ComplaintsforBecca Roofing, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Had roof installed in November of 2014. Over the next 7 years, had leaks constantly throughout the house. Becca roofing blamed the issues on the pitch of the roof and attempted to correct issues. However, the workers who were coming to fix the issues said that they were finding low nails at all the leaks. In September 2021 I decided to get a second opinion on the pitch of the roof and chose to have the new company replace the roof. When they stripped the old roof, they found only 1 layer of synthetic underlayment. I checked with the county permitting office and they confirmed that there should have been 2 layers of synthetic underlayment since they weren't using peel and stick underlayment. This is likely the cause of the leaks. I paid Becca Roofing $5,664 for the roof. After discussing the issue with the owner, he is refusing to issue any refund or do anything to make this right. I realize the roof was almost 7 years old at this point, but the issue of the roof not being done to code could not have been discovered until the roof was stripped. I am asking for at least a partial refund due to the fact that Becca roofing did not install the roof according to local building codes. I am including pictures showing the roof being stripped and proof that Becca only had 1 layer of underlayment.

  Customer response

  08/18/2022

  As of 8/18/22 I have not been contacted by the business.

  

  Business response

  09/01/2022

  see attached
  See Attachment/File: ********************* Roof report.pdf

  In regards to ********************* complaint about the roof installation at his house located at ************************ there are several issues that need to be addressed.

   

  Leaks that happened several leaks occurred over the years. The first did not happen until the roof was approximately 2 3 years old and then following that, leaks were happening 1-2 times per year until the last year when they occurring after every heavy rain.

  1. the front right corner of the house. This was after a severe storm and the remedy was to apply additional sealant to the ridge vent at the top, high point of the roof. Wind had blown water under and into the side of the aluminum ridge vent. Water travelled down the slope of the roof and leaked at the front corner.

  2. Leaks were happening at the middle area of the house, the front and rear slope. Repairs were completed to inspect and repair the roof (sealing nails under the shingles) and also to seal under the aluminum ridge vent.After 2- 3 of these types of repairs, the aluminum vent was removed and a better quality shingle over style vent was installed. These leaks stopped after this work was completed and did not leak again until the last year.

  3. Back side of roof at laundry room this area had several leaks that would stop for a while then start again.Repairs to the roof were not successful at stopping the leak. This area also was prone to leaves building up/sitting on the roof. This will slow the rainwater from flowing off the roof, making the situation worse. He had large trees removed to minimize this.

  4. All leaks were responded to promptly and repairs completed for all leaks reported. The last year he was told that too much water was getting under the shingles and an offer was made to him to install a high quality,lifetime metal roof at cost. He refused this. I had told him that I would not install shingles on this low of slope roof again. This is when he arranged for a family friend ****** to install his new roof with the ********************************* Type of roof- dimensional shingles on synthetic underlayment. He is claiming that there was only one layer of synthetic underlayment installed. I cannot prove this one way or the other. When this roof was installed, the county inspectors were not allowing progress on the roof installation until they went on the roof and verified that all the bad wood was being replaced and re-nailed properly and in this case, two layers of underlayment installed. This was how all the inspections were being done and many a day we had to wait for the inspector to show up before we could proceed with work to finish the roof installation. There is on record, a county approved in progress roof inspection saying everything was correct, including two layers of underlayment. Also, the synthetic underlayment is a very inexpensive product. There is no reason not to have installed the second layer, and with the approved county inspection, I question the claims that there was only 1 layer of underlayment. The roofer that installed the new roof for ********************* is a (life long friend) of his father and is currently doing lots of work for the brother of *********************. This is what ********************* told me. Because of this, I am skeptical of any photos that he has. I am not able to verify one way or the other as to 1 or 2 layers. I will say that if there was two layers of synthetic underlayment, it would not make that much of a difference.

   

  The reason it would not make much of a difference between 1 or 2 layers synthetic underlayment is because the synthetic material is not asphalt impregnated or coated. The asphalt based coating of the material is what keeps the water from leaking down the nail shafts. 2 layers vs. 1 would make a negligible difference in stopping the leaks.

   

  The house has a very low slope roof and shingles are not the best roof for this low of a roof slope. A quick ******* or ****** search will provide testimony from many, citing the different reasons for this. ********************* insisted on the dimensional shingle roof and he chose not to install the recommended peel n stick underlayment. He wanted the dimensional shingle roof because it increases the house curb appeal (it looks better) than either a flat 3 tab shingle roof or the best roof for this low slope, a flat roof material (traditionally called roll roofing). I remember that when this was being prepared for installation, that I was told that he did not want the peel n stick underlayment because at the time money was tight and did not want to spend the money for the underlayment. ********************* was an acquaintance/friend of an associate/employee of Becca Roofing and this is what was told to me. The peel n stick underlayment is a thicker,sticky tar based membrane than the synthetic underlayment. The synthetic underlayment is a very thin bodied material,similar to Tyvek house wrap. A flat 3 tab shingle is better than the dimensional shingles for this low slope because less water will leak under the shingles, and you can safely install the nails higher up on the shingles. This is important because when the water gets under the shingles it will not usually reach the higher up installed nails. The source of the leaks on these low slope roofs is water leaking through the nails.

   

  On a new roof it takes a few years before the water is able to leak down the nail through the shingle. Once it makes it past the shingle, it has to leak through the underlayment. Once through the underlayment it leaks into the house fairly quickly. With peel n stick underlayment, the thicker tar body membrane acts as a good membrane to prevent that water from leaking through. With the synthetic underlayment, the body of the underlayment is very thin and the water leaks through fairly quickly. If there was 1 layer of two, it would not make that much of a difference. The water is leaking down the shaft of the nail and the thin membrane has nothing to create a seal around the nail. Two thin membranes has a negligible difference to 1.

   

  The reason that two layers of underlayment is supposed to be installed on low slope roofs is because it is known that water is going to get under the shingles, find its way to the nails and the leak process begins. The water usually stays to the lower edge of the top layer of shingles, sometimes migrating up higher under the shingle. The lower edge of the shingle overlap is also where the nails are located that hold the shingles down. With flat 3 tab shingles, you can install the nails higher than on the dimensional shingles. This is what makes the 3 tab shingle better to be used on low slope roofs. The way that the dimensional shingles are manufactured, if the nails are installed too high, the shingle can literally separate and split into two pieces and it may also bow up on the seam where the dimensional shingle is put together. Both of these items would be very bad for the roof.

   

  The claim that the nails were installed too low is not accurate. They were installed within the accepted nail fastening area. To install above the accepted fastening area is not allowed, and as a contractor, to purposely do that would make you liable for future shingle failures. The use of the peel n stick will prevent roof leaks for an additional period of time.It may prevent leaks for many years, or may begin to have some leaks after 4-6 years. Another bad issue is that it is probable that nails are going to completely rust away. I have seen this on several houses and is caused by the peel n stick accelerating the rust process. This is because the peel n stick will hold that water along the nail shaft but water will seep under the head of the nail. The head of the nail can rust completely away leaving the shingles with out any fasteners that are actually holding the shingles down. This of course makes them vulnerable to wind blow off.Additionally, water may be able to work itself through the peel n stick and the same situation of lots of leaks will happen.

   

  I feel that the request that ********************* be refunded money is un-just and not warranted. He opted not to have the better underlayment installed and chose to have the better looking shingle instead of the better shingle for his house.Hopefully these explanations that I tried to explain can give you a sense of the circumstances that led to the leaks that occurred.

  Customer response

  09/13/2022

   
  Complaint: 17908641
  
  I am rejecting this response because I was never advised that a different shingle type was better than another, nor the option of underlayment. This response also doesn't change the fact that it wasn't installed to ************************. Pictures provided show proof that there was only 1 layer of underlayment. The new roofer is not "life long friend". 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

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