We called Roofmaster at a time when we were having difficulty with squirrels. We live in a century old home and they were chewing through the wood fascia/soffit. We were eventually successful in dealing with the problem through pest removal channels. The estimator went above and beyond and was extremely helpful with this, even though pest removal is not part of his job. After the intrusion was dealt with, we decided to forego the capping of the fascia/soffit as it was not absolutely necessary.
When we first met the estimator, he gave us an estimate of the cost of the job (approximately $20,000). He also showed us pictures of nearby/similar roofs with a clean/seamless transition from the roof to the fascia. We took some time to think about it and again, we decided not to proceed.
Then, the estimator got back in touch to say that his boss was able to secure the materials at a lesser cost and therefore, the cost of the job would be reduced. Given the new cost (approximately $18,000 taxes in) and our interest in cleaning up the look of the house (based on pictures we were shown of “similar jobs”), we decided to go ahead. The owner later referred to this as a “discount.” This was not relayed to us as a discount— just the agreed upon cost of the work, given the cost of materials.
After the installer had already begun work, he pulled me aside to tell me that he would not be able to install drip edge, as the roof had an old cedar shake roof sitting below it. I was assured that this would not impact function. I also assumed that the estimator knew this and that we were still on track to accomplish a clean and finished appearance. I was later told by the owner that the drip edge was not included in our package, so we should not have expected it. We were confused as to why the installer went out of his way to inform us that he would not be able to install the drip edge if he did not intend to install the drip edge to start with.
When the installers finished the job the next day, I called the estimator to explain that the installer was unable to install drip edge and that we were disappointed by the appearance (no clean lines, rough, cedar shakes visible underneath, seamless transition to fascia not accomplished). The estimator responded immediately and arrived to take a peak.
He agreed that this was not the look that he had hope we could accomplish. He also stated that he did not notice there was a cedar shake roof underneath our current roof until right then. Later on, during a 3-way phone call with an owner, the estimator repeated this. Both owner and estimator, however, stated that they were paid to cap our fascia and soffit, had done so, and so they had done their job. They also suggested that the fault in all of this sits with previous home owners who chose to place a new roof over an existing roof, rather than discard of the old one.
While we understand now that it is not possible and the reasons why, we were told that we were going to accomplish certain appearance for the agreed upon cost. As the roof professionals, we did expect that Roofmaster would have identified issues prior to installation. At that point, we would not have gone ahead with the project. On a call with the owner, he stated that the estimators do not necessarily have the technical knowledge to be able to identify things like this in advance. He offered us a $339.00 discount “on top of our previous discount” (the agreed upon cost to start work).
Given that there were really no solutions to accomplish a clean look, the owner suggested that we could hire a painting company to paint the exposed cedar shakes. Of course, he suggested this solution would come at our expense.
We are disappointed with the suggestion that a $300.00 discount is sufficient. We would not have proceeded with an $18,000.00 job if we were advised that it was not possible to achieve a clean or finished appearance. Roofmaster stands behind the work they have done and we agree that they have done all they can given the roof system that we have. Ultimately, though, we made an $18,000 decision based on a promise that the estimator made, almost entirely to achieve a certain aesthetic.
If you decide to go with Roofmaster, we recommend drafting a secondary contract, which clearly dictates responsibilities of both sides. If you are looking to accomplish a certain aesthetic, put it on paper.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $18,000.00
- Company Response
Hi Colleen, Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. We apologize that the the aesthetic you were hoping for was not accomplished. The images our estimator showed to you of a previous job was one where we did the roof AND soffit fascia work. This was also made clear to you that we did the roof and aluminum work in the images. This is why there is a seamless transition between the fascia metal and the roof. In your case, there is an existing roof where the cedar shakes (and additional 2nd roof system on top of it) are overhanging the roof edge by 3-4". This overhang is also not considered part of the fascia and so it cannot be capped with aluminum. The best way to address this is to remove both the roof systems and install new colour matched steel drip edge flashing and then new shingles/metal roof. This way the transition will be seamless. As mentioned over the phone you cannot fasten to the underside of overhanging 60-100 year old cedar shakes. The screws will barely bite to the dry brittle thin wood, and even if it did, the screws would protrude through the cedar shakes and out through the roof system risking water infiltration. Regarding discounts, as mentioned over the phone the initial discount was not just because of the materials reduction but also because we adjusted our overhead pricing as well to give you the lower price by approx $2000. The second discount was simply out of kindness when we really did not do anything wrong and no obligation on our part to do so. It may seem like $300+HST is not much but for us it can cover something such as a laborer's wage for the day and it is quite significant. I agree in the short term this has caused some pain and bad feelings but once the budget allows I encourage you to give us an opportunity to complete the second phase of the project which is the roof. Sometimes it does work out better when these things are done simultaneously because this way you will be guaranteed to have a perfect and seamless transition between the roof edge and fascia metal. Lastly we just want to thank you for sending payment promptly as well. Kind Regards, Kershan Bulsara