Submitted by PowBoomZing t3_11clrc1 in baltimore
TL;DR - Beware the moment when you have no roof, your contractor has all the leverage, and they hit you with a huge repair bill.
I have a flat roof rowhouse in Charles Village. The roof was overloaded with tar, my second floor was leaking, it was badly in need of replacement.
I solicited quotes from four contractors: Four Twelve, Charm City, Kelbie, and City Builders/Roger Shiflet. I crossed Roger Shiflet off the list promptly because 1) he said "the problem" with a lot of roofing crews these days is that they're Mexican and 2) he claimed he could predict how much damage was under the many layers of tar just by tapping his feet on the roof due to, I guess, special powers of perception developed over years of experience. I did not find this claim credible. He did give me the lowest initial quote, however, which helped me get a better price from Kelbie.
Four Twelve I ruled out because they use peel-and-stick roofing material whereas the other contractors use torch-down modified bitumen which I preferred.
Between Charm City and Kelbie I went with Kelbie because my neighbor had used them about twelve years prior and their roof was holding up fine. So I felt confident in my choice. I negotiated a price of $16.5k for a complete replacement of the roof plus a layer of silicone on the front porch roof.
After I signed the contract with Kelbie there was about a three week wait while they pulled the work permits. I did not receive any status updates or timeline estimates during this time. After three weeks I was contacted at 7pm on a Sunday by the crew foreman who wanted to begin work at the crack of dawn the next day.
The crew showed up early and tore off the old roof in a single day, an impressive feat. The crew foreman called me in the early evening to give me a field report and to drop a bombshell on me: the cost of repairs would be an additional $20k. I was expecting this moment (I knew there might be some repairs required and they would only be revealed once the old roof was off) but I was not expecting the pricetag. I expressed my shock at the price tag and asked if there was anything "not absolutely necessary" that we could trim from the repairs to get the price down. His answer was a flat "no." Moreso, I would have to remit payment immediately. Half tonight and the other half tomorrow.
This moment is the main reason I'm writing this post. If you own an old house and you're getting your roof redone, you are going to experience this moment. You will have zero leverage in this moment. I literally did not have a roof on my house. Rain was expected on Thursday. The foreman even sent me a screenshot of the weather to turn the screws on me.
They told me they needed to install 15 new joists. What do I know about roof joists? They had all the expertise and all the leverage. And they acted like it. It felt like I was being extorted. An awful, sinking, humiliating feeling. Even though I didn't have the knowledge to necessarily refute what they were telling me, the dynamics of the situation set off red flags and made me feel like I was being taken advantage of.
I felt like a real sucker.
Through the miracle of family connections (thank you uncle) I was able to get a guy with ten years of roofing experience to climb up on my roof at 11pm with a flood light and make an assessment. He concluded that, yes, I was being overcharged. He said he saw one broken joist that needed to be replaced. One, not fifteen. Given my situation he advised it was best to try to make a deal with the current crew. He gave me talking points and the next morning at 430 I was back on the phone with the foreman armed with some new information.
Now he changed his tune, saying sure I could just replace the one joist but I had a dip in my roof and they pride themselves on "customer satisfaction." I said just replace the one joist, put down new plywood on the whole roof and make the other repairs, and I'll pay you $15k. He said ok.
My savior had saved me $5k. I sent him $500 as a very well-earned thank you. If only everyone could have a savior like mine in these moments.
The rest of the roofing experience was, I would say, like a typical contractor. They used particle board instead of the plywood specified in the contract. Do I want to fight them over it? No I do not. They also installed a section of the downspout incorrectly so it leaked. It took a week to repair and once again their communication was poor. I had to harangue them to get it done.
The total cost came to $31,500. I believe the work was done well and the roof is high quality (although only time will tell). But as a customer the experience was wrenching and frankly I feel they tried to use the unique leverage of the situation to extort as much money from me as they thought they could get.
I've since shared this story with friends and come to learn that it's a common experience. I don't think you should avoid Kelbie necessarily as I'm satisfied with the final product. I just think you should be aware that, with any roofer, unless they are exceptionally ethical (does a roofer like this even exist?), they're going to try to sneak a couple of fingers up your ass while your pants are around your ankles.
yeahyeahyeahyeah t1_ja3s3qm wrote
Uh, you definitely don't want fucking particle board under your roof. Call the MD Attorney General and a lawyer.