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Posted by mg on June 3, 2007, 7:23 pm
> > My two questions are, do I have legitimate complaints about the
> > workmanship and even if the roofer lifts the legs of the swamp cooler
> > and takes the antenna off and does it right will the patchwork repair
> > job he does on the shingles be acceptable?
>
> The cleanup should have been better from what you describe. It is
> impossible to contain every scrap of shingle and nail when you do a
> tear off even with tarps but a good faith effort is expected.
>
> So far as the cooler and antennae are concerned, it should have been
> moved before roofing but no way is that the responsiblilty of the
> roofer to remove your equipment unless specifically requested.
>
> The roofer may show up on the job not knowing exactly what to
> expect. The person who bid your job may not be on the crew.
> Typcially they just do the job and leave without even interacting with
> the homeowner.
>
> >From the roofers perspective, if you don't move it and they are not
>
> paid to move it then they have no choice but to work around it. They
> don't have time to stop to ask you or anyone else why it hasn't been
> moved. So, it you don't move it then you have to have it in the
> contract if you want the roofers to move it.
>
> An acceptable patch can be made in both cases, no problem. It should
> be just as good as new when patched. I do not think you can hold the
> roofers responsible for this extra work unless it was in the original
> contact.
I'm definitely guilty of not getting the situation with the swamp
cooler and dish antenna written into the contract. However, I did have
the house reroofed in mid-80s and that contractor did put the roofing
underneath the legs of the swamp cooler. So, unfortunately, I assumed
it was standard practice.
I actually did ask the contractor about the DirecTV antenna since I
have one of the new type that is very difficult to aim. He told me
that wouldn't be a problem since the roofers would put the mounting
plate back in exactly the same holes. Unfortunately, I only got that
verbally and didn't get it in the contract. Even if he had told me,
though, that I would have to remove the antenna, that would have been
OK. I can hire a guy to tune the antenna back in for about $25. Or, I
can do it myself. The roofing job costs $4500.00. So 25 bucks wouldn't
bother me any.
Swamp coolers sit on top of a large sheet-metal duck (18" x 18" I
think) and the legs are there mostly just to offer additional support.
I've actually seen swamp coolers sitting on roofs with no legs at all.
The 4 legs are connected to the corners of the swamp cooler with 2
sheet metal screws. It would be an extremely simple matter to remove
these legs one or two at a time and roof under them and then put them
back on. Swamp coolers are extremely common in my area. It's hard for
me to imagine that roofers are going around the state roofing over the
legs of swamp coolers when they are so easy to remove. Actually, it's
probably a lot easier to remove the legs than it is to roof around
them.
It's good to know that it's not that difficult to do a patch. Maybe
I'll hire someone to do that or perhaps I can do it myself even though
I don't have a clue as to how it's done. It does seem sort of
difficult to me, though. My inclination would be to lay the new
shingles over the top of the old ones and then put a lot of patch
repair stuff around the edges. The situation seems really kludgy to
me, especially after just paying $4500 for a new, 30-year roof.
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