No homeowner wants to discover water dripping from their dining room ceiling! In a panic, I got on-line and looked up roof repairs and made some phone calls to set up appointments to have some roofing companies come to the house, inspect the roof and attic, and provide estimates.
Trevan from Roof Hounds (Formerly known as Roof Pups), and his partner came to the house. They inspected the roof and the attic. The news wasn't good. I needed a new roof and new rain gutters. There was also a strong possibility that some of the roof's decking would also need to be replaced. Also the roof to my carport and patio was in serious disrepair, but I had opted to not worry about the carport until later.
The two gentlemen were extremely thorough in going over the damage they discovered. They showed photos of my attic and roof, explained the reasons for why the roof had failed in the first place (inadequate ventilation), and then went over what it would involve to have the roof repaired. They explained the materials which would be used, and then went over the costs involved, along with financing options.
I explained that I wanted to gather some additional estimates and compare them. I did not wish to make a hasty decision; not when it comes to this kind of major expense. The gentlemen were very understanding. At no point was I made to feel pressured.
Over the course of the next two days, I had two other roofing companies come out and provide estimates. One company didn't even bother to check the attic for any damage. When I asked about that, he nonchalantly said, "Nah, I walked across your roof, it seems sturdy enough." The same gentleman didn't mention anything about insufficient ventilation. When I mentioned ventilation, he said, "Oh yeah.. I had forgotten to check that.." This guy couldn't even provide an estimate that same day. I thanked him for his time, and was thinking to myself, "Nope! Next, please!"
An estimator from another company came out, and while his estimate and knowledge was comparable to Roof Hounds, I decided to check his reviews on-line. Very glad I did. The reviews were terrible. When I contacted him later and explained I had decided to go with a different company, he started spamming me with text message after text message, demanding to know why I didn't choose his company, and to please reconsider. The text messages just kept coming. Scary. I was beginning to think, "What is this, a re-make of "Fatal Attraction?" This guy can't take a hint!" I finally blocked him. There are good companies and not-so-good companies out there.
So.... after gathering the estimates, I chose Roof Hounds. They were able to schedule the roof repairs the following week, which was very impressive.
The morning of the project, Omar showed up with a large crew of contractors and they immediately got to work tearing off the old roof. The noise was unbelievable, but this is to be expected. It sounded like there was a cattle stampede going on on the ceiling! Of course If it was whisper quiet, that would have been reason to worry! The front yard looked like a war zone! It looked like I had had one hell of a party, and for a while the place looked like a frat house, which I thought was hilarious. It's important to keep in mind that a complete tear-off of an old roof IS a messy job. The mess was just temporary. Omar and his crew did an AMAZING job cleaning everything up afterwards. They also raked the yard and used magnets to ensure there were no stray nails.
The new roof and gutters look GREAT! To my surprise, they went ahead and re-did the roof to my carport and patio anyway. FANTASTIC!
They will be retuning in a few days to replace the gable vents, as they are on back order. Except for that, the project is completed and I couldn't be happier!
No, Roof Hounds are not the cheapest company out there, NOR are they the most expensive either. They do very good work and have my back though. I highly recommend them.