Complaint Review: M & M Contracting James and Diane Monroe

On May 9, 2001, I hired James and Diane Monroe (M & M Contracting), 1515 W. Corsicana, Athens, TX 75751 to roof my house. My Pastor (Calvary Temple, Assembly of God) had recommended them. They agreed to tear off the old shingles and install a new roof. They assured me they were knowledgeable in roofing and had roofed other dwellings. The agreed upon price was $1800, the exact amount of my insurance settlement from the hail damage.

On May 9, 2001 I gave them $700.00 as a down payment for the work. In exchange I received a receipt and no contract. After several unsuccessful attempts to get the work done, I contacted my Pastor who interceded for my behalf and work was started July 23 (three months after initial contract and down payment). Prior to starting the work, Diane Monroe called and stated the $1,800 was too low and they would need more money, but never stated how much. I referred her to my insurance company.

I am a single woman and not versed in roofs. I looked at the roof from the ground and did not notice anything unusual until the first rain when my house began leaking. When notified of the leaking, they did respond by coming out and putting tar on the shingles. They came out three times before I realized the extent of the problem. The attempted repairs did not work.
There was leaking in ALL rooms and throughout the house. It was like living under a colander.
The house smelled of mold.
Discoloration of ceiling throughout the house.
This caused allergy problems consisting of many medical visits, antibiotics, shots and finally steroids, along with Vicoden for my headaches. Also I have missed days of work.

At that time I called another roofer who came out and noted the following:

1. Overexposure of shingles
2. Improper installation of the roof
3. Usage of second shingles that were not first quality
4. Improper nailing
5. Use of tar to cover exposed nails in middle of shingles.
6. Use of tar to cover where sides of shingles meet. Because of overexposure, tar paper was below the upper area, rather than what should have been a shingle underneath.
7. No sealing of shingles occurred due to improper installation. All were easily lifted even in December 2001 when attached photographs were taken, even though roof was installed in July and went through a hot summer.

Because the underlap of shingles was so great (and not per installation instructions), the
shingles never would stick to one another as they should. The sticky part on the backside of the upper shingle did not have contact with any part of the lower shingle below it. Therefore, even though temperatures reached 100 degrees and more after the roof was installed, the shingles would
never bond together as they should. Much material was probably saved by installing this way, but further problems were caused. By stretching the material the proper amount of shingles needed on the roof were not used. And where there should have been a shingle completely over the shingle under it, there was the top of the lower shingle and tar paper. By the shingles not being able to seal together, and nailed incorrectly (further up because of incorrect underlap), rain was blowing up under the lower shingles, over the top of that shingle, and entering the roof.
The whole roof was done that way, causing whole house leakage.

Because of the way the roof was improperly installed, he stated that the roof could NOT be repaired and must be completely replaced. In mid December I had the roof replaced for $2281. He had to tear off the roof, replace some of the decking due to rotting and replace the roof. Since that time I have had no leaks.

The damages I have suffered include:
$2281.00 for a new roof
$ 341.41 medical that I paid (not what insurance paid)
$ 112.00 filing fee for small claims court
$ 25.95 film and photos for roof photos

Also State Farm has estimated the interior damages at 441.09 for repainting my interior ceilings due to improper installation of roof.

That makes total damages amount to:
$3219.45 Total

At first sent M& M a return receipt requested letter on December 31, 2001 asking for just the replacement cost of the roof for a total of $2281.
I have not heard from them and now have filed a claim on 3/8/02 in small claims court for the total amount of damages listed above. As of yet, there has been no response and nothing has been recovered.

I'm sending this to you in an effort to prevent M & M Contracting from injuring anyone else. My understanding is that they are still working in the Dallas, TX area and also working in Houston, TX and Kansas State.

Linda
Mesquite, Texas