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Our Roofing Experience - Good, Bad and Ugly

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by SarasMom, Oct 23, 2006.

  1. boomertsfx

    boomertsfx Booyakasha!

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    I think I need to see some pictures... =)
     
  2. Forum Administrator

    Forum Administrator Member Forum Staff

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    Off-topic posts have been removed. Those involved should use the PM system if they wish to continue their personal conversation.
     
  3. Bacon

    Bacon New Member

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    He did the exact same thing to me. I have submitted a complaint to the BBB. Horrible communication and does not back up his warranty!
     
  4. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Bacon-
    Send me your contact info here or via PM and I'll get a hold of Kirk.
    JJNA's have since been resolved.
     
  5. suzan9

    suzan9 New Member

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    Does anyone know if James Home Improvement is the same company as Sherlock and Son contracting? Scott Gammons post sounds a lot like our experience with Sherlock. They said they would throw in stuff for free, never returned calls especially for 2 weeks when they were in Florida for a funeral (but this was in July or Aug of this year).
     
  6. whitney1125

    whitney1125 New Member

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    I know their last name is Sherlock, so most likely the same people.

    Another funeral? They must be running out of family members by now!
     
  7. jjna

    jjna New Member

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    It took a little while, but Kirk came back and re-did the work and compensated me for the additional interior damage by doing some extra work for me.

    Kirk is a standup guy, and he did right by my book. I told him that I'd recommend him for a neighbor and he said "Really? Even after the first job I did didn't turn out well?"

    I told him that even first class operations do not have a 100 percent record. But what separates the first class operation with a third class one is that the former rectifies any mistakes and takes the appropropriate remedial action to the reasonable satisfaction of the customer.

    Kirk/Apex did that, so I will recommend him again.

    In fairness, he was a little bit hard to get a hold for a few weeks, but I believe he was swamped with some personal matters AND the volume of work (his is a small operation), so I am satisfied that he eventually contacted me on his own accord and made everything right.

    Of course, there is no way to know whether the repair took completely until we have another hurricane, so we'll see. :blush:
     
  8. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    THANK YOU for posting this. customer service after an error tells more about a company than doing a job perfectly the first time! glad you closed the loop and didn't leave an open ended complaint here. :):boogie:
     
  9. suzan9

    suzan9 New Member

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    I guess Sherlock Contracting changed their name from James Home Improvement because of the complaints. Our friends also used them and had the same problems, roof and chimney still leaking, phone calls never returned. Someone gave me their address and when I drove there - there was no such address.

    Does anyone have a company they would recommend to replace 1 window? I guess since Sherlock fixed the flashing that it is not that. We caulked the window and although that helped it still leaks.
     
  10. steelcuda

    steelcuda New Member

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    I am the friend of Susan9 that had the same experience. It seems to me that we should be able to do something about this. There are enough of us out enough money that we should be able to take legal action. These guys are defintely con-artists.

    They actually made things worse and did damage to my vinyl wrapping. They said that they "sealed" the wrapping by driving 8 screws through the piece directly under my window! Total garbage.
     
  11. hberg

    hberg give me some of your tots

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    VACLIFF,
    I am trying to get a hold of Kirk too! Unrelated to the first repair he did for me, we are seeing some water spots in the drywall in our Master Bedroom/by the vent and down right by my closet (looks like run down). Something is up :angryfire: and we don't want to ignore the problem as it continues to rain. Lord knows how long we have had this stinking link.

    I will IM my private info to you.
     
  12. Scott Gammans

    Scott Gammans New Member

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    WOW. Just... wow. :( You hear horror stories and can't believe that there are companies out there like this.

    I came back to this thread to see if any new recommendations popped up... sometime over the Christmas holidays I lost a piece of siding on my Miller & Smith house. From what I'm reading here it looks like there are no contractors currently in good standing... all of those negative posts about Apex really give me pause!
     
  13. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    Check back with them...to my knowledge they were all quickly resolved with good results. Maybe you missed their positive follow up responses?
    5 positive responses about Apex, 1 negative that later posted his positive follow up experience, and 1 other negative post that has since been resolved. Not too bad a track record. Especially since he's done dozens and dozens of jobs here. Good luck on your repair!
     
  14. cindyb

    cindyb New Member

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    I just recommended James Home Improvement to a neighbor for roof damage during the last wind. He was there in less than 24 hours and they were very happy with his service.
     
  15. Thunderchild

    Thunderchild New Member

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    This information may or may not help some of the people on the board with the problems they have with siding and roofing. I have found that some of the builders hired contractors who did not install the roof shingles correctly. For example, on the underside of the shingle is a 2"-3" strip of "tar" that helps the shingle stay attached to the roof. There is a protective film over this and it needs to be removed prior to being nailed down. The roofer who did my house and a couple of my neighbors did not remove this protective strip so the shingles are only attached with the roofing nails. I have been up on the roof 3 or 4 times to replace shingles that have blown off.

    As for the siding, again the problems are related to the builder using "thermaply"(cardboard) instead of plywood for the sides of the house. The siding is attached with nails and if the installer does not hit a stud with the nail, the nail is really not connecting the siding to the house and thus comes off during windy days. The problem is worse on the the gables or peaks of the house, the siding may have 1 or 2 studs in which to nail the siding to and if he misses, the siding is only connected with the lip of the siding that is below it. I have had to replace siding 3 times on my house and twice for a neighbor. Finally the neighbor had to get a contractor ot come out and replace the siding on 2 sides of the house.

    So if and when I get the money, I will be replacing the thermaply with plywood and having the roof removed and replaced by a good contractor if I can find one.

    Good luck
     
  16. Scott Gammans

    Scott Gammans New Member

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    I'm glad that your neighbor had a good experience. It is going to take a LOT of positive experiences reported by different people on this board before I ever trust James Home Improvement with fixing anything on my house ever again. The fact that they changed their name at some point this year certainly doesn't give me the warm-n-fuzzies.

    vacliff, I'll go ahead and give Apex a call... thanks!
     
  17. Suttonan

    Suttonan New Member

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    Are you sure you mean shingles? As a former roofer I can tell you with 100% confidence that the plastic stripping you refer to does not have anything to do with the shingles sealing together. There is a "ice and water shield" applied to eaves and valleys that requires the plastic backing to be removed prior to installation, but shingles don't require that. On the contrary, the plastic strip is placed there to keep the shingles from sticking together when bundled. And given the position of the plastic, it does not come close to the tar strip when installed properly so removing it would have no effect.

    That said, a standard 25 year shingle should be able to hold up to winds in the ~50mph range if installed properly. If shingles are coming off on a regular basis, it could very well be they weren't installed properly but, again, without anything involving the plastic strip. The most common problems with shingle installations are:

    1) Nails "blown through" the shingles - installers do not properly adjust nailing guns or technique to allow for temperature and the nails go through the shingle if too hot or break the shingles if too cold. Believe it or not, I've seen days where you went from quite cold, to quite warm, to quite cold again so you have to pay attention.
    2) "High Nailing" - properly installed nails pass through the top shingle just above the exposed portion and through the shingle below them. Nails that are placed too high miss the shingle below, thus preventing the lower shingle from being secured properly.
    3) Edge of roof not installed properly - The "rake" (far left/right end of a roof) should have double nails low and high to prevent the wind from lifting them up too much.
    4) Shingles not sealed properly - If a roof is brand new, sometimes the wind comes before the shingles reach the required temperature and they will lift up. Otherwise, this could be caused by debris getting onto the tar strip before, during, or after installation and preventing a proper seal.

    I have seen all of the above on a single roof before, so to say they are common is an understatement. It is also possible you got a bad batch of shingles, but you'd need to get a qualified roofer out to inspect the installation and then work w/ the manufacturer if that is the case. In a lot of ways, it is similar to the siding issues you mentioned. Proper nailing is absolutely required to insure the proper performance of the material.

    Katchmark Construction is a local company that has been around for a while and demonstrated stability and a commitment to their business. Here is the website: http://www.katchmark.com/

    I never worked there, but I did work with several of the current employees and met the owner a few times.

    Good luck!
     
  18. Thunderchild

    Thunderchild New Member

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    Suttonan,
    Yes, I am refering to the shingles, I was going by what the roofers who installed my neighbors roof told me an since they are the "professionals" I took their word for it. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Maybe they were trying to get me to replace my roof also.

    Thanks,
     
  19. Suttonan

    Suttonan New Member

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    No problem. If you do decide to get any work done, feel free to PM me if you would like any other impartial thoughts on the information you get.
     
  20. signifer

    signifer Member

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    Any idea if Katchmark does small jobs? We have a 2-3 foot gutter that won't handle the water during a hard rain and I think it needs to be replaced by something bigger.

    Thanks,
    signifer
     

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