Repair Specialist, Inc.

I did receive the refund I was requesting today and wish to close the complaint

[redacted] called me and asked me to give her an estimate on repairing roof leaks when I got there she showed me three roof leaks in the front of the house one in the middle by the front entrance door and on both cornersI did not go up into the attic because usually there is nothing definitive you can...

determine in the attic you can't pinpoint a leak in the attic you need to look at the roof so I went up on the roof I found the shingles were installed incorrectly some of the nails were punched through the shingles or were cutting through the shingles leaving the roof vulnerable to leaks I found these defects in both corner areas and in the middle of the roof along with some other damage on the shingles I also found that the gutter flashing on both corners was Damaged in pulled away  and needed repair this would allow water to get access to the soffit area potentially causing the leak I gave her an estimate to repair shingles in three leaks areas and repair 2 gutter flashings this came with the 2 year guarantee not to leak for $1650 I scheduled it for December 11 I believe I came a day early because my schedule opened up I did all the work I agreed-uponLater [redacted] called me and said it was still leaking I returned investigate it further and discovered that there was a moisture issue in the attic on cold days the moisture would condensate on the roof decking and then later melt and leak into the housethere were several factors involved in this condensation issue insufficient insulation a leaky hatch and insufficient ventilation on the roof ventilation being the main issue I offered to install a roof vent for free to solve this issue she did not have enough roof vents on her roofShe also had a hatch door that was leaky an insufficient insulation I also offered to do this work at additional cost but all this work including installing the roof vent was outside of the original scope of the work I plan to do but I was willing to do it in order to vent out the excessive humidity and stop her leak [redacted] said she wanted to think about it before she decided how much work she wanted me to do she said she would call me when she made a decision and then I can return and install the roof vent and do any other work she wanted me to do being that it was too cold to work on her roof That day I  was fine with that I never did receive a call to install a free roof vent this I don't understand on occasion roof leaks are extremely complicated and that is the case here was it leaking from just the condensation or from both the condensation and the defective roof and the gutter flashing  likely but we don't know I feel I fulfilled my contract as agreed and I will honor my guarantee and I'm still willing to return and install that roof vent if allowed[redacted]

Review: I recently purchased my first home in mid-November 2014. We had it inspected before purchase, including the roof, and everything came back great. The inspectors specifically noted that the roof was in great shape and probably only about five to eight years old. We had some snow almost immediately after moving in, it melted a few days later, then the temperature dropped down to about 15 degrees on Monday 12/1. We woke up in the morning with water spots in three spots on our ceiling, all three along the north side of the house. Understandably, I was very concerned, this being my first house and all. I immediately went online and began researching roof repair/handyman companies, checked their Revdex.com rating and reviews and called a few of them between that Monday 12/1 and Tuesday 12/2. The Repair Specialist website showed the owner to have "decades of experience", free estimates and a two year "worry-free" guarantee on the work. [redacted] let me know he could be out to my house by the following Tuesday. The temps stayed around 30 for that whole week, there was a light snow during that time and although there were no new wet spots, the staining on the ceiling from them was still visible. [redacted] arrived that Tuesday 12/9 as scheduled, he came in the house, I showed him the spots, asked if he needed to get up into the attic to see where the water could be coming from and he advised he did not need to do that, he would be able to tell from the roof. I told him that the house was new to me and that the inspectors had given the roof a specific call-out that it looked good. He spent some time up on the roof looking around and when we talked after he came down, he said it "looked like" there was some non-professionals who had done the last roofing job, that some of the shingles were "nailed a bit high" and that they weren't flush, that even a slight angle to the nail head could gouge the shingle and allow moisture in. He said the gutter had also been fit over or added over an existing flashing (I'm not exact on the gutter/flashing part because I didn't understand it) and that could be allowing some water in too. He said he was sure it wasn't ice damning because these weren't the right conditions. He quoted me a price of $1,650 to repair the three spots and the flashing. I was worried about the shingles not matching if we just did those three spots and he told me the existing ones were fine to re-use, he would just put them on correctly. I questioned that $1650 seemed high for no materials and the fact that he was saying "it looks like" but then he made reference to the two year guarantee and said no matter what, if it wasn't fixed, he'd have to come back out and take care of it, that he guaranteed his work to stop the leaking and THAT's part of what I was getting for the price. No other repair company had been able to fit me in and I was worried about structural damage if I didn't do something, so I told him to proceed. He said he'd come out Thursday or Friday when the weather was supposed to be a bit nicer. I again offered/asked if he needed us home for attic access and he said no, he'd just call us when he finished the job. He called me Friday to let me know that he had actually come the day before and did the work. We never saw him and there was only about a four hour window that day when one of us wasn't home but I went ahead and mailed him the check as agreed.

Things were fine for a few weeks while the temps were in the 30-40 range, even with a light snow here and there so I thought all was fine. Then the temps dropped again into the 18 degree range on 12/29 and we woke up to not only those same three wet spots but now two more still along the north side of our home. I called [redacted] immediately on 12/29 and left a message. I heard nothing for several days, and instead, on 12/31, I reached out to another local company that was recommended to me by a friend. They set up an appointment to come out Tuesday 1/6 in the afternoon. [redacted] finally ended up calling back on Friday 1/2 and said he could come out also to check it out that Monday or Tuesday. Even though it took five days to get that call, I thought I'd give him a chance to make it right, that maybe he was gone for the New Year's holiday or something. Those next few days were REALLY cold - one day was 8 degrees and one was 11 degrees and the leaking seemed to be worse. I didn't understand because there wasn't any new snow, so I got online and googled it and there were quite a few articles about moist air getting into the attic, freezing on contact with the underside of the roof, then slowly melting and dripping onto the ceilings of the rooms. I climbed up in the attic and sure enough, the underside of the roof was covered in frost. I felt better knowing what the problem really was but still had to wait until [redacted] and/or the other company could let me know what they suggested.

[redacted] came first and when I explained what I had found, he then went into the attic. Several times he said "well now we're dealing with something totally different" to which I responded that it was NOT something different, the leaks were in the exact same spots as they were before in addition to getting worse. I reminded him that he had guaranteed me a fix and I had no extra money left. He said he'd go out to the truck and do some calculations and see what he could come up with. He came back in and gave me a few options. OPTION 1: he said he would cut an extra roof vent and that MIGHT improve the airflow out of the attic. That he would do for free. OPTION 2: I might need a ridge vent instead and that would be $400, I could also seal the attic hatch better for around $200. OPTION 3: he said he could blow some insulation in the attic, that might limit the amount of moist air getting up there and that would be about $2200. I told him I'd wait to see what the other company said because I had no money left to sink into this and it seemed again like he had a lot of "maybes" and "mights" that were just adding extra cost, he wasn't honoring the guarantee he promised.

When [redacted] from the other company came, he was very thorough, went up in the attic, sought to find where the moist air could be coming from. He found (and showed me) a hole in the bathroom fan's venting that was just blowing the wet shower air into the attic. He also advised that my current insulation was less than half of what was recommended BUT he knew right away when I mentioned it coinciding with the coldest days that my furnace probably had a humidifier on it and that setting needed to be lower when it got so cold. I did remember LOTS of condensation on the inside of the windows too so I was able to go turn that setting down and I haven't had a problem since. I did hire that second company to do the fan/insulation work since they knew about a city grant that got me some help on the cost. I've waited this long to file this complaint to make sure I wasn't making a solely emotional decision, to ensure that with the follow up energy audit and the varying weather conditions that the problem didn't persist and it has not. My "leaks" could have been resolved on [redacted]'s first visit with minimal cost to me.Desired Settlement: I feel like [redacted] took advantage of the fact that I had no idea about these things, I told him I was worried, that this was my first house and he knew I was in a pinch. I'm sure he did come and do something on the day he said he did the work but with a max of four hours to do it (since we never saw him) and no materials to purchase other than maybe some nails, that works out to more than $400/hour for just himself. The Department of Labor Statistics website shows the top roofers in the country making just under $30/hr. Even if I double that like he was getting an elite-level roofer's wage, that is still under $300 for the work he did. The guarantee was worthless and he did not fix the problem even though I gave him the opportunity to make it right. I am not seeking a full refund because I believe he did come and do something but I do believe I should get back the majority or at least HALF of what we paid him. $1650 for at max four hours work and no materials and no fix is NOT acceptable.

Business

Response:

[redacted] called me and asked me to give her an estimate on repairing roof leaks when I got there she showed me three roof leaks in the front of the house one in the middle by the front entrance door and on both corners