I'll give not-so-quick bullet point rundown:

* Thought we did our due diligence on roofing companies for install of a synethic slate roof (Davinci). Not a cheap install. They had done these roofs before, couldn't find any negative reviews about them. Company had only been around 3-4 years, but that was due to the owner previously owning a roofing company and having a non-compete for a few years after selling so he played golf for a while before starting up this company.

* During install one of their guys ended up cutting some A/C wire. We fixed it, not a big deal. But then a week later during our first rain, we had a leak in the bathroom. Called him, he had his guy come out there and fix it.

* At this point I had an expensive roof that I wasn't supremely confident was installed properly, so I engaged another well-known roofing company to come out and take a look at it. They had one of their sub-contractors come take a look, and gave me a detailed rundown of the issues. Among a lot of other lazy things, they said even the starter tiles are not spaced correctly so there's a ton of removal that needs to take place. They were kind enough to send me a detailed report with pictures of many of the issues.

* Obviously said roofing company isn't really interested in repairing an taking ownership of someone else's job, so if they do give me a quote to fix it, it's going to be sky high.

* We can get the Davinci rep out to *potentially* say the installation was good or bad, but from what I've found they tend not to want to chime in because that impacts their ability to claim it was a bad install if they ever have to warranty things down the road.

* The relationship is still good with the original roofer, but obviously a push back of this nature is not going to be as nicely. And even if he is receptive of it and he sends his guys out to fix it, there's no way short of me paying another inspector to come out and look at it if I know if his repair job was worth a crap.


The path of least resistance is if well-known roofing company is willing to take ownership of the repair/install/warranty and the price is enough that I can stomach it (and then see whatever I can get compensated on it from original roofer, but if its $0 then so be it). But I have a feeling they may be willing to repair but they aren't going to warranty the entire install.

Could someone help me figure out what best strategy to use at this point? I don't want to go scorched earth before I have to, because I know even doing that likely won't get me anywhere.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

I'd get a third opinion.

Where in DFW are you?

Corps_Ag12 said:

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I'd get a third opinion.

Where in DFW are you?

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Southwest side. There's a couple of other big reputable firms (though I'll have to take some knocks in that I didn't choose their quote initially), I can see if one can send someone out to look at it.

If they come up with a similar view, what then? Seems like I'm stuck in a situation where I'm either paying for the roof to be completely redone and trying to claw back what I can from the original installer, or let the original installer "fix" his work but then still not knowing if the bad installer did a good repair.

After the Davinci rep written report you may consider at least two paths ahead

1. Get a new roof elsewhere via a lawyer who will direct what to do when and attempt to get some of it (& him) paid by others guilty

2. Continue the patch, repair under good relations with Mr. Golfer. This means silence on ANY reviews and tick tick tick until a) no more problems for life of roof or b) too much time & damage down the drain that leads to a new roof & repairs. You might need to join the golfer's golf group and always buy him 19th hole drinks to keep him attentive & generous.

3. Having another roofer take over might be an initial honeymoon .... with a price tag option 2 might not have .... but down the road, they may just give up "not my job", point fingers at the guilty golfer, forcing an early new roof job

Have you had any other leaks since the first one? Check your contract and see what his workmanship warranty is and if Davinci covers workmanship or just material. You'll typically find installation issues in the first few months when it rains. I understand the fear of having a bad roof after first leak but may not be the case.

Agreed that most any other roofer you have out there is probably going to find something wrong with it. We are so proud of ourselves. I'd definitely recommend getting the Davinci rep's opinion and have them come out. They should be able to give you an unbiased opinion and next steps if needed.

I'm a roofer in central Texas but spent 10 years in the supplier side working with Davinci and other manufacturers. Davinci is a great product but you're only as good as your subcontractors who install it and project managers who supervise the install.

Dill-Ag13 said:

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Knowing nothing about roofing, I don't think I've ever had a contractor come in and complement another contractor's work. They normally talk **** about all of it.

I've had AC issues over the years and a different contractor came to fix stuff and took a dump all over it, then they fixed it. The third contractor came in a couple years later and critiqued all of it and then they fixed it.

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If it were me, I'd document everything, get the manufacturer's rep to inspect it if possible, and have an independent roofing expert confirm the issues before agreeing to any repairs. That gives you something concrete to go back to the original contractor with. I've heard good things about sherriff goslin roofing over the years, and one thing I appreciate is when a company stands behind its work. Hopefully your roofer does the same and makes it right without turning it into a huge battle.

A month late and a dollar short,but here's what I would do as a person in the construction industry.

- file a warranty claim with the roofing manufacturer. Don't just call a rep and have them look at it. Reps are usually tied by legal jargon and bull**** so they can't actually tell you one way or the other during a field inspection. Actually file a claim and make them go thru the steps.

- their answer will then tell you what next steps you may need to take.