Andy Gaspar
10-25-2007, 12:27 PM
Hello. First post newbie here so I apologize if this was posted in the wrong area.
In the fall of 2000 I hired a roofer to replace my cedar shake roof that was damaged from a hail storm. A few dents in cedar shakes didn't bother me, but the insurance company said the roof would need to be replaced & the estimates (since it was a cedar shake roof) was in the neighborhood of $30,000 :eek:
One of the estimates came from a contractor in Burnsville, MN. Their estimate that was provided to me and my insurance company stated the following would be performed/replaced:
3/4" med cedar shake
Continuous ridge vent
ice shield (they charged me for 678 LINEAR feet)
chimney flashing
step flashing
additional vents
galv. plumbing vents
r&r gutters
city permit
+ odds and ends such as dumpster, steepness surcharge, toe boards, etcThe contractor stated he needed the insurance check "up-front" because of the excessive costs of the materials. Being an idiot who didn't know any better I believed him when he said it was normal to do this... so I gave him the check from the insurance company. Needless to say, I know better now.
After 4 trucks of people who didn't speak english left I was told the job was completed. I noticed there was no ridge vent. Most of this house has vaulted ceilings and so a ridge vent is crucial for proper ventilation. I also had a large water stain in my garage ceiling several weeks after the job was done. The contractor came out and said they found no leaks.
For the next several years I attempted to get the roofer to install that ridge vent. The upstairs of the house was like an oven every summer. It should be noted that the original roof had a ridge vent and the blueprints also show one.
I also experienced water coming out of my soffit vents. Further inspection showed that when the gutters were installed they did not install a drip edge. Are there any codes regarding this? The gaps between the shakes are allowing water to run behind the fascia.
I checked with the city because these things should of been caught during the inspection. It turns out that the contractor never called the city at any time for any inspection. According to the permit the job was never started.
It was then discovered that even though the contractor overcharged me for ice shield (678 linear feet instead of 678 square feet - that's enough to install ice shield up 20 feet on each side of my roof) they only installed one course of ice shield, or 90 linear feet total. My overhang is 14" and my walls are 2x6 but the pitch is 14/12 on one side and 19/12 on the other.
The more I looked, the worse it got. It turned out they did install some of the small 12/12" vents, but they did so in the wrong areas. They also reused one of the old vents. They just pried up the old chimney flashing and then re-stapled it down & they also just reused the old step flashing too.
My ceilings are the same pitch as the roof. It's just 2x10s that are used as trusses. The ceiling inside is all cedar board covered, so I would never notice any water damage on the ceiling sheetrock as it's covered by wood. For years I did notice small brown stains here and there on the carpet but I thought it was from things like someone spilling coffee, or insects, or the cat... I never thought it was caused by water seeping through the ceiling boards and staining the carpet. Not until I was actually home this spring and saw it dripping. And it was dripping a lot.
This past winter it went from very cold to very warm in just a couple of days. And I found water running down my walls and coming through the ceiling boards in nearly every room of my house. There was no ice dams outside and there was just a few light spots of snow here and there on the roof. It turns out that ice has been building up in my attic spaces and the sudden heat wave caused it to melt all at once. I even have water stains under an outlet that's 16' from the ceiling.
The contractor says the roof is out of warranty, even though the job was never technically finished and never inspected. They are a big company and are still in business. We had a meeting at my house and they saw all of the damage (they were here with their lawyer) and they are aware of all of the items they never installed. I told them they were liable for a new roof and over $25,000 worth of known damages to the interior.
They are refusing to do anything. I do have a lawyer. So the next step is a lawsuit and I need a structural engineer who can inspect the roof to see if there is additional damage caused by the lack of ventilation, improper gutter installation, not enough ice shield, and reuse of old materials even though new materials were paid for.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm located in Eagan MN. I filed a complaint with the BBB and they told them they were taking care of the issue, of which they never did. Now the BBB says that since the job is so old, a new complaint can't be filed.
I have pictures at ***deleted*** please email me for link.
In addition, the roofer was hired to install skylights. I had one and they were supposed to install 2 more... one on each side as well as replace the center one. I had prepared the interior as they were hired to just do the outside part & I would finish the interior, so the holes were cut in the ceiling and all ready to go. When I got home I discovered the workers installed the 2 outside skylights with the 2x10 trusses running through the middle of the windows! :eek: :eek: :eek: How's that for not knowing what they were doing! I mean right down the middle! Apparently when "evenly spaced" was translated into spanish it meant to measure to the end of the roof and evenly space it regardless of the truss location. I am unsure how deep they cut into the truss when they sawed the openings. They did move the skylights but the installation was sloppy and the skylight uneven.
The leaks discovered were not around the skylights. I have water stains in my kitchen, bedroom, living room, dining room and loft.
I have contacted the MN Department of Labor and the Attorney General. The DOL is looking into the matter.
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated and if anyone knows of a good structural engineer who is willing to handle steep roofs please let me know.
Cost is an issue. I'm just a blue-collar joe who is working 2 jobs just to pay the bills!
In the fall of 2000 I hired a roofer to replace my cedar shake roof that was damaged from a hail storm. A few dents in cedar shakes didn't bother me, but the insurance company said the roof would need to be replaced & the estimates (since it was a cedar shake roof) was in the neighborhood of $30,000 :eek:
One of the estimates came from a contractor in Burnsville, MN. Their estimate that was provided to me and my insurance company stated the following would be performed/replaced:
3/4" med cedar shake
Continuous ridge vent
ice shield (they charged me for 678 LINEAR feet)
chimney flashing
step flashing
additional vents
galv. plumbing vents
r&r gutters
city permit
+ odds and ends such as dumpster, steepness surcharge, toe boards, etcThe contractor stated he needed the insurance check "up-front" because of the excessive costs of the materials. Being an idiot who didn't know any better I believed him when he said it was normal to do this... so I gave him the check from the insurance company. Needless to say, I know better now.
After 4 trucks of people who didn't speak english left I was told the job was completed. I noticed there was no ridge vent. Most of this house has vaulted ceilings and so a ridge vent is crucial for proper ventilation. I also had a large water stain in my garage ceiling several weeks after the job was done. The contractor came out and said they found no leaks.
For the next several years I attempted to get the roofer to install that ridge vent. The upstairs of the house was like an oven every summer. It should be noted that the original roof had a ridge vent and the blueprints also show one.
I also experienced water coming out of my soffit vents. Further inspection showed that when the gutters were installed they did not install a drip edge. Are there any codes regarding this? The gaps between the shakes are allowing water to run behind the fascia.
I checked with the city because these things should of been caught during the inspection. It turns out that the contractor never called the city at any time for any inspection. According to the permit the job was never started.
It was then discovered that even though the contractor overcharged me for ice shield (678 linear feet instead of 678 square feet - that's enough to install ice shield up 20 feet on each side of my roof) they only installed one course of ice shield, or 90 linear feet total. My overhang is 14" and my walls are 2x6 but the pitch is 14/12 on one side and 19/12 on the other.
The more I looked, the worse it got. It turned out they did install some of the small 12/12" vents, but they did so in the wrong areas. They also reused one of the old vents. They just pried up the old chimney flashing and then re-stapled it down & they also just reused the old step flashing too.
My ceilings are the same pitch as the roof. It's just 2x10s that are used as trusses. The ceiling inside is all cedar board covered, so I would never notice any water damage on the ceiling sheetrock as it's covered by wood. For years I did notice small brown stains here and there on the carpet but I thought it was from things like someone spilling coffee, or insects, or the cat... I never thought it was caused by water seeping through the ceiling boards and staining the carpet. Not until I was actually home this spring and saw it dripping. And it was dripping a lot.
This past winter it went from very cold to very warm in just a couple of days. And I found water running down my walls and coming through the ceiling boards in nearly every room of my house. There was no ice dams outside and there was just a few light spots of snow here and there on the roof. It turns out that ice has been building up in my attic spaces and the sudden heat wave caused it to melt all at once. I even have water stains under an outlet that's 16' from the ceiling.
The contractor says the roof is out of warranty, even though the job was never technically finished and never inspected. They are a big company and are still in business. We had a meeting at my house and they saw all of the damage (they were here with their lawyer) and they are aware of all of the items they never installed. I told them they were liable for a new roof and over $25,000 worth of known damages to the interior.
They are refusing to do anything. I do have a lawyer. So the next step is a lawsuit and I need a structural engineer who can inspect the roof to see if there is additional damage caused by the lack of ventilation, improper gutter installation, not enough ice shield, and reuse of old materials even though new materials were paid for.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm located in Eagan MN. I filed a complaint with the BBB and they told them they were taking care of the issue, of which they never did. Now the BBB says that since the job is so old, a new complaint can't be filed.
I have pictures at ***deleted*** please email me for link.
In addition, the roofer was hired to install skylights. I had one and they were supposed to install 2 more... one on each side as well as replace the center one. I had prepared the interior as they were hired to just do the outside part & I would finish the interior, so the holes were cut in the ceiling and all ready to go. When I got home I discovered the workers installed the 2 outside skylights with the 2x10 trusses running through the middle of the windows! :eek: :eek: :eek: How's that for not knowing what they were doing! I mean right down the middle! Apparently when "evenly spaced" was translated into spanish it meant to measure to the end of the roof and evenly space it regardless of the truss location. I am unsure how deep they cut into the truss when they sawed the openings. They did move the skylights but the installation was sloppy and the skylight uneven.
The leaks discovered were not around the skylights. I have water stains in my kitchen, bedroom, living room, dining room and loft.
I have contacted the MN Department of Labor and the Attorney General. The DOL is looking into the matter.
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated and if anyone knows of a good structural engineer who is willing to handle steep roofs please let me know.
Cost is an issue. I'm just a blue-collar joe who is working 2 jobs just to pay the bills!