by Cincinnati has been experiencing epic rainfall, the worst in 2 decades. With the box gutters in working order my basement has been staying relatively dry (no major puddles), so needless to say I was shocked when I went upstairs to discover water stains on the wood floor. I raked my hand over the exposed rafters above the stain and felt more moisture. The house supposedly has a new roof with 30 year shingles.
I called Dan Shepard, Shepard Roofing, who did the tuck pointing on the chimney. He discovered that the flashing around some of the dormers had been left off. This explains why I could see outside at the corners on some of the dormers. He also said whomever installed the roof most likely used a nail gun to attach the shingles, something he warns against. He will only hand nail a roof. I know nothing about roofing, so I took him at his word and accepted his $700 price tag to stop the leaks. He also agreed to install the dryer vent for the master bath laundry room.
While he was fixing the roof he discovered that my box gutter company, Fusion Roofing, failed to nail down the three rows of shingles they laid while restoring the gutters. I was floored by this news and pissed. If we experienced significant winds, those shingles would have easily blown off. Dan agreed to nail them down for me at no additional cost, but I also put in a call to Fusion Roofing. The owner, Kevin, returned my call almost immediately and even faster disputed the findings. I had Dan’s staff member stop nailing until Kevin could arrive and investigate for himself. He confirmed Dan’s findings. Randy Rupp and his crew only tucked the shingles and did not nail them down. He said he was going to fire Randy Rupp. I truly regret giving him so much positive exposure with the video I created. At my earliest opportunity I will be revamping without any reference to…..what’s his name.
I’m often asked why and how I’ve learned to do the DIY projects I tackle. It’s situations like this. I just don’t trust contractors, especially when they are not referred by someone who’s opinion I truly value. You take people at their word and hope they possess some resemblance of ethics or a moral compass. During the box gutter work the awning above my back door started to fall while they were hammering away. They braced it, then used it as scaffolding, but Randy said he’d re-attach it once the gutters were complete. They did not do it in the three days they worked on the project, but he said he’d return to do so. Granted we had an extremely frigid January, but once the weather broke I called and texted asking when he’d return. No response. Kevin said he’d fix it. We’ll see.
I guess it’s time to learn about roofing and box gutters.
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