Tile Roofs Are Repaired Fast in Face of Rain Threat

Residents in a Mission Viejo neighborhood--upset about roofing work on their newly built homes--were preparing for rain Tuesday as workers made quick repairs to roofs damaged this weekend by wind.

Several of the new homeowners took the day off from their jobs so they could talk with inspectors from the county, the developer and the roofing company, who were assessing the damage under threatening rain clouds.

“It’s too early to come to any conclusions,” Dan Newman, the county’s supervising building inspector, said Tuesday. “We’re asking all residents right now to take all due precautions with the upcoming rain.”

The developer, Barratt American of Irvine, sent repair crews to patch holes from missing vent covers and replace tiles that had blown off the roofs.

Significant Damage

According to Barratt officials, about 100 homes had at least one tile missing, but about 20 had more significant damage, such as the aluminum heater vent covers blowing off, leaving holes in the roof.

“The main problems are where the vents blew off,” said David Brewster, Barratt’s customer service representative, who was repairing roofs in the Ventana neighborhood development. “We’re just trouble-shooting right now. . . . We’re trying to batten down the hatches before the rain.”

Neighbors on Whitebark Street banded together Tuesday to question inspectors about the installation methods used to fasten the tiles and other roofing materials. Many of them said they were afraid to leave their homes during the weekend, for fear of being hit by a falling roof tile.

Brad Parker, who lives on Whitebark, showed inspectors an aluminum vent cover he found in his driveway Sunday morning. The cover, about six feet long, had been held in place with two nails and had blown off Parker’s roof, taking several tiles with it.

Barratt President Mark Frazier said Tuesday the roofs were designed to withstand winds of 60 m.p.h., the estimated maximum wind for that area of Mission Viejo. The El Toro Marine Air Corps Station reported weekend winds gusting to 63 m.p.h. in some Mission Viejo areas.

Early Complaint

But Barbara Beckman, who lives on Ponderosa Street, said her roof was one of the first to be repaired because she had called Barratt American last week, before the heavy winds, with complaints of tiles falling off.

“My argument was that they get out and fix it soon because it was a pre-existing problem,” Beckman said. The 20 fallen red tiles on her roof were replaced with temporary gray tiles.

Mario Napoles, whose daughter owns the house next door to Beckman, said tiles had been falling off the roof even before the strong winds.

If the inspections determine that tiles were blown off the roofs by winds stronger than 60 m.p.h., it will be considered an act of God and not the responsibility of the contractor or the developer, officials said. The homes, all less than a year old, are still under warranty, which does not cover damage caused by acts of God.

But Frazier said the damage was minor enough for the company to pay for the repairs. He estimated $20,000 to $30,000 in damage.

“It’s not a major amount. It’s not going to cost the homeowner anything,” he said, adding that the roofing contractors probably will charge Barratt for the repair work.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” said Mike Novak, sales manager for Advantage Roofing of Riverside, one of three subcontractors hired by Barratt to install the roofs.

“This is something I equate to an earthquake. In my opinion, this was an act of God,” Novak said, adding that he stood behind the quality of work by his company.

He said the roofs were installed according to the building codes for the area. “I’m not telling you they can’t be installed with more precautions,” he said, referring to areas such as Ontario, where stronger winds require that roof tiles be installed more securely with extra nails or clips.

Novak said the best way for residents to have their roofs better secured is to lobby the county Building Department to change the requirement based on the area’s winds.

The roofers must follow uniform installation methods for the tiles. These methods are determined by a building industry agency that oversees building instructions, in this case, the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) of Whittier.

The county inspected the homes when construction was completed, but now there is some confusion regarding the interpretation of the ICBO specifications for the clay tiles.

“The way the (specifications) are drawn, there can be a legitimate difference of opinion, and we’re going to clarify that,” Newman said.

The ICBO specifications call for the tiles to be fastened with two nails, but several residents on Tuesday pointed to tiles on their roofs that were not nailed down.

“There are some tiles that are loose,” Newman said. “The problem is there are nails lying there. If they are there, they were obviously put in. The only way they would come loose is with the high wind.”

In the meantime, there is tar paper underneath the tiles that will prevent water leakage into the homes, Frazier said, adding that permanent repairs will be completed within three days.

“We know it was not a real sloppy installation, but we don’t yet know what the cause was (for the tiles falling off),” Frazier said.

Still, the residents are concerned about the safety of their neighborhood.

“We’re not going to stand for this,” said resident Robert Pompeo, who, along with his neighbors, said he might have to take legal action if repairs don’t prevent the tiles from flying off again.