Complaint Review: Alabama Home Improvement LLC - Gadsden Alabama

This was sent to Fox 6 Call to Action on

1/16/14 at 9:05 AM

• 1/22/14 3:33 PM, I still have not heard anything from Fox 6

We contracted this person on December 30, 2013 to install a metal roof on our house.  This all spurred from straight line winds which tore some shingles from our roof.  Afterwards we began getting leaks in our den when it rained.  After negotiating a price, we agreed to hire Mr. Waldrop.  He asked that we pay for the material up front and the labor once the install was complete.  The contract that we negotiated was for the installation of a metal roof and also to repair the damage to the roof decking as well as the sheet rock in the den.  The total was $5995.  Broken down, $4100.00 for the material and $1895 for the labor.  Mr. Waldrop told us that this would only take a couple of days to complete everything.  He was scheduled to arrive on January 3, 2014 to begin and scheduled to be finished by January 4, 2014. 

1/3/14

He brought the metal to the house on a trailer on January 3, 2014.  He was unable to start work that day because he was getting sick.  That was understandable. 

1/4/14

He returned the next day, January 4, 2014.  Mr. Waldrop, his son Dustin, and a handful of other workers installed metal on the front side of the home and left after only working for about 4 hours.  Since he does not work on Sunday (fine by me because I am a Christian and I do not believe in that as well), he said that he would return Monday (1/6/14).  By the way, I had swapped my off days to Friday and Saturday so that I could be there while it was being installed.  1/6/14

Anyways, when Monday arrived, it was record lows and Mr. Waldrop stated that he would not be able to get back on the roof because of ice and safety reasons.  That is understandable.

1/7/14

Nothing happened today because of weather conditions.

1/8/14

I called Mr. Waldrop on Wednesday (1/8/14) around 1:00 PM to see if they were going to come out and he said that there was probably still ice/water on the roof and wanted to wait until Thursday (1/9/14).

1/9/14

His son and a few guys returned on Thursday(1/9/14)around 9:00 AM and installed more metal onto the roof.  On this same day, they pulled up the shingles from the roof above the den around the fireplace where the suspected leak was coming from, "repaired" this section, and supposedly laid shingles back down and then metal over the shingles. 

1/10/14

On Friday (1/10/14), Dustin and another guy showed up around 10:30 and only put weather boots over the vents in the roof because of expected rain Friday and Saturday. 

1/11/14

At 4:27 AM Saturday (1/11/14), my wife woke me up to tell me that it was leaking in the den.  It wasn't just leaking, it was pouring in.  I took a video with my smartphone of the leak.  I called Mr. Waldrop at 7:00 AM Saturday (1/11/14) and told him that the roof was still leaking.  I took a half day off and met him at the house Saturday afternoon.  We both went into the attic to see if we could find where the leak was coming in.  Since it was not raining at the time, we were unable to pinpoint the origin of the leak.  We then went up onto the roof to check around the fireplace.  I noticed that there was no ridge cap installed over the metal that was installed over the den section where the leak was coming in.  Also, there was no flashing installed around the chimney.  Mr. Waldrop then installed a ridge cap over the metal pieces.  He left and told me that he would be back first thing on Monday (1/13/14) morning to finish the roof up. 

1/13/14

I was off on Monday (1/13/14) and woke up early (6:30 AM) so that I could meet him when he arrived.  At 9:49 AM, I called Mr. Waldrop to see if they were coming because it was forecasted to rain starting around noon to 1:00 PM.  He said that they were on the way and would be there in 10 minutes.  When they arrived, they installed more metal, and added flashing around the fireplace.  By the time they finished the flashing, it had started raining and they got off of the roof and left.  A couple of hours later, the leak began again in the den.  I called Mr. Waldrop to inform him that it was still leaking.  He could not believe it so he came back by and we went back into the attic while it was raining to find the leak entry point.  It appeared to be coming in from around the fireplace, as suspected.  We then got back on the roof, in the rain, and checked around the fireplace and the flashing.  At that point, I noticed how the flashing was installed.  It was placed over the metal, not under it, and gobs and gobs of silicone to seal it to the metal underneath.  That night, I called Mr. Waldrop and informed him that I no longer wanted him on my property and that I was going to go another route.

I called another roofer, Jeff Edmondson (Roof Doctor) and asked him to come out to look at my roof and tell me what he thought and find out if it could be fixed.  I called my supervisor and took a vacation day for Tuesday (1/14/14).

1/14/14

Jeff Edmondson (Roof Doctor) arrived at my house as agreed at 7:00 AM.  He began pointing out all kinds of things that were not correct and/or up to code.  Here is a list of things that are wrong:

1) No overhang of the metal over the shingles (2" minimum) 

2) No underlayment between the shingles and the metal (could void the warranty of the metal)

3) No ridge vent cut out at the peak (Had attic fans previously, and a ridge vent is required to ventilate the attic) 

4) Flashing around chimney is supposed to go under the metal, not over. Silicone used around flashing will not last. 

5) Exposed decking around chimney 

6) 3 layers of shingles, if not more, under the metal roof on the front side of the house.  More screws were added to the front side to compensate for this (not to code) ***THIS IS NOT VALID.  THERE IS ONLY 1 LAYER OF SHINGLES ALONG WITH A PERIMETER LAYER OF STARTER SHINGLES***

7) Red chalk was used which will not come off of the metal due to a chemical in the chalk.

8) Screws are 6 feet apart.  Code is 4 feet apart.

9) The metal cannot be reused because to create the overhang on the edges would not leave enough to be covered by the ridge cap.

10) After contacting the city building inspector to verify codes, it was discovered that Mr. Waldrop did not possess a permit to work in Southside.

11) Dents in metal in ribs.  

12) Scratches on exposed metal 

13) Trim was not done properly, shingles still exposed. 

14) Metal was not trimmed up to vinyl siding on house.  Some places still having 6 inches to 2-3 feet of exposed shingles. 

15) Holes in metal with no screws 

16) Screws in roof shingles 

17) Metal over facia does not lay down onto shingles.  It is uneven and bowed up.

  I have photos showing all of these issues.  I also have a video of the water as it poured into my den on the morning of Saturday 1/11/14.  He does not have a permit to work in Southside.  We have just discovered that he does not even have a business license in Etowah County.  We assume that he does not have a state license as well.

  After communicating all of these concerns with the city building inspector, the building inspector advised me to contact an attorney, and that if I needed a witness/testimony, that he and his partner would be glad to testify in my behalf on this matter.  The inspector rode out to the house on multiple occasions and noticed that this contractor was not installing the roof up to code.  He met with Mr. Waldrop once and was supposed to meet with him again, but he has been unable to contact him.

  The new roofer has given me an estimate of around $6700 to fix this roof, including new material.  I have $4100 tied up in the metal that could possibly be useless to me.  I have contacted the metal supplier to see if they would buy the metal back since they referred us to him.  The metal supplier is All American Metal.  The contact there is Jeff Dickson.  Their phone number is 2562944559.

  I have contacted my attorney, but have yet to discuss the details of this case.

Update --- after speaking with an attorney, he will not take the case with a contingency fee because the contractor probably does not have insurance.  I would have to pay up front, and receive damages after they have been collected from the contractor.

I will not pay for this labor in the amount of $1895 as per the agreement because of the unsatisfactory work, and I want my money back for this metal that is as useless to me as the missing shingles on my roof.

1/21/14

9:47 AM I was in town when my wife called to inform me that a piece of metal has been blown from the back side of the roof over the carport.  The metal sheet landed partially in the yard and the driveway in the front of the house.

Hyfield Roofing came over to give an estimate on repairs.

1/22/14

Tommy Pope Construction came over to give an estimate for repairs.  Total estimate is $8,667.00.