by Al Heavens
On my way to the train
to work this morning, I had to walk around a roofer's truck parked
halfway into the sidewalk.
I'm not complaining about having to walk briefly in a busy street, mind
you. The experience simply awakened me to the fact that autumn is on
its way, and it's about time we all began thinking about the condition
of our roofs.
I've not had many good roofing experiences over the years. In my
younger, more naive days, one roofer's crew actually tarred over the
drain on the flat roof of my city townhouse that handled runoff from
two other houses as well as mine.
No matter what the intensity of the rainfall was, the runoff would
tumble over the side of the roof and into another neighbor's mailbox.
After the roofer failed to honor the warranty, I brought him to court
to recover costs.
The next roofer I hired undid the damage of the first, but fabricated
other problems he blamed on No. 1.
The next house was shingled with asbestos-fiber shingles that a growing
number of roofers, concerned about potential health problems and
hazardous-waste disposal costs, will not touch.
I spent the next 14 years patching and repairing, replacing broken
shingles with ones fabricated from exterior plywood covered with
look-alike asphalt shingles.
The broken asbestos shingles were given to a professional for disposal.
I also maintained a constant vigil, running to every room on all three
floors to examine the ceilings during heavy rains.
One of the reasons I bought my present house is because its roof was
only four years old and was pronounced in perfect shape by both the
home inspector and a roofing contractor I hired to look at it, too.
A sound roof reduces stress and protects the investment you've made in
the house beneath it.
Another thing that has gotten me thinking about roofs is Hurricane
Charley, which devastated the west coast of Florida last weekend.
I watched the wind peel off metal roofs in a few minutes, opening up
the buildings and their contents to heavy rain damage. I saw shingles
and plywood decking tossed like children's toys in every direction.
There are precautions that homeowners in hurricane-prone areas can
take, such as hiring a contractor to install hurricane straps to help
keep the shingles and sheathing in place.
Winds from hurricanes aren't everyone's concern, but the condition of
your roof should be yours. Remember, besides protecting your
investment, a roof that is in good shape means one less thing you have
to think about when you put your house on the market.
When I sold my house with the asbestos shingles, I disclosed that it
was an old roof with asbestos shingles on the state-mandated disclosure
form.
The roof did not leak. I made certain of that. But it came with no
short-term guarantees. I also suggested to the buyers that they hire a
competent roofer before we went to settlement to look over the roof.
They chose not to.
Would I have agreed to a new roof? Most likely not. But with seven
bidders for my house, all offering well above asking price after only
two days on the market, I was in the driver's seat.
What I did do was to make doubly certain that roof was in usable shape
between the signing of the agreement of sale and settlement day.
But that is just me. How you and your agent decide to handle
negotiations is up to you.
How well a roof works is determined by both the quality of installation
and the materials your roofer uses.
The method you use to choose a roofer is also up to you. I am a great
proponent of the "word of mouth" school of contractor acquisition. I am
also an advocate of checking all references, including ones that you
come up with on your own as well as the one the roofer provides.
If you can spend the time -- and I truly believe it is worth your time
-- visit jobs your prospective roofers are currently engaged in, and
talk to the homeowners employing those roofers when you do.
Never work without a written contract -- not a work order, but a formal
contract, signed by you and the roofer. Make sure that contract
includes a time frame for completion of the work and covers disposal of
materials and places the responsibility squarely on the roofer for any
damage he or his workers may cause to you or your neighbors.
Make sure that the work is guaranteed. Most reputable roofers offer
warranties of various lengths underwritten by an insurer. However,
roofers go out of business all the time, so make absolutely certain
that the insurer will assume full responsibility for any repairs that
may occur while the warranty is in force.
A formal letter from you to the insurer, and formal guarantee in
writing from the insurer in return is sufficient protection for you in
the event of litigation.