Riteway Home Remodeling

I am saddened that in spite of repeated complaints this contractor continues to violate city of Chicago municipal code; no attaching advertisements/ handbills/ fliers to private property. Either pay postage or use doorknob bags. Unprofessional and a litter nuisance to my neighborhood.

I had two layers of old roof tiles that needed to be removed. After getting quotes from 5 roofing companies I selected Riteway since I thought I could use them to remodel my bathroom and kitchen if I liked their work. They left my the surrounding area in a total mess to the degree that later that year I had my gutters cleaned and the company that was doing that job sent me pictures to show me how much of the old tiles and other roofing materials had collected in the gutters. My neighbors were sweeping up loose nails and old roofing tiles for several days after the job was done. They also replaced the roof and gutters in my garage and I was told said gutters were all one piece but there is a leak right in the middle of one of the gutters. I called that in and apparently they came over to patch that up. Well, it is still leaking and unless I don't understand what "one piece" means there should not be a seam connecting two parts of the gutter as per their description.

A few weeks ago we had terrible winds and some of my roofing tiles came off. I was told that I could call the office and have somebody come out in the event this happened as it was part of my guarantee/warranty. I called and the owner answered and said he remembered me and that he has his men working nearby and that they would come over and put a sign outside and take a look. He asked me to leave behind the extra tiles they left me with. I assured him I did not have any. He insisted that they always leave tiles behind. I told him that this was going to turn into a "he said-she said" situation so lets just work from the point of no tiles. 3 weeks later I was not informed whether or not anybody had stopped by. I called this morning with a simple request of "can you let me know when somebody has been there so I know an inspection was done" turned into a "you are talking too much, I told you my men were there and there were no tiles and that you were supposed to call the office every two years to set up a general check of your roof and you have never called, and I am telling you to send my a picture of your roof so I can see the tiles and I have told you this so many times already, why are you making this so hard". After that conversation ended I got a call back asking me for my address. How in the world was somebody there if they didn't even have my address? Clearly the owner was defensive because he had not followed through with his initial promise to come by. All he seems to care about is getting his sign on my lawn so he can advertise.

In the time that I purchased my home and had my roof done 4 of my friends have purchased home and asked me who I used for my roof. A neighbor behind my street asked me as well. Each time I said I could not in good conscious recommend Riteway. My experience with them was nothing close to professional. I find the owner rude and abrupt and lacking in common decency. He is short tempered and defensive and he lies. Its a shame that businesses do not realize that it is no longer just one customer...Riteway potentially could have had jobs worth $50,000 and up from recommendations from me. They could have also gotten so much more work from myself since I needed remodeling for my kitchen and bathrooms. 

For my own peace of mind I will now have to request an inspection from another company since i have ZERO trust in Riteway.

Never use them. It is not worth the money you will save. Like the saying goes-what you save on the round-about, you will lose on the swing. Peace of mind is worth an additional couple thousand...at least to me. Riteway is rated in the negative from me. Look elsewhere. Also-I did not even see them listed in the BBB directory. Lies again.

When finished the job in Dec 2014 all was good for a few months until I had a slight flood in my basement, because the sewage pump (needed for new bathroom down there) stop working. Noticed this when doing laundry. 
Called them over to complain and had to convinced them of the importance, and they came right over to replace check valve. Eventually, noticed a few weeks later the pump still was not coming on as expected. And for 6 months now I am still trying to get them back to fix the sewage pump again. Currently, the tethered float switch on the pump does not work, so I have to manually remove the piggyback and plug pump in directly to the outlet to remove water from the pump. This is so frustrating, especially when I know it will rain and when I have to do laundry.
The following is the list I have been trying to get them to come back and resolve: 
Each month I get the runaround, ("we're still testing out a new pump, before we install a new one at your place"). Then some time it's even "I'l reschedule and send someone"), but still to this day nothing, no one has come in 6 months to look at or resolve the issues. I'm beyond upset and this is ridiculous service. For six months to still wait for service to resolve issues is beyond unacceptable. It's ridiculous to the highest level. I never heard of such a thing with a company who is supposed to support their customers after a job is done to resolve issues.
Issues still waiting 6 months and counting to get resolved :

1. 1) Sewage pump in basement not working correctly. It is not automatically turning on. I have to 
2. manually remove piggyback plug of float switch and plug pump cord in directly to outlet to turn it on. 
3. 2) Interior doors are hard to close and open now for some 
4. reason.
5. 3) Glass piece on upstairs bathroom shower door is loose meaning 
6. glue is off.
7. 4) One of the vinyl tiles on basement floor and family room 
8. floor is coming up
9. 5) Also a few spots on driveway concrete is cracked.

Well, this was a strange experience.  I was very happy with the quote, and very happy with the crew that came out to rebuild our chimney. We paid the full amount in advance. I was pleased with the appearance of the chimney, the pleasantness of the crew, and that they came out when expected.  There was a little bit of debris around the house after the build, but very little. That was all good.  
   Our liner install, however, was problematic. A bend in the chimney (which we'd mentioned when getting a quote for the job.... we have the original communication noting that) had caused issues previously with installers putting in a fireplace liner. AND we mentioned that we may need a larger liner than the previous one (in order to be up to code). The masonry crew couldn't get the liner down, and noted that we would need a new quote which would likely entail having to cut some exploratory holes in the walls to find where the bend was.  We rather expected that might happen.  
   I tried to contact the owner to get an appointment for him to come out and figure out the problem.  This is where things became difficult.  As a previous reviewer said, it isn't easy to communicate with the main office.  You must leave a message and wait, or you can text if you have that contact info.  I set up two different appointment days for the company owner to come to the house and take new measurements, and strangely was asked each time to send a reminder to the owner the day before the appointment. Both days he was unable to come (first time, did not communicate he wouldn't be coming.  Second time, he did send a text mid-afternoon that he was tied-up on a job).  He then said he would come by to take measurements the upcoming Friday and I wouldn't need to be home.  So, late Friday I sent a message asking how things went. I sent another message on Saturday, and one on Monday, with no response.  On Tuesday, I sent a note asking if the measurements had actually been taken, and I was startled to receive a rude response basically implying that I was the cause of the problems due to wanting a larger liner.  The owner stated (as he had previously) that he had years and years of experience and this would be no problem for him, but that obviously "the customer is always right".  He wound up saying I should find someone else to give a quote on the job and tell him what they would charge.  
    We found someone else to finish the job. I was relieved to not have to continue the communication string, and I'm sure the Riteway owner was too.  
   In a nutshell, I am sure Riteway usually does a fine job when the project runs smoothly, but ours was indeed harder than most. I do not think that the customer should have to take the initiative to make sure that the problems are solved.... after a contract is signed, the company should do its best to complete the work.  I certainly did not feel that we were viewed as a valued customer, only as a pain in the neck. In retrospect, Riteway was the only company we got quotes from that did not make an appointment to come into the house to check out the boiler connections. A quote was placed in our mailbox when no one was home.  A more thorough investigation of the job in advance might have prevented some of the resulting problems. 

I went with another roofer

What I liked best about my contact at Riteway, Austin, was his willingness to hear my ideas and respond to my funding limitations.  We first considered the bells and whistles of the project.  Adding a dormer, a bathroom and new roof, replacing the existing hvac system, but then was willing to scale it back to make it affordable from my perspective, something I can payoff within a few years (3).  What I didn't want to do was get myself in deep with another mortgage and possibly making payments on this project when I'm 70 years old.  Austin worked well with my daughter who was very interested in specifying colors and lighting fixtures, and things generally worked out well.  I even got my electric box upgraded and wiring issues fixed in my living room and existing central air, although I should mention one of the negatives was an incident with the power burning out a few of my electrical devices.  Not really a big deal since we did a cost swap for my devices and the knee wall storage space.  Generally, things went very well although understanding the crew is problematic but not necessarily a big problem.  I was able to communicate well with Austin and at a minimum level with the crew.  No misunderstandings emerged from this language difficulty and the crew was very well mannered and cordial.  I'm a little concerned about the air conditioning unit installed on my den's flat roof but I believe with the overhaul needed to be done with the roof I can address that at that time - so far so good.  I have a separate hvac system for the second floor which seems to work well.  I should note that payment terms were resonable, with the total amount broken down into three payments, one at the start of work, a second at the half way point and the final at successful completion.  Overall I am satistied and may very well give Austin a call for the roof project as well.