Concerned Over Roof

1/24/2011 at 9:03:49 PM

All I can say that when you hire a contractor, investigate the history of the company, view previous work and possibly contact previous clients to get their opinions and level of satisfaction .

Find the best specialist in roofing in your area and find out what the issue is.

1/25/2011 at 9:06:29 AM

Sounds like lack of drip edge.

When looking at the roof do you see a piece of aluminum approximately 2 inches long ? They are usually white and should be quite visible to the eye. They support the edges of the shingles, directing the water into the eaves trough.

1/25/2011 at 4:59:47 PM

How old is this house mitchell? It could actually be a ventalation problem? What time of year are you experiencing these problems?

1/25/2011 at 8:07:04 PM

Hi all

That was a bit of a delayed reaction but thanks for the thought! Its better late than never. This situation has been going on through last summer up to the point where he was threatening to counter sue for dep of character.

I decided at this point that this was not a risk I was willing to take with my family.

He still has not fixed the roof or even come to look at it. Turned out the subs he hired where unlicensed so I reported him for that. He still did nothing. The roof is now missing shingles and there are exposed nail heads in many places. The more I educated myself about it the more I found. I have a guarantee and he did tell me that he would have the same unlicensed subs come fix it. You can imagine my reaction to that. Anyway no one called or came. I've decided it is not worth stressing my whole family out over it and I've done everything up to actually taking him to court. This is because he has sent a letter saying he will counter sue if I take things any further.

1 question, If I just put pictures of the work up on this website(review) with no commentary could he sue? The pictures really speak for themselves as to how this company works.

Here is a pic of the missing shingle that fell off after the first winter.

1/25/2011 at 10:42:32 PM

you can call rbq office. they will make him come and fixe the problem

1/26/2011 at 2:05:16 PM

Hey Mitchell- this guy is as fly-by-night as they come. Cut your losses & call in someone who KNOWS roofing. Do you really think that by allowing these clowns back on your property they'll do it right the second time? Call in the real pros- if you're having trouble only six months after the roof was done, they may want to remove all the shingles to see what other surprises may be waiting. A lot of roofing contractors may charge you to repair the mess, but they will only warranty if they know THEY did it right. Good luck.

1/28/2011 at 7:11:17 AM

Hi again. I did file a complaint with RBQ. They came and took a statement from me and said they will probably fine the two companies. When I asked if they will make him fix it they said they would "ask" him to, but could not make him do it. Only the court can do that apparently.

The industry is in a sad state that favors guys like this. I even wrote a review on this site and he threatened to sue(this was the first time) if I did not take it down. So you can't even touch these guys unless you give up your day job, family obligations, life in general in order to take him to small claims. I would love to have another pro come in to fix it but I just don't have the 4-5 grand to do it. Sure I could set up a payment plan but then there goes any saving for retirement, kids school, ect. for a year at least. All I can do now is wait for it to leak, call the insurance company when it does, hand them all the evidence I've collected on him and this job and hope that they take him to court. I've done everything I can do with the time and money I have.

Called/emailed him for a year to get him to fix it

Called RBQ when I found out about the unlicensed sub and he still was not honoring his guarantee

Took pictures of everything

Sent him 2 letters of intent(the first one he refused at the post office the second was sent to his door by balif)

Had another contractor look at it. (his words were "this is a hack job")

So unless I take him to court which is still not a sure deal, even if I do win. There is not much I can do until we pay off a bit more of the mortgage to use our line of credit.

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I appreciate it.

2/9/2011 at 1:36:15 AM

if the company responsible for this do not fix it by spring then call me and i will see if can can fix it for you..... no charge

3/23/2011 at 8:33:50 PM

I am so sorry to say Mitchell, I do see this problem almost daily in my line of work and unfortunatley is more your fault then theirs......... The reason I say this is you didn't do your suitable research and intirigation, which in this specific industry is most important. The whole reason sites like this are only going to get bigger and better the more standards and requirements are implemented. On the good note Mitchell it was a lesson learned, as well as any future buyers or homeowners who reads this BEFORE hiring any tradesman or contractor. Thank you Mitchell for going public with this to provide future awareness for others.

Credentials, licences, insurances and referals are proof customers MUST see before hiring any contractor!

3/23/2011 at 9:08:13 PM

I totally agree with you Dave. I was just talking about it with a friend the other day and that's exactly what I was saying. Its our fault, in the sense that we trusted his word and just let him go. I can assure you the next contractor I hire will be bombarded with questions and requests for references. The thing is though, he did hire an unlicensed sub that is against the law here in Quebec. This should be made public!! On sites like this! I wish I could warn people from using this company without putting my family at risk of some lawsuit. Even if I state the facts he could still try and drag us through court. I made an innocent mistake due to lack of knowledge. He knowingly broke the law.

And to just share some knowledge that I've learned over this whole ordeal.

If your looking to hire a contractor in Quebec. Get their RBQ # and call the RBQ office. They can tell you if any complaints have been made against the company. This is the first step anyone should make. Oh had I known this before!! Thankyou everyone for your comments.