I had a salesperson come out from Doing It Right. They arrived right on time, asked what work I wanted done, etc, and walked around the house for a bit and told me that they would be right back in. Note that they never actually went up on the roof - unlike several other contractors that I've had out between this and my garage project. The salesperson said that their insurance company wouldn't cover them if they had an accident without having a contract. This was kind of surprising to me, and quite honestly felt either like a lie or like they have a crappy insurance policy.
Then I sat down and we went over a very detailed contract about everything that would be done. I very much appreciated the detail in the contract, outlining exactly what work would be performed and to what specifications. Some items would be marked N/A, or there might be options that could be checked, such as a california cut/weave valley vs aluminum open cut, etc. I was also showed the really cool software they use to calculate the roof size using satellite imagery and such. They went on and on about their Platinum Preferred status with Owens Corning, giving quite the sales pitch. I was waiting to see how huge the final bid amount was going to be.
To my surprise, it wasn't. Actually, it was about *half* the bid amount of another roofer. Well, this all sounded great. I was, of course, skeptical so I read through the contract in more detail. There were a lot of oddities - for instance, they say "California weave" for valleys, but by all accounts online, valleys can either be a "weave" a "cut", a "California cut", or an open valley with a metal channel. So when they say "California weave" it kinda felt like they're leaving open space for if their sub-contractors screw up and do a weave rather than the proper cut. Also, it seems the general consensus is that the metal channel is more durable and doesn't get debris caught in it - so that would cost an additional $200.
They couldn't give me clear up-front pricing on how much it would cost to paint/patch/fix the box gutters, if required (again, they didn't go on the roof), so who knows what that could end up costing. I asked some detailed follow-up questions about permits, dumpsters, employee vs sub-contracting, gutters, wood replacement, etc. And when they responded, they told me that my job was going to be too small, under their minimum 10-square size unless I also had them do the porch roof as well. Of course, this would add another $1300 to the cost. Odd that even with their fancy roofing calculating software that they never noticed it was under the 10-square minimum.
I had a couple more followup questions, and at this point they got back to me and basically cancelled and said that they weren't the right company, that they don't like to come out to do small city jobs, and had a bunch of excuses. I was super frustrated, because I was leaning towards this company and had spent a decent amount of time researching them, communicating back and forth, and it was for nothing. They new the size of my roof and the location before ever coming out.
At the end of the day, I suspect that either the salesperson bid too low for the job and they didn't admit it, or that they didn't actually have the confidence that they could do the job right due to what I think are extremely basic minor roofing complexities such as re-framing and maintaining box gutters (which are very common in Pittsburgh). It's a bummer, but luckily there are other competent contractors to pick between as well - perhaps with a bit more honesty and ability to stick to their bids. read more
