Full disclosure, as of the time of this writing, James Dunn has provided financial compensation for damages caused by his company's work, and we appreciate his willingness to right his wrongs. However, given that we spent four weeks (during the planning and execution of our wedding and honeymoon) handling this, and the fact that the damage created a massive inconvenience for us as it was in our master bedroom, I feel it is only fair that I leave an account of our experience with this company.
I tried to write out the full version of everything, but there was just too much information. Here is a bare-bones timeline of my interaction with Dunn Contracting:
Dec. 9, 2018 - reached out via Yelp to Dunn Contracting (see photo) for a repair of a small leak, which we acknowledged we neglected but was otherwise insignificant.
Dec. 11, 2018 - Rich with Dunn Contracting came out to assess the leak, noted 5'x5' depression in roof (not over the leak in original job req but potentially contributing to it) in need of immediate repair, and slight vulnerability in roof (closer to the leak in original job req) that would need to be fixed within 6mo. which we agreed to do at a later date.
Dec. 13, 2018 - Rich and a team come out at 830am to fix the 5'x5' depression, invoice is paid in full, and final closed invoice is provided.
Dec. 14, 2018 - heavy rain (expected in the area by local weather) hits midday. Upon getting home from work close to 730, notice there is a new leak in the roof dripping into the ceiling directly beneath the work done; sounds like a faucet is running in our attic space. I call Rich in a panic to understand what's happening and he immediately gets defensive and combative. Claims our roof is insufficient, and that they should never have taken the job--that they "did us a favor" even though we paid them for the work--and to see his notes on the invoice about the problems. Their invoice notes do not reflect this information (see photo provided), and I was not informed of this during or after the job. Says all he can do is come out the next day to look at it.
Dec 15, 2018 - at 1230am we woke up to water dripping into our master bedroom. After an hour of draining the water bubbling beneath the paint, and moving furniture and bedding, our ceiling collapsed at 130am (see photos). James Dunn, the company owner, after multiple calls and in-person conversations (detailed below), cut a refund check for the roofing work done.
Dec. 18, 2018 - an independent inspector sent by our homeowner's insurance saw evidence of faulty workmanship, such as still-soft roofing tar (they used so much that five days after the fix it still hadn't set correctly). HOI does not consider the damage to the ceiling a covered loss, and after discussing options with James Dunn, he agreed the best course of action was for him to cover the cost of ceiling repair of his own volition, as his work is what led to the damage.
What isn't in the timeline above is the blatant lack of professionalism from both James and Rich when we came to them after their work failed. They blamed our roof for being old, decrepit, and in need of immediate replacement (all claims refuted by the inspector we worked with, as well as two separate roofing professionals, one of whom went on to repair Dunn's faulty work), and repeatedly claimed that they "did us a favor" by taking on our repair, as if we hadn't shelled out four-figures' worth of money to pay them for a service. They repeatedly claimed that they "never should have taken the job in the first place," which was never once expressed to me or my husband until after their work caused damage. The final, paid invoice (see photo) noted only that the roof was a double-layer, and because they didn't know that, their fix was only single layer so cosmetically the depression would still be visible. There was no indication that our roof was in trouble, either during the repair (which is when you SHOULD call and inform a homeowner so they can then decide if they want to pay for additional work) or after. It wasn't until we called when their repair was leaking like a faucet that suddenly our house was worthless.
They came to our house on the 18th after being told not to, repeatedly attempted to get inside to "see the damage for themselves" and that we "weren't letting them do their job" if we didn't let them inside. It was to the point that when they finally left, my then-fiancé, who was leaving for work, said to me "if they come back, call the police."
They couldn't or wouldn't accept that we had zero reason to trust them, and that came across as arrogant at best, and shady at worst.
At the end of the day, I know that their anger and defensiveness came from a place of wanting to do the job right, and that is understandable. But the last people you want fixing a hole in your roof and ceiling are the people who put it there to start with, and that's something that never clicked with either of them. read more