By Mark J. Donovan
A neighbor of mine had their roof re-shingled last week. They went with a large home improvement box store for having their roof re-shingled, so they thought all would go well. Unfortunately it did not. The shingles arrived on the jobsite a day before the roofers showed up, which was all well in good. The problem occurred the next day when the roofing crew began installing the new shingles. They were about halfway up the first roof slope with the new shingles when my neighbor stepped out to see how they were progressing. Much to her surprise, the shingles were not the same color she had ordered.
She called the home improvement center to let them know about the mess up, and their response was “So how do you like the color?” and “Can you live with them?”. The store manager also said that he would give her a $100 coupon to use in the store if she stuck with them. This said, she had a contract that specifically called out for a certain color of shingle, and her response was “are you kidding”.
After further phone calls and uncomfortable discussions, my neighbor decided to stick with the wrong color shingles, and the home improvement center has significantly increased the number of dollars associated with the coupon. Needless to say, neither is very happy.
This entire issue could have been avoided if my neighbor had checked the shingles before the roofing crew showed up. Now she has to permanently be reminded of the mistake every time she rolls into her driveway and sees her roof.
Some may ask why the homeowner needs to explicitly check the roofing supplies. And it is a valid question. Unfortunately my answer is disappointing. When it comes to home remodeling contractors it is wise to regularly check up on them. In their defense, sometimes the problems are not always their fault. Sometimes it’s the homeowner or poor communication between the two. In this particular situation it was the home improvement center that made the mistake. They were simply installing the shingles that had been delivered to the job site.
So before the roofers show up on your roof to install new shingles, make sure to check the roofing materials first. I would also suggest using my Asphalt Shingle Roofing Bid Sheet. This bid sheet helps prevent the type of situation my neighbor found herself in.
A neighbor of mine had their roof re-shingled last week. They went with a large home improvement box store for having their roof re-shingled, so they thought all would go well. Unfortunately it did not. The shingles arrived on the jobsite a day before the roofers showed up, which was all well in good. The problem occurred the next day when the roofing crew began installing the new shingles. They were about halfway up the first roof slope with the new shingles when my neighbor stepped out to see how they were progressing. Much to her surprise, the shingles were not the same color she had ordered.
She called the home improvement center to let them know about the mess up, and their response was “So how do you like the color?” and “Can you live with them?”. The store manager also said that he would give her a $100 coupon to use in the store if she stuck with them. This said, she had a contract that specifically called out for a certain color of shingle, and her response was “are you kidding”.
After further phone calls and uncomfortable discussions, my neighbor decided to stick with the wrong color shingles, and the home improvement center has significantly increased the number of dollars associated with the coupon. Needless to say, neither is very happy.
This entire issue could have been avoided if my neighbor had checked the shingles before the roofing crew showed up. Now she has to permanently be reminded of the mistake every time she rolls into her driveway and sees her roof.
Some may ask why the homeowner needs to explicitly check the roofing supplies. And it is a valid question. Unfortunately my answer is disappointing. When it comes to home remodeling contractors it is wise to regularly check up on them. In their defense, sometimes the problems are not always their fault. Sometimes it’s the homeowner or poor communication between the two. In this particular situation it was the home improvement center that made the mistake. They were simply installing the shingles that had been delivered to the job site.
So before the roofers show up on your roof to install new shingles, make sure to check the roofing materials first. I would also suggest using my Asphalt Shingle Roofing Bid Sheet. This bid sheet helps prevent the type of situation my neighbor found herself in.
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