I'm dealing with a one-story house that had a leak showing up on the inside around the chimney. I had one roofer that came out more than once and the leak was still there.

I have another roofer that came out three times. Last time he was there he took pictures from the outside and said it's all sealed up while it was raining but did not go inside.

Place is empty and I had explained to him before water still coming through and you need to go in while it's raining to find that it's leaking.

Even though he was right there he didn't do it. He did put a chimney cap on it. He initially put shingles that did not match on it. It's now been a month that the second roofer has been dealing with it.

The leak is still there. Now the second roofer is saying there's damaged decking at the top and it's finding the lowest point and showing up there.

He wants to know what he's going to get paid for what he's already done. Our agreement was to stop the leak that is appearing around the chimney.

Since the leak is still there, I don't feel he's owed anything. At this point he wants to give a quote on getting the entire roof done.

I just wanted to make sure I'm not being unfair if I say there still a leak, what is there to pay you for? Also I don't want to use him even if I do decide to do an entire new roof.

I think he's been rude I think he doesn't follow instructions.

One last thing about this guy... according to him he no longer has a substance problem for several years. However it seems like the second he drives in the last nail he expect someone to run and pay him 2 minutes later. He acts what my opinion would be of a crack addict if they needed money to go get drugs a minute later.

He has also taken the time to make comments within the last 30 days along the lines of 'your company can afford it."

Did I mention one story roof. The peak is less than 1 ft above chimney. I just looked at photos

He didn't care that he put shingles that clearly didn't match on the house then there was the need to wait a week for special order to match the house.

Did I mention one story roof. The peak is less than 1 ft above chimney. I just looked at photos

He didn't care that he put shingles that clearly didn't match on the house then there was the need to wait a week for special order to match the house.

No tree over.

House is as wide As a single wide mobile home roughly. It’s a house.

This guy is trying to say that he’s been hinting that the decking is bad in a large area. He has been saying that several times. He did not say that when he agreed to take the job and at one point said he replaced the decking around the chimney.

Jen, can you post the pictures of the chimney as well as where the leak shows up on the inside?

From your description it sounds to me like there isn't a cricket behind the chimney & the rear cross flashing is damaged. It's also possible that with all of our recent rains that the bricks are becoming saturated & allowing water to migrate through to the interior.

FYI a good chimney should have step flashings that are woven into the shingle courses, a counter flashing that is cut into the bricks & goes over the step flashings, an apron that goes across the entire front of the chimney and a cricket on the back to help divert water around the chimney.

Jen, I cannot stand chimneys! Always leaks! But, I am not happy with direct vent water heaters yet, so, cannot eliminate the chimneys. I use high efficiency furnaces, so those no longer go through the chimney. Then, I have a chimney specialist install Class B piping ( kindly correct me if that's not the correct term for that flue, anyone,) through the chimney, put the proper cap, and give the whole thing a real good going over. That has solved chimney leaks at several houses.

Part of the difficulty with chimneys can be warm air/ cold air and thus condensation, which can do screwy things to bricks, caulk, all of that.

Me, I'd make this current roofer go away by throwing the cash at him, with a paid in full receipt as the cash leaves my hand. (I have no patience for lots of things, and loose ends is one of them! But, that's just me! YMMV.) Then, I would talk to a chimney specialist. If you currently have just the water heater venting through the chimney, you'll need the proper piping installed. Water heaters do not generate enough heat to move the air up all by themselves, once the furnace is no longer vented through the chimney.Of course, if your furnace still vents through the chimney, my whole point is moot.

Water heater is electric furnace not high efficiency.

Going forward will be high efficiency furnace and electric hw tanks everywhere

Water heater is electric furnace not high efficiency.

Going forward will be high efficiency furnace and electric hw tanks everywhere

I am a contractor and don't do roof's for clients unless I am adding on to a house and then I roof the new structure. So I farm many roof jobs out. I do work on my own properties.....

One large roofing job I get a Warranty from the roofer and the material supplier. The contractor had insurance and was bonded. I also took out a "payment and performance bond" on the job -- costing 3% of the total price.

The roof never stopped leaking in curtain areas. So I conducted tests using smoke, warm water and a thermal scanner. I found the troubled areas. It was not going to be an easy fix. Working on the troubled area could damage other areas.

This was a poorly executed re-roofing job. I had viewed some of the install but wasn't on the property to see if everything was done correctly.

I put in claims to the roofer, his bond and insurance company. I put in a claim for the materials that failed. I filed a claim with the "performance and payment" bonding company. No one wanted to lift a finger.

So after my letter writing phase was over and I warned them I had no choice but to re-roof the property and go after them financially -- I stripped the roof and re-roofed it myself, taking pictures to prove the failure.

Pictures of poor workmanship. Water migration and leaks, etc.

Then I sent bills to all parties with a dead line. Then I filed a complaint with the State Contracting Board and the Department of Insurance. There was millions of bonding and insurance on this job but no one wanted to be responsible.

The contractor had his licensed pulled because his bonding company was now on the hook. The insurer for the "performance bond" was going to be ejected from writing policies in California unless they made good on the roof.

All of a sudden at the 11th hour, everyone was at my door wanting to "resolve" issues. I told them I had to replace the roof, fix damaged ceilings and re-paint. I lost the tenant and was out many months of rent. It now just wasn't the roofing cost but the aftermath expenses due to their negligence and failure to "perform" as agreed and contracted.

So I sent them all to my "construction" attorney who worked a a deal that everyone was going to pay something to make me whole. And they did.

That's funny LTD. Do you even get that much rain? LOL!!

Jen,

Climb a ladder and put eyes on. Sometimes the problem is obvious to a motivated person like the owner.

Have a helper pour water on the roof with a hose (no sprayer, just water straight form the hose) while you watch inside. Without that you are just guessing.

Cheating roofers know when the owner is not looking at the repair. They throw some caulk on it and hand you a bill.

Good luck!

BRAD

I got the contractors insurance certificate and his bonding company from the State Contractors Board. I also purchased, through the contractor a "payment and performance bond". I was good to go except no one wanted to do their part. I could have just filed the "claims" and sit back and wait, but since I had a leaking roof, time was critical.