Thank you to everyone who responded to my post last week regarding a new roof recently put on our house. You guys are great! There were a number of thoughtful, reasonable responses, as well as some additional questions. One writer wanted to know where we lived, since temperatures might affect any repair work on this roof. We live in upstate New York, right in the Albany area. Several people asked for photographs so thet they might objectively evaluate our complaints/concerns. It took a few days to get everything in order, but that is done, and hopefully the photo attachment will work. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this issue.
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Everything you've pictured needs to be corrected and shouldn't be that big of a deal to do so. Make them do it before the final payment.
Accidents like the damaged screen, while unfortunate and avoidable, happen all the time. They need to get it fixed or deduct enough of a chunk to make it worth your while to do it yourself if you're not comfortable with them getting it done right.
One thing I look for to "grade" the job a shingle crew has done, is how straight the shingles come into the ridge. You can tell a lot about experience and how much care is taken by that. Yours looks pretty straight.
5 or 6 low nails per roof is not too bad. They need to be fixed, but not too bad.
I noticed the GAF rep said the warranty "might" be voided for using the Sovereigns for ridge caps. Either it is or it isn't. He's trying to sell the ridge accessories. But, I'd hold the roofer to using the ridge accessory.
Good Luck
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I've never met a man that was owed as much as he thought he was.
I wonder how or why the face in pic#3 got a nail hole? Think they tried to force a "pooch" out back in?
??????.
The nail holes in the face of the new drip edge are there because the new was installed on top of the old. Since the 2 drip profiles do not match, the new is 1/2 to 1 inch away from the house all around. By doing this, the roofers decreased the surface area they could use for nailing the new drip edge. Most of the new drip is nailed only to the old galvanized drip. With the reduced area for nailing, some nails began to go through the finished face of the drip. It looks to me like thay noticed it, pulled the nails out, then kept roofing.
Ok, I guessed they were nailing from the outward face.
Still, needs to be fixed.
Thank you for the feedback.
I agree about the screen. Accidents do happen, and if this is all that happened I would'nt even be worried. I put this photo in as one more example of the "rush job" this seemed to be. Fixing the drip is our main priority. I posted what we are asking him to do to correct the job if you want to read and respond.
Thanks again
The most serious problem is the poor drip edge installation- since it's very unsightly and very visible from the ground. I would make that my top priority to have that fixed.
Seeyou was right on when he said the shingle coursing though not perfect is plenty good enough. Caps are not a big issue since there is double coverage there- but if it will void the warranty then they must correct it.
Stains look like a spilled coffee or soda and will disappear soon enough.
When I damage a screen inadvertantly I replace it or pay to have it done.
Glad you weren't scared off after your other thread got a little testy toward the end.
Walter
Hi Walter,
I actually enjoyed some of the comments and back and forth last week. Thanks for your input. I posted our request of what we'd like done to fix the job if you want to read and respond. We did make the drip edge our top priority. We'll see what happens.
I included the photo of the screen just to add weight to our feeling that this was a rush job (Someone used the term 'hit and run' last week.). I understand that accidents happen, and have made my share myself, but the professional thing to do is fix it or pay to have it fixed.
Dan
Your specs looked very well thought out and organized.
I think the things you're asking to have done are quite in line with what anyone would expect to correct the problems they initiated.
I hope you'll let us know the resolution to this matter.
Thanks for the follow thru.
Walter
Thanks, I will let you know how things are resolved. At this writing I have not sent a copy of the letter or photos to anyone (Town Building Sup.) because I'm hoping we can resolve this and move on.
The eave edge metal definitely needs replacement. I may have seen worse, but I really can't remember when.
But I still think that meanss they will have to replace most of the shingles to do it without leaving you a damaged roof.
The stains mean nothing.
The ridge is almost as straight as you can expect.
A few low nails mean careless work but not the end of the world.
On the ridge, I trhink it looks to me like they are onmly single ply. Heavy archies are supposed to be laid two play.
Where it is most obvious is the first one where it is cracked and the edge metal shows through. They never even used a starter ridge.
Overall, I read this job as somebody capable of doing better and thinking they know where they can get away with cheating a little. not meaning the contractor necesarily, but the insall crew.
But that means there could be other problems like lacck of underlayment, and fewer than four nails per shingle. That is somnething you can check possibly from in the attic. If they cheated the number of nails, added to the poor metal edge work, I would be asking for a complete re-roof to get it right.
But not to lose sleep over either - While some things look terrible, that roof will probably keep 99% of the water out for its lifetime.
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Hi Piffin,
Can you explain what you mean by the heavy archies need to be laid 2 ply? I know you are talking about the ridge. This is where the contractor used regular 3 tab shingles that he cut, instead of the architectural ridge caps specified by the manufacturer. There is a clear price and quality difference here, which is why I think this corner was cut. A bundle of ridge cap shingles around here cost about $35.00. The 20 year 3 tab shingles he used cost less than half that.
Thanks for the tip about checking nailing from the attic. I do have access and will look more carefully today.
I'm not going to obsess about the two stains. I just took the photos to provide one more example of the lack of workmanship on this job. Same with the damaged screen.
Thanks for the thorough follow-up and replies. We don't always get to see the fruits of our volunteering advice here, but if it helps some homeowners and lifts the standards by which we judge one another in the industry, it is worth while.Hope this contractor comes through for you. What you specified seems reasonable.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Thanks, I will let you know how things are resolved. At this writing I have not sent a copy of the letter or photos to anyone (Town Building Sup.) because I'm hoping we can resolve this and move on. Will keep you posted.
It is very nice of you, but not really necessary to reply individually to each of us here. We generally read the whole thread. Walter and I get along fine. We actually live almost within shooting distance of each other here.;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'm sincerely sorry for your hassle. But, been there, done that.
If you can get them do do any of the repair, you've done better than I when I was in the same boat.
The education requirements for roofers are sorta low.
actually---- the thing that interests me----is the stain.
I am wondering if it'a an oil stain----from somebody oiling air guns on the roof top----- if so, might be a problem down the road
-- but- probably pop or coffee
Once I stained a roof with wasp spray.---------hmmmmmmm.
stephen
If its a roof I been on....probably blood. LOL
I was wondering how you get the blood stains off the guitars and instruments you make. I KNOW you get some on them.
Hydrogen Peroxide. Poof! its gone.
I'll have to remember that one.
I'm assuming the stain is gatorade or coffee, but oil is certainly a possibility.
The education requirements for roofers are sorta low.
Not even reading the back of the wrapper apparently, usually.
Joe H
Based on the pictures you've shown everything is relatively easy to repair. I think the roofing company has done a disgusting job. It is obvious that they didn't give a crap what it looks like. They just wanted to slap it on and collect their money. I can't stand those guys. It is those kind of contractors that give the rest of us a bad name.
I would be inclined to force them to fix it. If they don't correct the problems to your satisfaction, run an add in the paper stating their company name and what kind of work they did for you. They will either set them straight or protect some other unsuspecting home owner from the same lousy workmanship.
Dave
We have sent a non-antagonistic letter along with the photos to the contractor, specifying what we would like to have repaired. We did this in spite of him repeatedly saying he did not want us to send him anything written, just to pick up the phone and call him. We finally decided on a return receipt letter because of our concern that nothing was being put in writing, and several breaktime members said to send a letter. So, we will see what happens.
It's also of some concern to us that he won't say what he will do to correct the job: he wants us to tell him what to do. I, of course, would feel much more comfortable having him say to us what he's going to do to make things right. He is, after all the contractor and is supposed to be the roofing pro.
Because he is unwilling to do this, we went ahead and specified what we thought needed to be done to fix this job. I do not know if this is what people would agree with, and it may be overkill, but without his input we felt we should be as specific as possible. For example, what if the ice and water guard gets damaged during the fix it? How likely is that? We do not know, so we put it in. Our guess is that shingles will be damaged during removal, so we asked for the removed shingles to be discarded, and new shingles to be used once the drip is corrected.
Remove existing shingles past ice and water guard and around the entire perimeter of the roof and discard.<!----><!----><!---->
Remove all existing new and old drip edge and discard.<!----><!---->
Install new drip edge correctly (see exhibits #1-#4).<!----><!---->
Install new layer of ice and water guard (unless this is undamaged by drip edge removal).<!----><!---->
Install brand new shingles around the entire perimeter of the roof, consistent with properly installed drip edge.<!----><!---->
Install Timbertrex Ridge and Hip shingles, as specified by the Timberline Manufacturer GAF. (GAF states that using Royal Sovereign shingles on a Timberline Architectural roof is neither an approved practice nor one covered by the GAF warrantee.)<!----><!---->
Repair additional defects illustrated in accompanying photographs. Specifically, replace cracked or torn shingles (see exhibit #5); nails protruding below the shingle course (see exhibit #6); correct undernailing as necessary (see exhibit #7); poor cutting and shingle damage as shown in exhibit #8.
I'm pretty sure the guy is not going to like it if you insist he replaces the ice and water guard.
ice and water is designed to seal around the penetrating nails. when you pull all of those nails what you are going to have left is a sheet full of holes
good luck
he wants us to tell him what to do
That would be a red flag to me. He's trying to pass the buck to you. If he insists on you calling the shots, I would tell him to do a complete tear off and re-roof. Or he can propose a remedy."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt