How to Avoid Choosing a Bad Roofing Contractor InspectAPedia® -
An anecdote describing a bad roofing contractor and how this snafu occurred
Roof shingle manufacturer certification programs for roofing contractors
How to get the best roofing job on your home
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This website discusses how to get the best roofing job. Here we give an example of a "bad" roofing contractor,
discuss roofing contractor certification programs, and we give some simple tips on how to get a good roofing job.
The photograph above shows a laminate-type roof shingle installed improperly on an irregular dome-shaped roof.
This amateur roofing job shown
in the photo and the improper roof installation described at this page were not done by a
GAF Master EliteTM nor any by any other certified roofing contractor.
The roofer who put these
shingles in place probably lacked proper training - something which some roof contractor certification programs are trying to address.
But don't assume that every "certified" roofer is one you want to do business with.
Readers should also see CHOOSING A ROOFING CONTRACTOR.
Paying a high price for a new roof does not guarantee a good job. In this case the roof was a wood shingle job but it could have
been any roofing material.
One of my clients called me, breathless on the telephone, very worried about her new roof. Here's how it went.
Client: "I need you to come down right away to inspect my new roof," she practically shouted. We had inspected the home months before, and among my findings was the need to replace a worn and leaky wood shingle roof over one of the sections of this large home.
DF: "What's wrong"?
Client: "I think the roofers have screwed up my new roof - they're just finishing it up today."
DF: "Why do you think there's a problem?"
Client: "Well first of all the contractor could not keep a crew on the job. This is the third group of workers to work on my roof, and none of them speaks English, and no one has been supervising them."
DF: "Sounds iffy, but someone might be trained and still not speak good English, what else?"
Client: "Well it was what the supervisor was shouting at them this morning when he came back to the job!"
DF: "What was he shouting?"
Client: "You IDIOTS! You COMPLETE IDIOTS! Not like THAT!!"
DF: "I'd better come take a look."
I drove to the site. The wood shingle roof was beautiful. Every shingle looked perfect, except for one thing: all of the shingle side joints were lined-up perfectly, straight up the roof. There was no shingle side offset. This roof would leak at the first rainstorm."
I met with the roofing contractor at the job, without the client present, hoping to for some candor between us.
The conversation with the roofing contractor went like this:
DF: "Gee, this roof is not installed properly at all - your crew lined up all of the side joints rather than providing 1 1/2 to 2" of offset of these joints between shingle courses. This roof is going to leak. Or did you install ice and water shield under all of the shingles?"
ROOFER: "This roof is installed EXACTLY according to industry specifications. There is NOTHING wrong with it."
DF: "What about the side lap offset"
ROOFER: "Side lap offset is NOT REQUIRED. That's bullshit" (Things were heating up.)
DF: "So you've read the manufacturer's specifications and the wood shingle specs from the industry's Red Cedar and Hand Split Shake Bureau?"
ROOFER: "Absolutely. These shingles are installed EXACTLY as the manufacturer says to put 'em on."
I walked over to a pile of wood shingle scraps and debris which the crew had swept up in the center of the client's courtyard. The crew were standing off in the shade watching with interest. Every bundle of wood shingles comes with a little piece of paper, usually identifying the manufacturer, the shingle source, and including a drawing of just how to put the shingles on the roof, including showing the required side-offset between shingle courses. We leaned down to the pile and pulled out one of these little pieces of paper that had the drawing intact and holding it we walked back to the roofing contractor.
DF: "What about this drawing? It was packaged with every bundle of shingles. See the sketch and the lines marking the required side-lap offset?"
ROOFER: "I'm outta here you jerk."
The high-paid roofing contractor and the crew got into their truck and left.
This was a $60,000. roofing job that actually had a NEGATIVE value since now, to put on a proper roof, the new roofer would first have to REMOVE all of the shingles that had just been applied, increasing the labor cost of the job.
How had my client chosen this particular contractor?
She did not call the better business bureau; she did not ask for references; she did not care about the price;
she chose the roofing contractor who was immediately available so that she could "get it done and be finished with it".
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Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Architectural elements: the technological revolution: Galvanized iron roof plates and corrugated sheets; cast iron facades, columns, door and window caps, ... (American historical catalog collection), Diana S Waite, available used out of Amazon.
Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide, Edmund C. Snodgrass, Lucie L. Snodgrass, Timber Press, Incorporated, 2006, ISBN-10: 0881927872, ISBN-13: 978-0881927870. The text covers moisture needs, heat tolerance, hardiness, bloom color, foliage characteristics, and height of 350 species and cultivars.
Green Roof Construction and Maintenance, Kelley Luckett, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2009, ISBN-10: 007160880X, ISBN-13: 978-0071608800, quoting: Key questions to ask at each stage of the green building process Tested tips and techniques for successful structural design
Construction methods for new and existing buildings
Information on insulation, drainage, detailing, irrigation, and plant selection
Details on optimal soil formulation
Illustrations featuring various stages of construction
Best practices for green roof maintenance
A survey of environmental benefits, including evapo-transpiration, storm-water management, habitat restoration, and improvement of air quality
Tips on the LEED design and certification process
Considerations for assessing return on investment
Color photographs of successfully installed green roofs
Useful checklists, tables, and charts
Problems in Roofing Design, B. Harrison McCampbell, Butterworth Heineman, 1991 ISBN 0-7506-9162-X (available used)
Roofing The Right Way, Steven Bolt, McGraw-Hill Professional; 3rd Ed (1996), ISBN-10: 0070066507, ISBN-13: 978-0070066502
Slate Roofs, National Slate Association, 1926, reprinted 1977
by Vermont Structural Slate Co., Inc., Fair Haven, VT 05743, 802-265-4933/34. (We recommend this book if you can find it. It
has gone in and out of print on occasion.)
Roof Tiling & Slating, a Practical Guide, Kevin Taylor, Crowood Press (2008), ISBN 978-1847970237, If you have never fixed a roof tile or slate before but have wondered how to go about repairing or replacing them, then this is the book for you. Many of the technical books about roof tiling and slating are rather vague and conveniently ignore some of the trickier problems and how they can be resolved. In Roof Tiling and Slating, the author rejects this cautious approach. Kevin Taylor uses both his extensive knowledge of the trade and his ability to explain the subject in easily understandable terms, to demonstrate how to carry out the work safely to a high standard, using tried and tested methods.Â
This clay roof tile guide considers the various types of tiles, slates, and roofing materials on the market as well as their uses, how to estimate the required quantities, and where to buy them. It also discusses how to check and assess a roof and how to identify and rectify problems; describes how to efficiently "set out" roofs from small, simple jobs to larger and more complicated projects, thus making the work quicker, simpler, and neater; examines the correct and the incorrect ways of installing background materials such as underlay, battens, and valley liners; explains how to install interlocking tiles, plain tiles, and artificial and natural slates; covers both modern and traditional methods and skills, including cutting materials by hand without the assistance of power tools; and provides invaluable guidance on repairs and maintenance issues, and highlights common mistakes and how they can be avoided.
The author, Kevin Taylor, works for the National Federation of Roofing Contractors as a technical manager presenting technical advice and providing education and training for young roofers.
The Slate Roof Bible, Joseph Jenkins, www.jenkinsslate.com,
143 Forest Lane, PO Box 607, Grove City, PA 16127 - 866-641-7141 (We recommend this book).
Solar heating, radiative cooling and thermal movement: Their effects on built-up roofing (United States. National Bureau of Standards. Technical note), William C Cullen, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govt. Print. Off (1963), ASIN: B0007FTV2Q
"Weather-Resistive Barriers [copy on file as /interiors/Weather_Resistant_Barriers_DOE.pdf ] - ", how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
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