Roof Replacement Issues: The Devil is in the detail

So often as consumers we assume we are comparing apples to apples. As the roofing industry has changed through the years, and we have seen multiple hail storms come through Wichita, we have seen more and more issues related to poor workmanship. Many times we go out to fix issues to find out that a homeowner thought something was going to be replaced that was on the insurance scope of work and the contractor ended up not replacing it to cover a homeowners deducible. In many cases, this causes leak issues down the road and more money than it would have at the time of the roof being replaced.

We see this problem quite frequently when roofs are replaced. A roofer gives the homeowner a price that may be a little less than other bids, but the homeowner is not told that all the flashing or metal pan would not be replaced. This caused a big leak years later, and double the price it would have cost the homeowner at the time of the original roof replacement. Part of the issue in today's market is so few roofing owners and salesman have actual installation experience and have little to no experience in fixing and finding leaks. In many cases, this leads to issues down the road after a new roof has been installed.

This is a DaVinci single width shake roof system. The contractor didn't change out any of the original flashings around the chimney or skylights. It caused major leaks and damage just 2 years after the roof was replaced. The homeowners paid over $30,000 for a new roof and the contractor didn't take the appropriate steps to ensure the roof would not have leaked for the lifetime of the Davinci roof.

Again, the devil is in the detail. Not all estimates are the same. Even thought the price may be cheaper, it may not be cheaper in the long run. Whether you have an insurance claim to have a new roof installed, or your roof is just old and needs to be replaced. Do your homework and see if all the items that need to be addressed are truly being addressed in the proper manner.