Roof Failure/Poor Workmanship

[niuls]

My house was built in the Fall of 2003. I had dimensional asphalt shingles put on, which are rated for 80mph winds. This past Friday, we had wind gusts of between 40-50mph, and I had about a 10'x10' section of shingles blown off my house.

I had a roofer (who subcontracts for my original builder) come out and look at the damage. I asked him why the shingles failed, and with one glance at a shingle that had fallen off, he was able to tell me. Apparently the original roofer who put the shingles on my house didn't nail them down in the proper position. Instead of going through the overlapping part of the shingle, the nails were driven behind that overlapped section through only 1 layer. This voids the warranty on my shingles - I have confirmed this fact with the shingle manufacturer. Also, more than likely this happened everywhere on my roof.

The roofer who told me this didn't work for my builder at the time my house was built, but now he depends on the business from that builder, so he doesn't want to get in the middle of any dispute. The builder already told this roofer that I would be responsible for the cost of any work that needs to be done, since my home is outside of my original 1-year limited warranty (which included provisions for poor workmanship). In fact, the builder was quite angry with the roofer that he told me exactly why my shingles failed.

I haven't personally talked to my builder since I found all this out, because I'm weighing all the different options I have in front of me. I'd like to think that he should be at least partially responsible for what happened. Even though I'm outside of my home's warranty, their faulty construction and lack of job-site supervision is costing me a lot of money on something that should last for the next 20 years. Their mistake voided the warranty on my shingles, so now I'm left to bear the entire cost of replacement.

Do I have any legal recourse in this situation? Is it worth talking to a local attorney, or am I completely out of luck?

Thanks for any opinions you can give.

[judg4]

Based on what you say here, you could file suit against them (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to their behavior... You may also report them to your state attorney general's office.

There is only one solution. After over 30 years as an insurance agent I have seen contractors put on inferior roofs because there is no law requiring them to put on at least a twenty year warranteed shingle or roof. Most contractors are only held responsible for one year therefore not much can be done today.

Write your contressmen, senators and representatives in the state and U.S. to demand laws that won't let less than a twenty year warrantied shingle to be sold in the U.S.

good luck

Take pictures with your digital camera that show the nails in the wrong position and take the actual roofer to small claims. If he has any money it will work but if not he will skip to another state perhaps

Your builder will be held accountable in court because the roofer was negligent and since your builder was his employer at that point in time he is responsible for the actions of his employees. You can sue the builder I think.

[jacksonzachary]

Hi, I am a Construction accident attorney law associated with New York Construction Site Accident Attorneys | Construction Accident Lawyers New York | Cellino & Barnes for the past 7 years. Cases like these can be only solved by the help of an expert attorney. You must be compensated for the damage. It could have caused a major accident.