How to Top Off Your House Without Taking a Pounding
Ireceived a call recently from a distraught homeowner who is facing a possible lawsuit brought by the roofing company she hired to re-do a leaky roof. What was supposed to be a simple job, has become a real mess--not to mention a threat to the value of her property.
This retired widow was so scared of getting sued that she didn’t want her name in the paper. She was also embarrassed about getting “taken in” so easily, but she did share her story with me.
It began with a few drops of water trickling through the ceiling of a one-room patio addition used as a library by this retired teacher. Soon she had to fill the room with a multitude of pots and pans to catch as much of the water as possible. A simple patch job by her handyman didn’t help matters; neither did several more days of rain. Like so many San Fernando Valley homeowners, this lady opened up the Yellow Pages and called in a roofing company that covered the roof with plastic and promised to start work on a new roof immediately.
Things haven’t turned out so well. Our Valley homeowner got talked into signing a $1,995 contract that called for removing the old flat roof and replacing it. While the consumer is supposed to have three working days to get out of the deal, the widow says the roofer then refused to back away because some prep work had already begun, and the roofer said that all he planned to do was put a new roof on top of the old one.
Work still hasn’t been completed on the roof and the widow has been threatened with both a lawsuit and a lien on her home. “This thing has been just exasperating,” she said. “I feel so stupid.”
This seems to be the time of year when lots of homeowners face similar situations. Two weeks of torrential downpours have been a boon to roofing contractors and many residents are desperate to protect their homes from further rain damage.
But considering that a complete re-roofing job can be one of the most expensive investments you make in a home--it could cost from $5,000 to $30,000--it’s critical to try and avoid misunderstandings with a roofer. And--as usual--asking the right questions up front is critical.
Always get three bids, advised Neal Salz, sales manager at A-1 Re-Roof Specialists in Northridge. And, he warned, don’t just settle for the lowest bid. If a roofer is offering too good a price or too generous a warranty--the average is three to five years--he said, the offer is probably too good to be true. “A lot of people go with the lowest bid on a roof,” Salz said. Instead, homeowners should be looking carefully at what they’ll be getting.
Homeowners should confirm that their roofer has a current contractor’s license, liability insurance, workers’ compensation, an established commercial business address, bonding, references from professional association and from previous customers. Don’t just take your contractor’s word for all these things, Salz said. A really legitimate roofer will provide documentation for all these things, plus phone numbers of former clients, insurance carriers and the Contractor’s State Licensing Board.
Be particularly aware of 10-year warranties that probably won’t be honored by a roofer, Salz said, and watch out for uninsured contractors who, if one of their workers get injured on the job, may end up suing you --it may cost you your home. There are even some fraudulent operators who take on roofing jobs just so that they can “hurt” themselves on the job and sue the property owner.
Valley roofer Tony Pohnel provides clients with a credential sheet listing references and telephone numbers. Most people still don’t check to see if the references are legitimate, said Pohnel, who is president of Big Valley Roofing Co. in Van Nuys. Homeowners should be sure to confirm that their contractor has a commercial place of business. Roofers are forbidden by law from operating out of their homes. If a building inspector gets on the trail of such a roofer, a homeowner’s roofing project can get shut down immediately, Pohnel said.
Before choosing a new roof, Pohnel advises homeowners to not just consider the quality of the roofer but of the neighborhood. “A bad-looking roof may decrease the value of your home,” Pohnel said. “With a bad roof, the curb appeal isn’t there for buyers.” Different neighborhoods also call for different types of roofing, he said. In a cheaper area, it’s acceptable to use asphalt and fiberglass shingles. But, Pohnel said, “you don’t use that kind of roof in the hills of Encino,” where expensive red tiles, or shingles that look like wood, are favored.
Property owners who want to be sure they make the right roofing choices should contact the Contractor’s State Licensing Board at (800) 321-2752 or the Roofing Contractors Assn. of Southern California at (818) 579-1276.
The experts advise getting references, documenting the contractor’s license and insurance and checking on references. Be wary of a roofer who can start work immediately and be sure that the contract also includes an attached notice of cancellation that can be returned within three days if you change your mind about the deal.
