Roofers (a rant).

[Gman]

If it's not one of my neighbors or a food delivery that I initiated, I don't answer the door.

[Irving]

Does someone here have a roofing company they would recommend?

One of the "walk-by" inspectors caught me outside and basically wouldn't take no for an answer. I was changing brakes on my truck, so I told him "fine" and he said I have damage.

I figure if I can get someone reputable to take a look, then I'll take it up with INS.

If you know your agent, call them and ask if they have a roofer they trust to give you their opinion of if 1) You have damage, and 2) you have enough to file a claim. Most insurance agents (and some real estate agents) have these roofers that they work with.

If you don't have an agent, you're back to square one. I get asked this question all the time on, and off the board. I generally only remember bad roofers that have pissed me off. The good ones get lost in the mountains of business cards. I have a few roofer friends, but they are so small of outfits, that most probably wouldn't want to work with them.

[Fentonite]

I sure miss my Rottie.

I’d offer to let Calvin come visit, but he’d be no help. Every day, he waits for the mailman. Then he ferociously charges the porch gate, spits a ball through the gate onto the sidewalk, and waits for the mailman to throw it back and then lean over the gate to give him a hug. Solicitors will sometimes see him and pass on by, but those who are dog-savvy, they have his number.

[ChadAmberg]

I'm sorry, I guess I'm just sour. I did the right thing and paid for a new roof out of my own pocket. We then have a hail storm a few years later that leaves little black circles on my amber colored roof, but I don't complain, because it doesn't leak at first. Everyone in the area has a new roof put on. Soon after, the roof starts leaking. I call and the adjustor stated he will meet my contractor at 11 AM. He calls on his way and says he is running late, he will be there at 12. I let my contractor know, so he gets there at 11:45. The adjustor is all ready gone, as he left chalk marks on my roof. I wait for a month, and nothing from the insurance company. I call them, my claim is closed because of no damage. I send them pictures of the physical damage, along with pictures of water coming inside at multiple locations.
They send out the same adjustor again. This time I am there with my contractor to meet him. He draws his little 10x10 square, we find "enough" hit marks for him to say that is enough. We go to the other side of the roof, he draws his 10x10 square, we find a lot more hits. He says that is more than enough and he leaves. I wait 3 weeks and nothing. I call, my claim is closed again because of no damage.
The adjustor lied directly to me and my contractor. My insurance agent came out and looked at the roof, and says he can not understand how it is not being replaced. This is my only claim in 17 years.
**#! It. I'm sour.

You know, this is exactly why I always tell people when you get insurance, don't make your only comparison the amount you pay, that all insurance companies are not the same.

Amica bought me 3 new roofs on my previous house in 10 years, without any hassle in the least. The last time, the adjuster was pointing out things that the contractor needed to fix in addition to the roof, like some downspouts, window screens, and other things that we hadn't noticed at all and really couldn't even tell were issues.

[Justin]

Tell them you are a renter. Not the owner. Problem solved.

Thanks for this tip. I used it on one of these people who called about a new roof and it immediately shut down the whole conversation.

[Irving]

You know, this is exactly why I always tell people when you get insurance, don't make your only comparison the amount you pay, that all insurance companies are not the same.

Amica bought me 3 new roofs on my previous house in 10 years, without any hassle in the least. The last time, the adjuster was pointing out things that the contractor needed to fix in addition to the roof, like some downspouts, window screens, and other things that we hadn't noticed at all and really couldn't even tell were issues.

Amica may or may not be my favorite company to work for so far, if in fact I have ever worked for them.

[Zundfolge]

Jeebus the roofing guys are getting pushy AF ... now they call and instead of saying "Mr Zundfolge, we'll have inspectors in your area on Friday, would you like us to look at your roof and make an assessment of any hail damage?" they say "Mr Zundfolge, when we do your roof inspection tomorrow we'll provide you with paperwork for your insurance company" and you have to interrupt them and say "Dude, for the last fucking time I don't want a goddamn roof inspection!" And you really want to add; "...and if your guys set foot on my fucking property they're going to get to lay in the grass proned out at gunpoint waiting for police to arrive, Capiche?"

[Grant H.]

Jeebus the roofing guys are getting pushy AF ... now they call and instead of saying "Mr Zundfolge, we'll have inspectors in your area on Friday, would you like us to look at your roof and make an assessment of any hail damage?" they say "Mr Zundfolge, when we do your roof inspection tomorrow we'll provide you with paperwork for your insurance company" and you have to interrupt them and say "Dude, for the last fucking time I don't want a goddamn roof inspection!" And you really want to add; "...and if your guys set foot on my fucking property they're going to get to lay in the grass proned out at gunpoint waiting for police to arrive, Capiche?"

My wife is out of town, and I have a strange schedule this week, so I showed up at my house randomly in the middle of the day, just in time to watch one of these idiots take a ladder off his truck and start walking towards my garage (easiest access onto the roof, although you can't see that from the cul de sac, so I assume he had already scouted where he was going).

Needless to say, when I pulled in the driveway and hopped out with a sharp toned inquiry as to what he was doing, he was bumbling around about checking for hail damage. I asked if he had received permission to inspect the roof, and he didn't want to answer. When pressed he said no. He had rung the door bell and when he didn't get a response he was going to check the roof and leave us a form with his notes, and a request that we call.

I made a very obvious show of taking a picture of his truck/license plate, and informed him that if I saw him on our cul de sac again, I would call the police. (Completely unenforceable if he's just on our cul de sac, but I think it scared the piss out of him).

I have had additional security cameras sitting in the garage to add to the couple already installed, but I have been procrastinating due to work.

Yeah, they're all installed now.

Screw living in the city... Time to move.

[TheGrey]

Two years ago, after a decent hail storm, our neighborhood was CRAWLING with roofing companies. If they weren't knocking on our door, they were leaving damn leaflets and brochures all over the porch. I caught the brochure-stuffing door knocker on the second day, pointed out my "No Trespassing" sign, and politely asked him to no longer bother us. He was a twenty-something kid that mumbled something, but left.

On the third day, I came home to another brochure on my door. I walked down the block until I found the kid, whipped out my cell phone and started recording video. "If I find one more goddamn brochure on my door, I WILL hunt down the owner of your company and dump every brochure in this neighborhood on his doorstep, and I will call the sheriff on you. Now I have video evidence to telling you to stay off my property. Do. You. Understand."

I never received another brochure from that company. Alas, four more stepped up to take their place. Roofing companies must be a front for Hydra.

[BlasterBob]

I can’t recall the name of the roofing company but they were a pretty big concern out of CO Springs. We hired them to replace our roof down in Trinidad just prior to selling our place and moving out of Colorado. Instead of being on hand to start the job at 8 AM, they allegedly got lost and didn’t get to our place until 3PM. Told them they should forget starting that late and come back following day. No, they had to do it that day! Only one guy could speak english and they finished the job that night in the dark using FLASHLIGHTS. Also, the wrenches the needed to remove hardware attached to the roof, they didn’t bring along so I had to loan them some of my own tools. Of course, they “forgot” the tools were mine and did bring them back a few days later. The application of shingles was actually passable but reapplying the dish and other hardware was as if some kid in the first grade did that job. Wish I could recall the name of the C.S. roofing company.