Yikes! It’s been a crazy weekend here at the Worsham household. A birthday party for my son (though his birthday isn’t for a few weeks, but it was the best weekend we had), birthday celebrations for me, client work, and the infamous roofers finally decided to show up.

Warning, Rant Ahead!

I contracted to have my roof replaced in January. This is June. Now, for the first two months, I can certainly understand how the roof didn’t get put on. Every weekend they scheduled for, it either rained or snowed. But its been six months now, and the guy couldn’t find a single weekend that would work for him? Hmmm… And I couldn’t just call someone else, because the shingles were already sitting in my yard and yes, I’d paid him. (I know, I know – count it as a lesson learned. I’d never had any kind of construction like this done before. Now I’m older and wiser.)

I finally had to give him an ultimatum to get someone here this weekend. Since then, well, its been one issue after another. Maybe other clients of his are less hands on and aware than I am, but after getting the run around for so long, I wanted to make sure my roof got put on… RIGHT. So my step-dad walked me through the process over the phone because he lives a long way away (what the guys should do to prepare the roof, how to make sure the shingles weren’t ruined from the heat, etc.). I watched what they did and they honestly seemed to do a good job and were friendly.

My problem was with the man I contracted with. He was here a total of 15 minutes and I never saw him again (so much for not being able to put my roof on because he was UNAVAILABLE). The problem was, work was slowed the first day because he didn’t show up with the dump trailer. During a phone call, he claimed he had one but it broke, and he had to go hire one. But apparently they were backed up. When I finally called at noon to get the above explanation, he said he would be here in an hour. I called him back… AT SIX.

And frankly, I blew a gasket. Despite going back on his word again and again, he apparently felt I should believe my roof was going to go up and be quality work. I firmly stripped him of this idea. Recounted every mistake and lie he’d told me in the last six months, and informed him that I expected everything to get done in a correct manner. Although the crew came back the second day, I may have chewed him out too soon.

Last night, I left for my birthday dinner. When I came home, the roofers had cleaned and gone. And my gazebo was still the original shingle color.

So despite being reassured that my roof, porch, gazebo, and detached garage would all be done, my gazebo hasn’t been touched. Granted, the roofers may show up for a third day, just to finish my gazebo, hmmm…

We’ll see. How do you handle contractors who don’t do what they agreed to? (Besides report them to the BBB, which I can assure you I will.) Obviously, I need to sit at the feet of Maven Linda and get lessons on how to handle these guys. Sigh.

Angel

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