Escex misdiagnosed the cause of my roof leak; offered a repair that would not have stopped the leak; when I had another roofing company inspect and figure out the cause of the leak, Escex suggested an incorrect approach to the repair; and when I had the other company take care of it, refused to reimburse me for the cost of a proper repair and voided my roof warranty. Details below.
Escex installed a new roof on our home just before we purchased it in August 2022, so the GAF and labor warranties transferred to us. In May of this year, we discovered a leak on the side of an interior wall. After my call, Escex promptly sent Mark Chapin out. After inspecting the spot on the roof directly above the leak, Mark told me that the roof and flashing were fine as both had been installed in accordance with GAF guidelines, and that it was the gutter section above that was causing water to overflow and penetrate the wall above the flashing. When I asked him how the water was getting through to the inside if not through the roof and flashing, he suggested that it could be going through the exterior stucco (our home has hardcoat stucco exterior). This was the first time I began to doubt Mark's expertise. Mark said that the repair would not be covered by the warranty, that he recommended at the very least replacing the section of the gutter above the leak and also installing a scupper box to capture more water before sending it down the spout, and ideally replacing all of our gutters. The scupper box recommendation was made upon Mark's consultation with his manager. Within a day or two, Mark sent me two quotes - one to replace one gutter section above the leak and install the scupper box ($1,375) and a second quote to replace all remaining gutters and downspouts. The first quote was supposed to be enough to address the leak.
I contacted another roofing company for a second opinion. They recorded a video of their inspection on the roof and found that the leak had been caused by improper flashing installation. The flashing had been installed over the old flashing without removing it, and that was where the water got through. They also told me that new gutters would not eliminate the leak and that a scupper box was not necessary. When I forwarded the video to Escex, Mark Chapin came out again and, because there were frequent thunderstorms, put a tarp over the leaking section until the weather would permit a repair. When he was finished, he and I spoke, and he told me that he would be back on the weekend to repair the flashing, that the old flashing that had been found by the other roofing company underneath the new flashing installed by Escex last year does NOT need to be replaced. Since the other company had told me that the failure to remove the old flashing was the reason for the leak, I asked Mark why he does not plan to remove the old flashing. He replied that he would install new flashing which would completely cover the old without having to damage the stucco. He assured me that he has been in this business for a long time and knew what he was talking about. Before he left our property, within half an hour of our last conversation, he sent me a text saying that he had changed his mind and that he WOULD in fact rip out the old flashing. He did not speak to me about it in person.
At that point I had lost all confidence in Mark Chapin's expertise and ability to properly repair the leak. Since it was summer and raining frequently, I did not have the luxury of going back and forth with Escex without risking more serious water damage to the interior. I contacted the other roofing company that had properly diagnosed the leak and had them repair it by replacing the flashing. (Since then, the leak has stopped.) I subsequently forwarded the repair invoice ($1,450 - within $100 of Escex's repair quote) to Escex requesting reimbursement. Two weeks later, Escex informed me that they would not reimburse the cost of repair by another company and that they voided my roof warranty.
THANK YOU, Escex. I guess I was supposed to pay you $1,375 to install a new gutter section and a stupid ugly scupperbox that would NOT have fixed the leak, and maybe even $7,800 to replace ALL my gutters that would NOT have fixed the leak. And then dealt with more interior water damage. You guys know what you are doing. read more