holding aces, ie. final payment of the job. Don't pay in full until the job is completed to your satisfaction or to the terms of the contract. Some items are sloppy work. Some could or could not be part of the contract, ie. chimney flashing, edge drip, etc.
A good roofer probably won't have caulk on his truck, as his job should be complete without adding anything to the shingle mix.

 

[sixeightten]

Hopefully you are holding aces, ie. final payment of the job. Don't pay in full until the job is completed to your satisfaction or to the terms of the contract. Some items are sloppy work. Some could or could not be part of the contract, ie. chimney flashing, edge drip, etc.
A good roofer probably won't have caulk on his truck, as his job should be complete without adding anything to the shingle mix.

Gotta have some sealant to spot the nails on the last roof cap.

 

[Yodaman]

I'd say you picked a lemon. Check any references?

 

[sean_maxwell]

Another shingle blew off last night. They are offering to come and replace all caps today (supposedly) with larger nails. We shall see. The roofer has great reviews on Google (and a bunch of them). I suspect he under bid my house accidentally using an "eagle eye" estimate. Thanks for feedback so far. I'm kind of wondering if I need to get my insurance company involved at this point. The roofer said he would bring some chemical to put on my drywall to prevent mold, but I don't trust that. Also, it wouldn't fix the hole in my ceiling either.

 

[sean_maxwell]

Hopefully you are holding aces, ie. final payment of the job. Don't pay in full until the job is completed to your satisfaction or to the terms of the contract. Some items are sloppy work. Some could or could not be part of the contract, ie. chimney flashing, edge drip, etc.
A good roofer probably won't have caulk on his truck, as his job should be complete without adding anything to the shingle mix.

Fun fact, he called me a week before the job was over saying he needed the money to complete the job. I was naive and trusting, but also concerned about this request. I notified my realtor of this request, because they were releasing the funds based on a sale contingency of the house. The contract stated payment upon completion, but I was also a bit worried he wasn't going to come back. He must have realized a problem coming, and BS'ed me to get his money. The roofing company owner was hardly ever there. He had what appeared to be guys in their early 20's doing the work.

They did breach contract though. It states the entire roof, which isn't done, and chimney flashing, which was done after I complained. I guess it is good he is still working with me. I'm just afraid this roof will haunt me for years.

 

[Yodaman]

They came out and caulked around the flashing to "repair" it

When a chimney is flashed properly it requires little to no caulk. If caulk is keeping it from leaking now, what do think is going to happen when the caulk dries out and cracks in a year or two?

Actually it's more common than you think. Plenty of want-a-be roofers out there that know the basics to installing the shingles but completely lack flashing skills, or don't take the time to do it properly.


Pics help plenty here.

 

[Old Thomas]

Don’t pay them. Nothing gets their attention more than holding their money. If you paid in full, learn a hard lesson about paying the next time. I never pay in full until everything is done to my satisfaction. The guy who did our granite countertops screwed up one piece and had to remake it. I thought he was going to cry when I said no to his request for money. He expedited production of the piece and managed to come back in 3 days instead of 2 weeks he originally mentioned. Our deal was payment on satisfactory completion, and when I liked it I paid on the spot.

 

[sean_maxwell]

When a chimney is flashed properly it requires little to no caulk. If caulk is keeping it from leaking now, what do think is going to happen when the caulk dries out and cracks in a year or two?

Actually it's more common than you think. Plenty of want-a-be roofers out there that know the basics to installing the shingles but completely lack flashing skills, or don't take the time to do it properly.


Pics help plenty here.

Video of the leak

I'll get pics up too.

 

[chandler48]

When it stops raining, can you post pictures of the chimney flashing, all around?

 

[joecaption]

Not sure why almost everyone post pictures of the inside damage, there useless.
Need to see the pictures of the outside to see what's causing the damage.
Did the quote say something like "replace flashing if needed"?
Any real roofer would have used stand off's on the ladder and set them on the roofing so there would be 0 damage to the gutters.
Any roof I've ever done I needed the money for the materials up front and never once asked again for money until the job was finished.

 

[sean_maxwell]

Not sure why almost everyone post pictures of the inside damage, there useless.
Need to see the pictures of the outside to see what's causing the damage.
Did the quote say something like "replace flashing if needed"?
Any real roofer would have used stand off's on the ladder and set them on the roofing so there would be 0 damage to the gutters.
Any roof I've ever done I needed the money for the materials up front and never once asked again for money until the job was finished.

Thanks for feedback, I'm transitioning between houses and don't have my full size ladder at the house yet to get up there.

 

[sean_maxwell]

Here is most of the experience start to finish:

 

[Old Thomas]

As I said above, did you pay him? If not send a certified return receipt letter giving him 10 days from receipt to repair it before you hire another contractor to fix it out of his contract sum. Document all the issues with pictures. If you paid, why?
I wouldn’t expect your insurance company to do anything.