Roof Gets No Respect From Termite Company

We recently sold our home in the Valley Village area of North Hollywood. The transaction went smoothly except for one matter--termites.

When the house was inspected, we learned there were termites, and it needed to be tented. Several years ago, we had termite work done, so were surprised the place needed tenting.

We were advised by our real estate agent that the house would not pass inspection without the tenting, so we agreed to it.

This is the part that bothers me: We received disclaimers from the termite company relieving them of any damage to our roof.

Cement tile is fragile stuff, I learned from the roofing contractor who checked the roof before the tenting. He assured us the termite company would “trash” the roof and there would be no recourse. To be prepared, we made sure the same tile and color was still available, so we could make necessary repairs.

The roofer was right. Although I called the termite company and practically pleaded with them to “please be careful,” their attitude was “Hey, you either do it or the house won’t pass inspection.”

After the tenting, we had to call the roofer to replace more than 35 tiles. He spent the day at this job. We spent additional funds for the roofing.

We did not want a new roof, we wanted someone to take a more responsible attitude. Why isn’t there a state law governing the way termite companies treat roofs?

EVIE WILLIAMS

Via e-mail

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