Roofer won't finish his job

[QUOTE=mothernature;5234357]So due to hail damage we had to get a new roof and gutters on the house. We found a local roofer who has a good standing with the BBB and some of the locals. He was to re-roof the house and install new gutters. We have a contract but no written time limit, BUT we did have a verbal agreement that the roof would be done on June 27th and the gutters measured on the 29th and installed the 30th. He finished the roof and it's a good job with the quality materials we wanted, but he will not call me back about the gutters. I've tracked him down in person and he says he'll call back later (same thing if I get him to answer my calls)! Verbal agreements do stand in the state of Texas. So DH and I are giving him until Tues and we will go see him again. There's something fishy going on and I was wondering if any of ya'll have had to deal with this type of problem?[/QUOT

Look, I am a retired framer. Things happen, especially when there has been a lot more damage then just your house. I would most likely imagine he has a sub working on the gutters. Your roof is done, and you already admitted quality materials and labor. Give the poor guy a few days to get the gutter guy over there. If your having custom metal gutters installed, then a regular roofer would be hard pressed to do the same job. Also, sometimes while doing a job for someone, an emergancy comes up. A couple of weeks isn't going to hurt you just for gutters anyway. Give the guy a break..

I understand your frustration with your roofer not honoring his word, but honestly I have NEVER seen a contractor stick to their original estimate.

If he would have done it all on time I would have been seriously impressed. I agree he shouldn't have promised the gutters to be done if he wasn't going to get to them right away but it really is par for the course in the world of construction. I am sure he will show up eventually but I agree with everyone else that he is probably concentrating on other roofs right now or waiting for his sub-contractor to do the gutters.

Hope he shows up soon for you.

BTDT. What he should do is just call you back and explain where he's at and admit he's behind on the job. A good business man would keep his customers informed.

I had a roofer do my house a couple years ago, he ran into trouble on another job and called me back and said that he'd be late completing the job. This was a far cry from the guy I hired to do the barn roof - who arrived when he wanted, and it took him 6 weeks to do the job. I was so glad to get him off my property when the job was completed.

Needless to say, who would you call back?

What you can do at this point is take him aside and explain to him how it should work. If he's having trouble with scheduling or relying on subcontractors, then he shouldn't have issues with informating who is writing the check.

If you haven't paid him in full, don't until the job is completed. The worse thing you can do is pay them in full and have them disappear.

He was supposed to be done June 30th and it is now July 3. He really isn't very late. Nine out of ten contractors are very trustworthy. You might have the one bad apple, but it is too soon to tell. Contractors schedules are very erratic, one contractor late can throw ten other contractors schedules off. An employee calling in sick, a supplier could be late, equipment fails, a building inspector flags a project, and weather all cause chaos. People in the trades are use to it and often forget that homeowners have no clue. Is not having gutters on your house really that important, safety wise? He did not leave your house exposed to the weather, so he has acted responsibly in his eyes. If he dos'nt talk to you in the next week and explain whats going on then I'd get a little worried. You do have all the power in this. Even if you have paid in full a tradesmans lively hood rest on his reputation. The courts will back you. There is a reason most folks keep 10% till the jobs is 100%.

So he's three days over schedule? Give him a break. Sometimes things take a little longer. Maybe he has family in for the holiday, someone is sick or had an emergency. If the work is looking good, I'd give him a few days before complaining.

When you ask a contractor when a job will be done, they always lie. It's the nature of the business. In some ways I don't blame them as lots of times you can't predict how long it will take, and other times you know they are just lining up jobs and they can't afford to let a job go by just because someone wants something done "now": Squeaky wheel and grease type of thing. They know that if they say "can't get it done until September" that you'll go find someone else (who will lie and say they can get to it faster), so they say "sure".

The only time I really resent it is when you contact a builder in the off season to request a job and they do this to you. That's not right, as you are getting scheduled way ahead of time. That's different than approaching someone with the season in full swing and trying to get a job worked in.

Jennifer

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If the roof is on and you got a quality job, you are far ahead. I've seen a lot of really crummy roofing jobs that people have paid a lot of money for.

The roofer I use is completely unreliable. I think he only works when he is out of money. But he is an artist and knows everything about roofing. So I put up with his work schedule. I've had too many leaks on expensive roofs in the past. This guy puts a roof on and it stays on, looks good, and doesn't leak.

If there was a lot of local roof damage, there might not be any gutter to purchase. It would be nice if he'd tell you what the delay is, but that's expecting an awful lot of anyone who works in construction.

I never tell a customer when a project will be finished....because I don't know, if they want a rough idea on when a large project will be finished I will give a rough idea, never an exact date. I do not have communication problems with customers, I let them know from the beginning they can reach me from 5am-9pm....I am not good with anyone that does not communicate well, sub-contractors get the boot if they don't follow through on what they say and perform.

I've had people like that do work for me. While it gets irritating the work is done very well. It just doesn't get done very fast. I replaced my roof myself. It was 850 bucks, and that was to replace rotted wood too.

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Well, since 95% of the state is in some level of drought or other, he probably thinks it can wait a bit and is prioritizing other, bigger roofing jobs.

If he's a young guy who does good work, but doesn't have a lot of business acumen, I'd cut him some slack.

Lots of people don't even have gutters on their houses. I realize you paid for it, but it's not a "must do it now" kind of repair.

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"Perhaps I'll have them string a clothesline from the hearse I am in, with my underwear waving in the breeze, as we drive to the cemetary. People worry about the dumbest things!"
by Wendy

Uh oh, just got word from someone who knows the roofer (it's a small town)! The gutter guy quit because roofer owes him so much, YET... roofer just bought a brand new bass boat last Tuesday. Hmmmmm? I think its 're-write' the contract time.

Uh oh. Anyone with a brand new boat is surely out at the lake this weekend, so you know where to find him! lol

Sounds like he is just young and immature. Does good work, but is bad with money. Actually, I think that's fairly common in the construction world...

Can your DH put the gutters up himself? If not, call the gutter guy yourself and pay him directly to get it done. If he's overdue to be paid for multiple jobs, he'd probably be thrilled to come do work for you and get paid the same day

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"Perhaps I'll have them string a clothesline from the hearse I am in, with my underwear waving in the breeze, as we drive to the cemetary. People worry about the dumbest things!"
by Wendy

Until I read where you're from, I thought maybe you were talking about my BIL! He's a nice guy, does great work, always gets the roofs done and then gets disorganized about the rest. My sister (not the one who's married to him) used to work for him but she had to quit "because he's such a disorganized dingbat."

Men! I swear . . . .

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Its not going to rain again until September, so give him a bit longer if you are happy with his work so far.

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Apocalyptic and Survival Fiction - Readers and writers welcome

I agree with farmergirl...it's not like it's gonna rain anytime soon, and he makes his main living roofing, people that work in construction usually have more then just your roof to fix.
Be patient.

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Real is Beautiful -Sherry in Maine

I am 47

I think the issue is not so much that the guy hasn't done her gutters, it's that he won't be straight with her.

With the news that the gutter guy dumped the roofer for non-payment, I'd certainly be renegotiating with the roofer. Have you already paid him for the gutters?

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Irresponsible can happen at any age. My son in law is a roofer in the N. Texas area. I'm really proud of him. He works hard, fast, does quality work and he's a nice guy.

You want to be careful if the roofer isn't paying his subcontractors. If the gutter man puts on gutters and doesn't get paid, he can place a workman's lien on the house.