This review is long overdue. We had our roof done in August. My mother and I were very worried about choosing the right contractor - we talked to almost 10 companies - some couldn’t come out to see us for several weeks, some didn’t come as far as our house, some offered lower estimates but there was always something that threw us off about them. Either we saw them working on another home, standing on the roof with no safety equipment, or there were problems with them registered on the BBB, or they seemed pushy and their quotes were very vague as were their answers to our questions, as though they were trying to make it seem like the information was ‘over our heads’.
We found Canadian Roofing Company on Homestar and I read all the reviews before calling them. Canadian Roofing was the last estimate that we got because they were booked solid (a good sign in the summer months) - it took about a week, but then Bill called to make an appointment to come out the next day to take a look at our roof. He arrived on time, got up on our roof to look around, and then spent time with us going over what the problems were and what needed to be done on our roof. He was very friendly, professional, not at all condescending, and knew what he was talking about.
His quote was very detailed and clear, even specifying exactly what materials he would be using by name (most did not) and he talked us through everything. His quote was on the mid-higher end of what we heard but so were his materials, and we felt that we would be getting a very good quality roof afterwards (it is a huge investment, you might as well spend a tiny bit more to get a much better job). The lower estimates were from companies which we did not feel that we could really trust. Also, Bill's estimate included the price after taxes, which many other companies failed to do or point out.
Bill also managed to squeeze us in earlier than expected because he knew that it was an emergency problem (our whole kitchen ceiling had come crashing down due to water damage).
As far as the job itself, the crew arrived just after 9 am and got straight to work. Justin answered any questions politely when asked, and otherwise they kept to themselves and worked hard all day. They set up pieces of wood and tarps to protect our vegetable garden, and at the end of the day they cleared everything away. Aside from a few scrap pieces of paper, and bits of shingle, everything was left as they had found it, including the tomatoes!
Bill came by about 2 weeks after the job was completed to pick up the remainder of the balance owed (after the 10% deposit), and got up on the roof to take a quick peek and make sure everything looked good. The final price matched the original quote and the job took 1 day, just as they said it would. The entire process (from the first phone call to the roof being done) took about 3 weeks. We’ve had heavy rains and Hurricane Sandy backlash since and the new roof has clearly fixed our problems. We were very happy with the final outcome, and the contractor who came in to fix our kitchen ceiling even commented on how good the new roof looked. A couple of our neighbours are looking into re-roofing their homes in the next year or so, and we have absolutely no problem in recommending this company to anyone looking for a new roof. We were extremely satisfied with the entire process.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $7,000.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?