Contractor Roofing problem(?).

[v1_0]

About a year and a half ago I had a new roof put on our house. We had just bought it - a fixer upper - and there was a leak in one part of the roof.

The contractor that was putting on the new roof knew about the leak and said he would fix things.

The ceiling of the room that was below the leak had a bunch of nail pop-outs, and it went on the project list as something to be taken care of.

So, now I got around to that part of the list - pulled off the drywall and... well the pictures tell the tale. (Taken looking up through the ceiling).

My question is: should the contractor have fixed this as part of the re-roofing? The contract dosn't specifically state this - but it does state roof decking repairs. The terms and conditions state that work will be done in a "workman like manner.."

Thanks,
-V

 

[tommays]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

He did fix the roof deck


I really do not understand why he did not point out the problem the frameing repiars would be well beyond any normal roof repiar and would have cost more IMHP

But been much better to take care of at that time



Tommays

 

[MikDee]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

That is pretty thoughtless of him not to advise you about the damage, then just cover it up like nothing happened,,, when it could have, should have, been repaired at the time, I don't know if you have any grounds for legal action? but I would be pissed, and strongly persue it, probably talk to a lawyer.

 

[tommays]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

Is it my old eyes or is that framing still WET

Tommays

 

[PondTunes]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

If the contract stated to fix the roof "DECKING" that appears to be what he has done (well at least he replaced 4 boards of it.) It seems likely that he would have seen the rotten ceiling joist (running left/right parallel to the ceiling) and the rotting rafter (running at an angle with the roof decking). And it would have been nice of him to tell you that it was there. Unless your agreement stated to fix the water damage with the roof then you probably can't force him to come back out and do it.

Since you have the ceiling torn out this shouldn't be a tough repair. You might could take this on yourself depending on how handy you are. (You may need to check with your insurance company about self repairs)

One question I have is: Is there any rot where the rafter rests on top of your exterior wall? The ceiling joist has a lot of deterioration and rot has a nasty habit of spreading so it could be that the top plate (pair of 2x4's that top out your exterior wall) is also rotting.

 

[v1_0]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

Is it my old eyes or is that framing still WET
Tommays

No, it's dry. A lot of the wood in this house has that dark look to it. Near as I can tell, it's either the way the wood was to begin with, or has aged that way. Could be some sort of treatment. It's not mold, though.

-V

 

[v1_0]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

If the contract stated to fix the roof "DECKING" that appears to be what he has done (well at least he replaced 4 boards of it.) It seems likely that he would have seen the rotten ceiling joist (running left/right parallel to the ceiling) and the rotting rafter (running at an angle with the roof decking). And it would have been nice of him to tell you that it was there. Unless your agreement stated to fix the water damage with the roof then you probably can't force him to come back out and do it.

Par for the course... I wouldn't do any more business with him - let alone buy a new house this guy has had anything to do with. It's not that he does shoddy work per-se, but that he does exactly what he did here: work to the letter of the contract, not the spirit. As cheaply as possible - now it's up to me to inspect and catch any shortcuts he took. To his credit, he does come back and take care of things that I find, but it's up to me to find them. I don't want to play that game and would be happy to pay more not to.

Since you have the ceiling torn out this shouldn't be a tough repair. You might could take this on yourself depending on how handy you are.

Yup, just went and got the materials for it. Probably get it done this evening after my regular job.

One question I have is: Is there any rot where the rafter rests on top of your exterior wall? The ceiling joist has a lot of deterioration and rot has a nasty habit of spreading so it could be that the top plate (pair of 2x4's that top out your exterior wall) is also rotting.

The top one was/is in bad shape and I'll replace it. The bottom one.. I'm debating on. It has some deterioration, but it isn't through.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

I would at least scab a new board across the bottom,take the weight off the rotted one.

 

[PondTunes]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

It appears to be a 2x6 or 2x8 ceiling joist, you could simply put another one up all the way across the house on the opposite side of the rafter then remove the partially rotten one to ensure that it wouldn't ever get any worse.

What it looks like you have is a collar tie type situation where the two rafters opposite each other are connected by the ceiling joist, this joist serves two purposes one to give you something to attach your ceiling to and the other is to prevent the walls from spreading.

All the force from the weight of the roof is pressing down at the point that the two rafters come together at the peak. The rafters transfer this weight down to the walls pressing outward. The collar tie prevents the walls from spreading thus what can't spread can't come down. Granted one single rafter/collar tie truss isn't holding up the whole house but you get the idea behind the way it is built.

 

[Mike722]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

I agree, the roofer should have made a point to show you the damaged areas outside of the scope of their roofing work. However, they might have assumed that you were going to fix the inside after they fixed the leak.

Just a thought

You might call them and ask, before writing them off as bad contractors.

 

[204 Escape]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

I've been a self employed contractor, in the past, and I would have told you about it, and let YOU make the decision about repair. Besides, the contractor could have made a few more $$ for his pocket.

His lack of concern to point this out to you would earn him NO MORE OF MY BUSINESS !!!!!!!!

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

OOOOHHHH MAn !!!! I agree he should have told you and let you decide !!! that is neglect on his part , dont think you can sue thought !!! man it would have been a lot easyier to fix before !!!! There are a lot of people out there that dont have a lot of respect for there jobs they do !!!!! I agree sister new boards in !!! John

 

[Booberdoo]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

It was very unprofessional that they did not point out the problem for you, but as far as negligent; none to be found as it wasn't in his scope of work.

Also, I wouldn't have most roofers perform any structural repairs anyways as they tend to be limited to, well roofing...

It seems that they could have hooked you up with a framer though.

I personally would ask them if they noticed this and if so why it wasn't mentioned... in a nice, inquisitive way. That is if I was you, for myself...well they would be scared to answer their phone for a while... I deal with contractors on a dayly basis and it just seems like most of them are out to get one by me all of the time.

Like I said, unprofessional but not negligent.

 

[Robbo22]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

As a bona fide journeyman carpenter I can tell you that your job was not done in a "workman-like" fashion, at all. A real tradesman would not place new wood on rotten wood. The decayed lumber shown here has to be cut back and the entire area chemically treated before introducing new lumber. I cant be sure from the photo you posted but from here it looks like the wall plate is showing signs of decay too.

The standard of workmanship (and lack of ethics) I'm seeing at work here would be absolutely unacceptable, in my view. He should at least have made you aware of the condition of the structural lumber

 

[eaglejim]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

I am a paint contractor we have to replace and fix a lot of rotten wood, at best rotten wood is a guess on the damage that is behind the bad areas,he should have showed this to you and let you make the call on how you wanted to handle it.I have worked behind roofers and it seems like all they know how or want to do is replace the decking

 

[199675hpforce]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

No could be your problem lol. A roofer isnt a framer he may have bid the house a certain price for the job. Not knowing the damage underneath would fall back on you the owner. You took a risk buying the fixer upper. Seems pretty simple to me. Did you have a home inspection before buying. Was the home sold as is? Im no lawyer or framer or contractor and is just an opinion not fact.

 

[v1_0]

Re: Contractor Roofing problem(?).

No could be your problem lol. A roofer isnt a framer he may have bid the house a certain price for the job. Not knowing the damage underneath would fall back on you the owner. You took a risk buying the fixer upper. Seems pretty simple to me. Did you have a home inspection before buying. Was the home sold as is? Im no lawyer or framer or contractor and is just an opinion not fact.

At this point, it's all water under the bridge. The repairs are complete, etc.

The contractor bid on the job knowing that there was some replacement work to be done - he was the one that pointed out that there was a hole in the roof to begin with (before any estimates were made).

He followed the letter of the contract exactly - as to the intent: that would need to be debated in court, I guess.

The bottom line here is that there was (and is) still a lot of work to be done on the house. At the time there was a opportunity for a fair amount of work in addition to the roof (and kitchen - that's another story) for the contractor, but based on what I saw I didn't bring it into the picture. Saving a couple of dollars on one project cost him the opportunity for more work. And the craziest thing about it would be that if he had communicated this sort of thing with me, I would have made the decision to either spend a bit more to fix it right, or to deal with it later - and my opinion of the guy would be a whole lot better.