Good From Afar (But Far From Good)
Cedar Roof Cleaning Franchise Perpetrates Another Bad Roof Renew Job in Orono
The Problem:
We lose a hand-full of cedar roof restoration jobs each season to a competitor that likes to include “50 or so” shake replacements in their bid, regardless of the roofs age or condition. It’s extra frustrating when we are called back to inspect the work they did because it ‘feels incomplete’ to the homeowner. Almost without exception we find unaddressed issues with this company’s work. Here is one roof in Orono we inspected in August of 2011 that had just been ‘renewed’ by another company. It was still drying out from the washing when we arrived the next day. We won’t mention names, but it was a company that specializes in washing roofs and does a lot of advertising to fill their schedule. Clearly they don’t specialize in repairs. Oh snap!
- Cracked passive roof vent – needs replacement.
- Damaged boot flashing – needs to be replaced.
- Crushed Type-B flue cap – serious issue and potentially dangerous – may cause carbon monoxide to reach toxic levels in the home.
- Open keyway between two shakes – this is an example of a shake that should have been replaced during the roof renewing process.
Here’s the skinny on cedar roof repairs. If you want to limit what you spend, make sure the person doing the repairs addresses the most severe areas first. You should have an understanding after the repairs have been performed as to what work was left undone, if any. This client needed another $1,512 in repairs to complete the job.
List of Issues Left Unaddressed After Repairs Were Completed:
- No problems here. The ridge pieces were installed properly.
- Missing shake – needs a replacement.
- Open keyway – 1 of 11 such oversights on this roof area alone.
- Crack in the shake aligns with keyway in the course above.
- Shake installed upside down.
- Code requires minimum shake of 2″. This doesn’t meet code.
- Maximum keyway spacing allowed by code has been exceeded.
