In October of 2003, we had our roof replaced by RRR / The Shingle Showroom of Durham. It was, by far, the worst home repair experience we've had (and we've had some doozies), both as the work was done, and as an ongoing problem.
I can't start to explain it any better than the first letter we sent to the company. This experience alone should give some pause. While we never reached "happy", the issues discussed there were eventually resolved.
Even after that however, we had ongoing problems. We later had water coming out of the skylight framing. When the RRR employee (Greg) arrived, he grumbled and bitched the entire time. He blamed us for it leaking, and said it in no way was it their problem. He then proceeded to completely reflash that skylight AND the one next to it. Go figure. It took some work, but we also managed to get them to repaint inside where the water had damaged the ceiling.
They (poorly) repainted inside the house, painting while the sheetrock was still wet, and after a while it was peeling on the inside AGAIN. So we again had them come back out and repaint it.
Well, we're leaking again, at the skylight in the exact same place. We called them immediately on 2/11/06 (and every work day thereafter). They called us back five days later.
When Dan finally showed up 2/16/06, he told us the leak would not be covered under warranty, and that if we wanted it repaired, we would now need to spend $200/year for the priviledge of having them work on our roof has NOT been well received! Especially since that had never been mentioned previously! When Dan showed up, he didn't even bring any materials to make any necessary repairs!
Again, best described by my next letter to the company.
Right now there's a definite leak at the chimney, and then the water is running down a rafter next to the skylight, and emerging there. Given that the water is coming out in the exact same place, I believe that this is the same problem as last time. Greg didn't check carefully enough (and indeed he never looked in the attic). Given that the entire area is packed with insulation, it just takes a lot of water over a long period for the saturation to reach the point it emerges at the skylight.
We are now told that it was leaking because we weren't doing any routine maintenance to the roof. Mind you, the warranty explicitly forbids us from doing work to the roof unless we want to void the warranty. Any work "performed by persons or companies other than those employees or subcontractors of RRR Home Improvements ... during the warranty period will void the warranty." This is ostensibly because they might cause further problems. Of course, when Dan was here, he said it'd be okay if _I_ worked on the roof - that my performing the work would not void the warranty. Mind you, how I'm less likely to cause problems than an experienced roofer I have no idea!
In Dan's most recent letter, he now directly contradicts what he told me in person, that he will not warranty work done by the homeowner. He also refuses to repair the roof under warranty.
I've filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, which RRR did not bother to respond to within their window.
Interestingly, while RRR/ Shingle Showroom used to be a member of the BBB, they aren't any more.
I have yet to receive a response from the NC Attorney General's office.
3/3/2006 Received the response from the BBB today, where Mr. Thomas responded. Note an increasing tact of "doesn't maintain the roof". He completely neglects that I DO clean the roof, with greater frequency than his company recommended, keeping it generally free of debris.
And of course that it's leaking somewhere where there is no debris!
So, I get to make my try at the modern legal system. Here's my next letter back to RRR.
3/9/2006 I heard back from the NC Attorney General's office! Mr. Thomas responded to them with "lack of homeowner maintenance" again. Here's his response to the NCAG, with a number of "errors". (which we've already covered, so I won't repeat!).
Ah well. I'll start filing with the court once the last deadline expires, and I complete getting estimates from his competition.
2007 Final Note: We won the court case. I'll probably never see any money for it, but at least it's a end (sort of).
Sept, 2008. I STILL occasionally get calls from people who have problems with this company with a leaking roof. As best I can tell, the company is now completely out of business, as his AOL site shows his resume no longer owning the Shingle Showroom as of 2006. Go figure. But the street address is still the same for those who might be looking to reach him.
The contact information for the company is:
Mr. B. Daniel Thomas, President
RRR Home Improvements, LLC
Shingle Showroom & Home Exterior Store
http://www.shingleshowroom.com
(currently off-line)
1009 Snow Hill Rd.
Durham, NC 27712
(919) 383-6833
919-906-6833 cell (as of 2004 at least)
Fax..: +1.9193841913
bdanthomas@aol.com
YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Bdanthomas
http://www.mymoviefest.com/members/showbio.php?username=bdanthomas
