Susan asks…
What can I do if a roofing contractor has not started my roof two weeks after the expiration of his contract?
I signed a contract for a new roof on 4-18-08 to be completed by 5-21-08, but they have not started on it yet. I have paid 1500.00 upfront, to which I keep thinking I will not get back for work that has not even began. He will not call us, and will not answer his phone. I am supplying materials in which pallets of shingles have been killing my grass. I have had a dumpster in my driveway for all that time, thinking it would be started on 4-20-08. So now I know I am out 400 for the dumpster. How do I get my money back? Please help. To make things more, I just did a license check and found his roofing license is expired! I am not sure of the next step I should take in the process!!!!!!!!!!!!!
admin answers:
You simply sue him for breach of contract,for the cost of the dumpster..and the cost to replace your lawn for it would not have happened if he kept his contract….You may also see about sueing him for an additional amount for fraud if the license was expired when you signed the contract if he said and represented himself as being liscened at the time…You may also sue him for interest on the money you have given him the maximum amount of what your state allows..
David asks…
How late in the season can a roof be reshingled?
We signed a contract to have our roof redone at the beginning of September, saying it would be 3-4 weeks out on the work. However, it’s about 30 degrees here now & probably going to start snowing within the next week or two & they still haven’t started the work. My husband said if it is too cold, they can’t do the work because the shingles won’t go together right or something along those lines. Is that true? What temps would make it too cold for them to complete the work?
We had a verbal agreement that the work would start 3-4 weeks out- which would have been the end of September. The high today is 40 degrees.
admin answers:
Shingles have adhesive on them. Even though you nail them down, they are made so that heat from the sun melts the glue and seals them. It don’t necessarily have to be hot weather to do this, but if it cold enough to snow i would question whether or not they would seal properly.
Ruth asks…
Are there toxic fumes coming into my house? funny smell? is it harmful or poisonous? what is causing this?
In my house there are upstair attic rooms with sloping ceilings. The ceilings are very close to the top of the roof. A couple of weeks ago i had some guys come over to redo the tiling on the roof of my house. I had asbestos shingles removed. I could clearly hear them banging away as they were doing their work.
Ever since that day I’ve been smelling a weird smell in one of the upstair attic-rooms. It was very thick and strong the day that I had the roof done. The smell is still hanging around stale in this room. It smells like exhaust. It makes the room a little hard to breathe in.
So what’s with this smell? Is it some kind of stale exhaust that came out of their equipment as they were working that is now lingering in the room? Is this some sort of bad sign? I’ve tried opening the window to air the room out, but the smell still lingers, and I come home to hang out in this room and I keep smelling this stale odor. It’s hard to peacefully sleep or breathe. I dont think this smell is coming from outside. My road has a fair amount of cars driving on it, but this smell only came the day when I had the roof redone. A downstairs room smelled a little bit like this too when I had the roof redone, but it went away.
admin answers:
Clearly, something is wrong. You should have your new roof and attic and room inspected by an independent home inspector to determine the source of the smell.
Best wishes and good luck.
Michael asks…
My boss is using me. How do I stand up and ask for more money?
Just started working with my wife as managers of an apartment complex 4 months ago. We get free rent and a salary on top of that. We get to paint our apartment, and decorate however we please. We wrote up a contract describing our job description but in our busy schedules, niether the owner or ourselves have had the time to sign it. Now I’m getting all kinds of things added to my list of maintenance duties that were never discussed. Formica, flooring, and for the next month, I’m up on the roof helping out a roofing company tear off old shingles and roof decking… I’m not getting paid anymore. And I still have to do maintenance on the rest of the complex, run a commercial pool, and walk the property for trash… not to mention other manager duties.
admin answers:
Even with a job description he could ask you to do this. You could say yes, or no; depending on various things but its up to you to say no if you can’t/ won’t do these things.
If you don’t want to do some stuff, just tell the roofing contractor you are busy – then I’d clear out of the building. If the flooring is something the boss asked you to do directly, either do it or tell him you can’t because you are busy, but you’d be happy to get a company to take care of it. Or, just tell him this is not something the two of you agreed to, but you would be willing to do it for XXX dollars.
He has the option of getting a new building manager if he doesn’t think you are doing enough, but its hard to find good building managers. Of course you have the option of getting a new job (acting as manager at a different building) but it can be hard to find good work too. Anyhow, he is just trying to get extra work from you, can’t really blame him for trying. You’ve got to stand up for yourself, within reason, or just accept this as part of the job and do it.
Nancy asks…
Roofing contractor asked if it’s ok if he uses pick-up truck instead of dumpster?
We had agreed on a dumpster in the contract; I had it checked by an attorney and we signed it; and right afterwards he asked me if it’s ok if he uses his pickup truck instead of paying for a dumpster. I was a bit surprised and thought about it for a few minutes, then agreed that it was ok. My reasoning was that as long as he got rid of the old shingles, why should I care how he does it? If I can save him a few bucks and he’s happier with the job; all the better – yes? Am I missing something?
—btw thanks for answering this and my previous questions about roofing; you’ve been VERY helpful.
Would they have put a tarp on the ground with a dumpster? Or would it have been easier for them to chuck them in the dumpster?
Marko – that may be true; but if he’s going to skim off the job (I assume they all do) I’d rather have it be something I know about and ultimately doesn’t affect me (assuming he cleans up as he said he would)…agree?
Marko – I am inclined to agree with you on all points
Gordon – good point; I did consider that
Mike – excellent points
admin answers:
What most of the replies here have overlooked is that the contractor will have to work to unload the used materials. He will also have expenses associated with hauling the materials to a dump. And he will have to pay the dump to unload the waste there. Had he paid to have a dumpster on location, the dumpster company would have incurred these expenses and reaped the profit from hauling the materials to the dump.
There should be no difference in the way the materials are handled at your house other than the contractor may have to make more than one trip to the dump where a dumpster may have allowed for only one trip.
Allow the contractor to make the profit instead of the dumpster company as long as the waste materials are legally disposed of.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
