ComplaintsforKC Roofing LLC

• Initial Complaint

  07/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Our roof was replaced by a KC Roofing crew on March 27, 2024. The roof did not leak around the chimney prior to the roof replacement. Our Sales Contractor was notified via text on April 2, 2024, that the new roof was leaking. A representative from KC Roofing came out and added more caulk to the piece of metal that was wrapped around the chimney. That did not resolve the roof leak. There were multiple texts, emails, and phone conversations regarding the ongoing roof leak. Other solutions that were offered focused solely on the chimney, including rebuilding the chimney, and did nothing to address the leaking roof. KC Roofing representatives have steadfastly refused to acknowledge that the roof leak is due to their crew's faulty workmanship. The City of Lorain Building Department report shows that the roof failed the final inspection because of the roof leak. We continue to request the resolution that we've requested from the beginning - correct installation of the proper flashing for the existing structure.

  

  Business response

  07/31/2024

  First, I want to address the concerns with the Lorain Building Department. Our production manager had a conversation with the building inspector today, and it went as expected. He reviewed the photos, some of which are attached here, and contacted *** ****** with some follow-up questions. He then reversed his previous decision in light of the facts we presented and commended us for our craftsmanship and attention to detail. We will share a copy of the updated inspection report as soon as we receive it.
  
  Now, regarding the original concern of water intrusion into the home, when we initially responded to the warranty call, our team determined that the leak was due to the poor condition of the chimney and had nothing to do with our roofing system or the flashing around the chimney. The attached pictures will show her chimney in poor condition: the mortar between the brick courses is cracked or missing in several places, the wash on top of the chimney is broken, and even the flu liner is cracked at the top. **. ****** also has an old mount for an antenna bolted to and screwed into the brick. We informed her on the day of the roof installation that our team wanted to remove the antenna to bring the chimney flashing up a few courses to cover some of the more significant gaps in the mortar. She declined.
  
  Our company works all over northeast Ohio, but our office is located in Twinsburg, which is over an hour away from **. ******** home. Our repair technicians make anywhere from $30-$40 an hour because they have years of experience, and part of their job is to diagnose leaks for warranty calls or repair roofs for new customers. If there was a problem with the roofing system, we would have fixed it the first time we were there or set an appointment to come back within 24 hours if we did not have the needed material.
  
  KC Roofing takes workmanship very seriously and prioritizes any and all roof leaks above other open work. We are only human, so often things get missed during an install that require us to go back to the job. If this was an issue caused by us, whether through neglect or bad craftsmanship, it would have been fixed months ago. The problem has nothing to do with the roofing system, and the only way to address this leak is to do a full tear-down and rebuild of the chimney. This is not something covered by our warranty.
  
  **. ****** felt this was unacceptable and did not believe us that the chimney is the source of the water intrusion. We then sent our repair technicians to her house again to perform a water test. The flashing passed, and the chimney failed. This was still not good enough for her, so we offered to spray a sealant on her chimney at no cost, but she refused. She has stated that she believes a reglet flashing will fix her leak, unfortunately we cannot grind any mortar out of that chimney without the danger of collapse. On top of that, a reglet flashing will not stop water from entering at any point above the metal, there are numerous cracks in the mortar, and moss growing in between the courses of brick. As we all know, moss only grows in damp areas, and this would not be possible unless the bricks were completely saturated with water.
  
  I spoke with **. ****** personally to explain the issue at her home over a month ago. She was very receptive to the explanation I offered at the time. This is the same explanation and evidence I have presented here and to the Lorain Building Department. After all of that, I offered to have one of our masons rebuild her chimney for a fraction of what another company would charge. I even offered a workaround to save her money because we were still contracted to do additional work at her home. Again, she seemed very receptive and assured me she would let us know how to proceed. Then, a month later, we received a Certified Letter that was sent to our office, the BBB, and the Attorney General. I'm not sure what **. ****** would like us to do. Several options have been presented and ignored.
  
  Please let me know how you would like to proceed.

  Customer response

  08/06/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  On the day of the roof installation, I briefly spoke to *****, who appeared to be in charge, about kids, dogs, neighbors, and nails before the guys got started. The next time I talked to *****, the guys were packing up and getting ready to leave. Nobody asked if I wanted the antenna removed to bring the chimney flashing up a few courses. The only time person to say anything about the antenna was **** ********* during a visit to the house in the fall of 2023. He asked if we used the antenna and we confirmed that we do. The antenna is strapped to the chimney, not bolted, and has been there since 1972.
  
  
  In an effort to stop the roof leak, the first guys KC Roofing sent added extra caulking around the chimney. That didn't stop the leak.
  
  
  The next guy KC Roofing sent told my husband that tuckpointing the chimney and spraying foam on the attic side of the chimney would stop the leak. We never received a written report or estimate. The foam will not stop the roof leak. It will conceal the leak and absorb the water. Eventually, this will cause even more damage and encourage mold growth. 
  
  
  The next guy KC Roofing sent was their mason. He told my husband that the mortar joints looked good and wanted to spray the chimney with a rubberized sealant. We never received a written report or estimate. Sealing the chimney will not stop the roof leak.
  
  
  On May 14th, **** ********* called to tell me that they would be at my house around 1pm that day to adjust and reseal the flashing and "seal the grout". A few minutes later, I received a text from Matt: "We are dealing the chimney and re-caulking the flashing if this doesn't work we will grind out the chimney and flash inside" [quickly followed by another text to correct 'dealing' to Sealing*]. I told my husband about the change of plans. He called **** to tell him that we did not want the chimney sealed because it would not stop the roof leak. That evening, I sent **** an email informing him that, due to the mixed messages I was receiving from him, I wanted everything to be in writing via email from that point forward. I did not receive a response to that email. All communication ceased.
  
  
  I called KC Roofing on May 23rd to find out what was going on. I spoke briefly to the office manager, ****. She passed the call to the owner, ****** *****. During that call, ****** stated that he was tired of hearing about my house and that he does not believe me when I tell him that our roof did not leak prior to the new roof. He said he'd have to bill me if they sent anyone else out to look at the chimney. The call devolved to the point where ****** was shouting over me every time I tried to speak, so I ended the call.
  
  
  ****** called back about 20 minutes later. Against my better judgement, I took the call. I politely listened to what he had to say, ignored the repeated apologies for his earlier behavior, turned down Guardians tickets, and ended up with a written estimate to have my chimney rebuilt because it doesn't work with "the roofing system". Had we been told from the beginning that KC Roofing had a "roofing system" that involved wrapping a piece of sheet metal around vertical cut brick, adding some caulk and calling it flashing, we would have known that wouldn't work for our house and we'd have taken our business elsewhere. If we are expected to rebuild the chimney to fit "the roofing system", should we also expect to have to rebuild our house to fit "the siding system"? 
  
  
  The chimney has been inspected and there is nothing wrong with it. 
  The chimney hasn't changed. The roof has - and it leaks. 
  That's a KC Roofing problem, not the chimney.  
  

  

  Business response

  08/19/2024

  I'm not sure what else i can add to this matter.  We have provided more than sufficient photographic evidence of the chimney in question.  We have submitted the revised inspection report from the city of ****** showing the roof has passed inspection.  Everyone that has seen the photographs of the chimney, including the City of ****** Building Department, has determined that the chimney in question is beyond repair.  The photographs also show the water staining around the inside of the chimney which proves it has been leaking for a long time, despite the claims  from **. ****** alleging that this is a new problem.  

  In response to *** ******** report, I'm not sure how anyone who claims to be an expert on construction can look at a chimney with a cracked wash, missing mortar, and moss growing in the joints and declare "no issues with the chimney."  The caulk is not seperating from the chimney, and this is clearly visible in the photos.  The type of flashing that **. ****** is suggesting is a reglet flashing.  This type of flashing requires mortar to be ground out of the joints and the top part of the metal bent to fit in the joint.  This type of flashing is not commonly used in a normal chimney flashing and would never be used in this scenario.  The mortar in the chimney is deteriorated to the point where using an angle grinder would chip out large chunks of the mortar and it would start breaking off, further damaging the chimney.  

  At this time I'm not sure what would satisfy **. ******.  If it was as simple as reflashing the chimney, we would have done this months ago.  The core of the problem is that her request is impossible.  I will not touch that chimney without a waiver of liability.  I have reached out to the BBB several times to ask if they have any suggestions on how to resolve this issue.  I will await their response.

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On May 14, 2024 KC Roofing requested a shingle of my home to find out if it was discontinued. Mr. ***** ****** had me complete a service agreement indicating this was needed to remove the shingle to find out if I was eligible for a new roof. I was approved for the new roof; however, my deductible is $4,000. I was unaware of this and this amount was deducted from the estimated cost of repair. I forwarded the estimate to Mr. ****** and he stated he would take off $1,000. I informed him I never heard of such a large deductible and had no intention of paying it. When I informed him I would have other roofing companies come and give me estimates, he stated I was screwing him over and told me to look at the back of the service agreement (I did not know existed) which states, if I don't give him the business, I will be charged a 10% fee. Mr. ****** was not forthcoming and dishonest in the beginning. I was unaware I was entering into a contract. He expects me to pay him $1,843 because I want to find a better estimate the insurance will pay after the deductible. I forward the estimate from my insurance company out of good faith. If I would have never shared the information, he would not be able to charge me this amount. He has not provided any service and does not deserve this outrageous fee.

  

  Business response

  06/21/2024

  I'm sorry to hear that you feel you were treated unfairly or misled. I want to remind you that you signed a service agreement and a three-day cancellation notice, as required by Ohio law. Copies of these documents were also provided to you. We use these documents to protect ourselves in cases where customers take advantage of our time and knowledge during the claims process. Our services include multiple trips to your home, aerial measurement reports, attempted repairs, and lab reports to identify building materials on your home. These services come with costs incurred throughout the claims process, which are billed to your insurance carrier at the time of a loss settlement. While it's regrettable that you were unaware of your deductible amount and failed to read the documents you signed, this does not release your responsibility in this matter. However, in most cases, we are willing to work with homeowners to find a mutually beneficial solution. If you contact our office, I am sure we can find a solution that works for both parties.

• Initial Complaint

  11/05/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  KC roofing came out to look at my roof .They filed a claim with my insurance company. The roof is too high for us to get up there. They told me that they would put a tarp in the roof and I told them due to our HOA it had to be brown. They said no problem. Then they put blue tarps up.They also said if insurance denied then they would just remove the tarp and that’s the end. Insurance denied and we have been trying to contact them about the tarps and they never got back to us. We finally got through to them and they said they will not remove the tarps! Now we are stuck with blue tarps that we are not able to take down! Because they did not get insurance money they are done with us. We have no way to get these down and are not allowed to have blue tarps .

  

  Business response

  11/12/2021

  Please be advised that we reached out to the customer and this issue has been resolved.  We had a member of our Production Team, along with our Sales Manager and the Home Owner meet at the Customers Residence and we placed Brown Tarps over top of the Blue Tarps to the satisfaction of all parties.  Please advise if any further details are required.  We do have pictures, if needed.  Thank You. 

  Customer response

  11/16/2021

   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.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩