After a rainy winter our 25 year old shake roof was screaming "no mas!". I was finding thin, decaying shakes out in the yard after a windy day and the pine tree next to the house was dropping a heavy blanket of needles on our roof (please see my previous review on Agri-Con tree removal). Our gutters were beginning to droop, split and rust. Time for a roof and gutter replacement!
An acquaintance had suggested we call Dan at Kennedy Roofing. Dan came to the house and completed a through inspection of the roof, even taking us into the attic to show us where a little daylight was coming through. He completed his bid on the spot and kept in contact with us as we evaluated a total of six bids. Of the bids we felt the most comfortable with Dan's bid and the reputation of the company. We set a date a month or so in the future and made preparations, including dropping the biggest culprit, the imposing pine.
We contacted Dan a week prior to the tear off and were on schedule. The morning the work was to commence the crew arrived on time and eager to get going. On site was the owner of the company, Sam. I have to say, this was the happiest crew of workers I have seen in years. They had all worked for Sam for many years and it showed...there was a lot of good natured ribbing and cajoling. Obviously everyone seemed to enjoy their role on the work crew. Unlike all the other companies we talked with, only Kennedy had the same crew do all the work from tear-off to installation, including gutters. There are no sub-contractors to deal with. That was a real selling point for us.
Everything went according to schedule. Sam was very accommodating when I made small requests that, on the surface, seemed like trivial things but were important to me (downspout locations, reattaching the phone line). He was onsite 80% of the time, something that is unheard of with a big company. I have to say that I was impressed with the attention to detail and the desire to make things look right.
The job was finished on time, a day before a drenching rain hit. Nothing like testing your new roof! We only had a couple glitches, one being a rafter replacement that took some extra time.
Note that the company is located in Santa Cruz County but seems to work throughout the South Bay. That was a little confusing when we first started looking as the house is located in San Jose.
It's hard to pick a roofing company. You only need them once every 20 or 25 years, so when you start to wade through all the companies and their services it can be daunting. We felt fortune to have found Kennedy Roofing. We felt they were competitive, qualified, honest and reliable. Isn't that all you need in a roofing company? read more