ComplaintsforBlack & White Roofing

• Initial Complaint

  03/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Re Shingles Replacement Job in July 2019 on *** ******** ****** ********** ** I am writing this letter to advise you that I am not happy with the job done by Black & White in 2019 and at the explanation by your staff as to why I am having problems today. I am not your enemy but your client who has high expectations for services rendered and paid for because of your veteran status. I have made numerous calls to your office to speak directly to you but to no avail - instead, I keep getting different project managers who contradict each other and who also put each other down, and terribly rude. Before the start of the job - I advised Black & White Project Manager, **** *****: 1. I wanted all rotten plywood replaced as my house is an old house built in the 1970's. **** advised he would have to charge me for the additional plywood to replace the rotten ones. I also informed **** that I helped the seller of the house put a second layer of shingles on when I bought it in 2004. 2. I wanted the two overhangs that would be built by my contractor over the front and back door to be covered with shingles. **** advised me that he would have to charge me extra for the shingles. I informed him that it would not be a problem. 3. I wanted the existing warp on the right/front side of roof to be fixed. **** advised: He would also take care of that problem. As planned - **** went ahead and worked on the roof after my contractor (**** *************) completed his portion of the work. **** also asked **** (70 years) if he would be willing to work for Black & White as the company would benefit from his expertise for quality control purposes. **** said no. The following day after Black & White put a new roof on my house - **** asked **** to give the project a grade letter and **** gave it a letter C grade with the following reasons given: 1. The shingles were not evenly cut on both sides of the roof. 2. The shingles were cut too short on the front and back of the roof and with time the shingles will contract and water from the rain, snow and ice will eventually run into the roof. 3. The front right side of the roof near gutter had a bulge and the shingles were not placed right. **** had his men fix the bulge but he did not charge me for the extra shingles that went on the overhang after receiving the above feedback from ****. Come summer 2021, the warp on the right/front side of the roof resurfaced. I called Black & White to speak to you but Black & White sent out a project manager (PM) to look at the problem. This PM who was professional and polite and he attributed the warp to an overhead attic. He also showed me a picture of a tree stain on the roof suggesting that a tree branch fell on my room and that could have caused the plywood to separate/sag. The tree branch theory did not hold water because I had ****** **** ******* trim and cut back the overhanging branches over my house probably in 2018. **** advised I had mold growing on my roof when he worked on my tree. The project manager gave me an estimate to fix my roof; $1,000. The invoice stated: Frame in sagging plywood from attic heating issues. Note: No tree branch falling on roof was mentioned in invoice. I advised my contractor of the above and wanted a second opinion. **** was extremely busy and he was unable to help me. I went up to the attic when the weather got cooler and took pictures. I noted: The warp occurred above the right side of attic window (My attic has two windows). Besides the window, the vents were not covered, the overhangs in the middle of the house provided a lot more ventilation so did the continuous ridge gap on top of the roof. There was enough ventilation in my attic for it not to cause any plywood to sag. I called Black & White on Jan. 21, 2022 - to talk to you (your office staff and I were talking back and forth between the 26th and the 28th) but I did not get you. But instead another project manager came on the phone and stated: The reason for the plywood to sag was because the structure of my house was off - I needed to get my structure fixed before calling them. I replied: if that was the case - I will be having warps all over my roof. Another project manager (****) called me back and stated: They were hired to change shingles and not work on the whole roof. I replied: Do it right or don't do it at all! Never put good shingles over rotten plywood. I advised for Mr. ****** ******** to return my calls. Black & White sent out two project managers on January 28, 2022. One was polite and the other was obnoxious and agitated. The agitated and obnoxious one (****) kept me occupied while the other guy went up and walked on my roof! **** told me: He could be charging me $200 for Black & White to keep coming out to my place. If I thought I was going to get Black & White to fix the problem, I needed to think again. Black & White was hired to change shingles and not change the decking on my room. (Note: The Black & White contract states in box #19: Replace All Rotten Boards at $45 per board); and lastly **** stated I didn't sign the warranty offered to me! The project manager who was calm said that a tree limb fell on my house and caused the plywood to buckle. I replied: If that was the case, there would be an indentation. He showed me a picture he took while I was in the house to show **** the sagging plywood. There was an indentation! There wasn't one in the picture that was taken by the project manager who came out in July 2021. I had an independent roofer come out to check the problem (warp and sagging plywood). His cost to fix the problem: $2,169.83. He was concerned for the water stains around the area of the sagging plywood and therefore his price covered the area around the sag. I went up the attic and took more pictures on February 19, 2022 and found another plywood board beginning to sag also with water stains around the area and water stains around the bathroom vent. The same roofer gave me another estimate for all three areas - $5,249.95. The bottom line: 1. The crew placed good shingles over rotten plywood. 2. They did not address the original warp. 3. They truly did a fast C-grade job on the only house I own. When I called you last summer I was hoping Black & White would rectify the problem, but after encountering your project managers, I do not want any of your men walking on my roof. I hope you would give me the funds to get the problems fixed. I have enclosed pictures.

  

  Business response

  03/22/2022

  This is in response to customer: *********, ***** complaint as we would like to respond as this is not an accurate account of what happened on this roofing job.
  
  This job was completed for this homeowner back in August 0f 2019. The first thing I would like to address is the rotten wood situation. Our crews are instructed to tear all the way down to the decking and inspect decking to ensure all decking is in good condition and if it is not we will then replace for an additional fee per board. It also states this in our contract as well. When we tore the old roof off there was no decking that was rotten at the time of inspection and no wood was replaced due to it not needing it. The customer did not pay us to re-deck the whole house and is not marked on the contract as work doing. The customer paid for install and tear off from decking up on the house. We do not do structural changes as that is out of our scope of work.  As far as the "C grade" on our workmanship that is an opinion of another contractor that we were not even notified of a the time so we did not have the opportunity to address these issues in a timely manner. The customer also admitted to our owner and Operations manager at the time that he knew his roof was leaking and didn't notify us in a timely manner to rectify the situation.
  Now, to address the roofing damage. We came out 3-4 times over the past 2 years to work with the homeowner to resolve issues for free. We did not charge are minimum trip charge of $250.00 to the homeowner. The hump on the roof developed after a tree limb,  that we confirmed with video and photos that this is what caused the damage in question, on the roof. Our guys went out and you can clearly see where the tree branches were cut off over the roof and hit the roof when it fell also causing damage to the drip edge and fascia board on the side of the house. There is also pressed in tree bark where the hump in the roof is as well. The osb sheathing is bent in, in a way that is consistent with a tree branch falling on the roof. This homeowner is clearly trying to get us to pay for a repair that is not our fault.
  In Re: to Midwest roofing coming out and giving a quote to fix, not only is the quote unreasonable and much too high for the scope of work written, Midwest roofing is a conflict of interest towards us because we have former legal issues with this construction company.  

• Initial Complaint

  11/12/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  on 7 8 2021 i filed a claim,(************) with farmers insurance for a roof and gutters.(i paid a 1000 deductible and half of the estimate 4,720.87 to black and white) i hired black and white and they told me they would bring up my roof to code and fix the damage done. they schedule with the city to inspect the roof, the day AFTER they were scheduled to put on the roof. the day they were scheduled they were well aware of a storm coming so they worked fast to finish the job and even worked in the rain to get it all done. they decieded not to wait for the inspector on the following day and went ahead and completed the roof. disregarding the procedure necessary for the permit. the next day the inspector was not happy when he arrived and the roof was completed as he need to see certain aspects that he could no longer confirm. since this was the case after viewing the attic and garage, he told the roofers they must expose a joint and let him inspect the nailing. they refuse. since they wont i can't get the permit finalized and have my roof recorded as up to city code. after harrassement from the owner of black and white the city said i could accept responability for the roof and they would sign the permit but i do not feel comfortable with that solution, black and white refuses to cooperate and has made no effort to resolve this. i would like to get the permit finalized with the city of ****land heights and pay the remainder to black and white and move on with my life.

  

  Business response

  12/01/2021

  A Claim with farmers insurance for storm related damage was filed on 7/28/2021 this covers both roof and gutters. **** had paid her deductible of $1,000 and gave us half of the estimated cost for the job $4,720.87. She hired us to replace her damaged roof and bring it up to current Maryland Heights building code. City permits were approved on August 18th 2021 meaning the city inspectors were aware of not only the date the roof was being done but this is also the date they were scheduled for inspection which happened on 8/26. We were told the inspector would not be there until the following day and we made the decision to move forward with the roof to avoid the inevitable destruction of Mrs.******** home due to a severe thunderstorm that was set to hit at 3:00 that day the project had already begun and at this time the roof was exposed leaving no choice but to tarp or finish the project and we chose to finish it. The roof was done appropriately per city code. Originally there was a 6ft hole in Mrs.******** roof and the city wanted proof that the boards were replaced and fastened correctly. not only were the old boards in the dumpster the day the city inspector came but there was no longer a 6ft hole in Mrs.******** roof. The only procedure that was disregarded in any manner would be the City of ****land Heights inability to prioritize the city's residents in order of urgency opposed to placing them in order of convenience because what may be considered the city's convenience does not always meet the needs of the residents of ****land Heights. The following statement being truth so much so that because of this particular job the city itself has changed the law when it comes to inspections. Black and White has treated Mrs.******* with full respect, priority, and transparency. Mrs.******* has stated that Black and White has made no attempt in resolving this issue. Black and White has not only spoken to the city on multiple occasions we have even made our way into conversations with the alderman. We have come to agreement with the alderman and the city of ****land Heights and have provided them with an Affidavit which reiterates the outline of our 50 year workmanship guarantee.

  Customer response

  12/01/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *******

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