Don't trust my contractor

Hi,
During a strong storm,a tree fell on my house damaging the right and left elevation(? term used by insurance co.) Basically, half of the roof collapsed and the back wall caved in. Damages totalled 30k. I feel that I have been shortchanged by the contractor. According to the insur est., there is supposed to be a 4/12 slope truss (I don't understand roof terms). The roof has been repaired not replaced. He has used some used materials, ie spliced wood for the deck roof. Should I hire a separate inspector to make sure that everything is done correctly?

 

xam99

There's a few questions you have to ask your self;
Did you get more than one estimate
Did you get referances
Did the contractor get a building permit
Did you ask for a contract
It doesn't hurt to ask every now and again the steps and reasons the contractor is considering.
Ask your insurance co. for some referances
Get that contractor back and tell him to do the work the right way.If he doesn't every time you see his signs displayed on someones front lawn tell them what their in for with that contractor.
Some times I get so mad when I here about this kind of sad kraftmanship I get carried away.
GOOD LUCK
GUMP

 

Call your insurance adjuster first. Let's see if he is satisfied with the repairs. Whether you understand all of the terminology he used or not is immaterial -- HE UNDERSTOOD IT!! The adjuster called out a 4/12 roof truss. That tells me that a truss was probably broken and should have been replaced. From your description of the damage, I would say several trusses were involved and should have been replaced. This doesn't mean you should get a new roof -- just have the damaged section repaired.

Did the contractor obtain a bldg. permit before starting these repairs? At $30K, with half of the roof collapsed and a wall caved in, he should have. If he didn't, I would really start raising a stink, and wouldn't quit until his license was revoked and he was out of business. Two phone calls could take care of that. I don't have to ask if you are happy with his work --obviously you are not! Gump71695 suggested calling the contractor back and telling him to "do the work the right way". I don't think I'ld do that. If the guy didn't do it "the right way" when he had his first chance, what makes you think he will correct the errors? Who knows if he even realizes that he did anything wrong?

Keep us updated as this thing progresses. There are several of us in this forum who will have no problem with you e-mailing us directly to explain any terms that you don't understand. We won't give you any legal advise, but we can offer you some direction.

Mike

 

I see everyone is jumping on this poor contractor without seeing the job. Now let us look at the who picture. You had a hole in your roof. Your insurance paid to have the hole repaired, not a new roof. the contractor could not put in new trusses without taking off the other side off the roof. No money for that, so he had to patch the existing trusses. Perfectly acceptable. It is done everyday. Then he had to sheet the roof. New sheeting is not a requirement. It only has to meet code. The contractor may have used dried lumber to fix the truss rather then new lumber which is green lumber and would shrink. You may have gotton a very good job. the problem is you feel it is not what you wanted. When you turned it over to your insurance company, you gave up your rights as to how it was to be fixed. It was fixed the way the insurance comapny wanted it done. I would bet that the work meets code, and is acceptable with the insurance company. I don't know where you live, but in many states, it is the home owners responsibility to get the building permit, not the contractor. I am not siding with the contractor nor with you, I am only saying lets look at both side of the coin first before jumping to conclusions.

 

Thank you for your responses. I did everything wrong. I didn't get any references because they were doing some of the houses in my neighborhood that were also damaged. I figured they wouldn't do a bad job since some of my neighbors were using them too. Also, I asked around and they seemed to be a big company.
I don't know if he got a building permit. I live in Georgia; am I supposed to get one or should he do that? Also, I will ask my insurance adjuster to come look at the job before I pay the last 10% of the payments.

Thanks again.