Balken Roofing

I have a metal roof which had a small leak under the porch roof. I called Balken the end of July to get an estimate for the repair. Steve came out in August got up on the roof took pics and showed me what the problem was and what it would need to fix it. That the area where the leak was coming from was not done right when the roof was put on. He sent the estimate, I printed it out, signed it and drove the contract and a check for materials to Balken A few days later so they could start the job. I was told by Chris when I dropped it off that James would call me to schedule. I never heard anything back. I called several times and also emailed Steve and the Balken email. Emails were not responded to. The communication back to me was nonexistent, even after I would talk to Chris and would be promised a call back. When I did get Chris I was told via phone that James would let me know when the materials were in and would be calling me to schedule. When I spoke to Chris he did not seem to know anything about the job, if the materials were ordered etc. I know that there has been a lot of rain which caused the crews delays and I completely understand that. My point here is that communication could’ve been a lot, lot better. It’s a phone call or an email. James finally did call scheduled the repair and the crew came out and did the repair. The very next day we got a lot of rain and I went out to check where the leak had been. Unfortunately the roof was still leaking but had moved about a foot or so where it had not leaked before and was actually leaking more. I took a video and emailed it to Balken and to Steve. Again, no response. I waited and finally called and spoke with Chris. He knew nothing about the email. Never heard anything from Steve. I got a call this morning from Heather. I thought it was to schedule a time for them to fix the leak that I contracted with them to fix. She gave nothing but excuses that my roof was “initially put on wrong” and that “I signed a contract” and that their work was “not warrantied”. I tried to tell her that this “was not warranty work” and that “the contract was to repair the leak” which they didn’t do. That that’s what the problem was. She would not address that. Which was very frustrating. She was very argumentative and condescending and said at least 4 times “you need me” and “you owe me money” and to let her talk. Which I did. When she did talk she talked about everything BUT the FACT that I contracted with them to fix a leak and the leak was not fixed. I kept trying to bring her back to the problem which is that I paid for them to fix a leak and it wasn’t fixed. Bottom line. She never ever addressed that. She talked about everything BUT that. That “the roof was put on wrong” and that “their contract does not warranty repairs” and that “you need me” and “you owe me money”. Over and over So I guess they can come out, give you a quote on a repair, their repair doesn’t fix the leak, but you still have to pay for it. I tried to tell her that I was a senior citizen and couldn’t get on the roof to look. She wouldn’t let me finish and made me say three times that I was a senior citizen and then proceeded to tell me that she was a citizen too. I didn’t understand any of that. I read the reviews for Balken and apparently others had the same problem with communication that I’ve had and also with Heather. I will not deal with her again. I told Heather if they didn’t want to fix it that I would write the BBB and file a complaint for others to read. She got extremely mad and told me I was threatening her. I very calmly told her that I was NOT threatening her but that I would do it. The conversation I had with her DOES NOT epitomize the perception I had of the company and I’m very disappointed. I kept telling her that the bottom line was that I contracted with them to fix a leak and it wasn’t fixed. She told me to go drink a cup of coffee and then hung up on me. All I want is my leak repaired. Follow up: Steve called the next day told me to pay the rest of my bill and he personally with his crew would come out October 2nd to fix the repair. He nor his crew ever showed or called. 5 stars for being liars. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

They were very through and neat in removing old shingles and replaced damaged sheathing and supporting wood in an effective manner. They did an excellent job of flashing around chimneys, walls and skylights. The shingles were installed in a very professional manner and the clean up was excellent. The residents on our street were uniformly pleased with the performance of Balken. The work crew was very cooperative and helpful. Their industriousness was impressive and quality of workmanship was excellent. The office was easy to work with, responsive and addressed our questions. I would certainly recommend them for any roofing work needed.

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I think I would use them again. The roof is leaking again. It took about an hour to fix the leak. I don't know if it's leaking because of them or the contractor that installed sun windows.

I am real pleased with them. They came in and out and in two days. They were good with cleaning up.

They did a great job. Replaced some bad plywood in a couple of areas. Cleaned up very well after the job. I did need some water deflectors which they took off from the previous roof but they came back to put them back on. Roof looks great!

It went well. I'd recommend John to do your roof. They did a good job at a fair price. I rated all goods not excellent because my wife is the only one I rate excellent.

The process went very smoothly until I tried to email the signed proposal back in and never got a response. So I called and was given another email to send it into, which I did. Still never got a response so I called in and was told I would be called to schedule a date of service. No one called until the morning of September 14th to let me know they would be performing the service that day and would email me the invoice. I waited to call until the 16th to find out when I would be invoiced. (We were relocated by my husband's employer and we had to have the roof and gutters taken care of by a certain date. We had to have the invoice showing paid in order to complete the sale of the home to his employer) The Balken family member I spoke to that day said she could not locate it but that she would and I would have it in my email no later than the following Monday which was September 19th. I still had not received it as of today (September 22nd) so I called in twice and requested that I be sent the invoice so I could get it paid and finally got it. Only to discover that they did not clean the gutters as I requested on August 9th. Then the young man on the phone pointed out that it was not included on the proposal I signed. (My bad...I really should have paid closer attention.) Unfortunately, all of the delays may end up costing my husband and I a lot of money as we cannot complete the sale until the gutters are cleaned. Now I am scrambling trying to find a company who can get to my house ASAP. There is a huge communication issue with this company. I would not recommend hiring them. The initial experience was perfect...seemingly flawless. The reality of the issues became obvious and I wished I had not let them do the work. What they did really well was inform me that the error was mine since it was not on the proposal.

We found Balkan Roofing Company to be very professional and competent from our first contact with them until the finished product. Chad and Heather from the office and Joe (foreman) and his crew did an exceptional job with information and quality workmanship throughout. We would highly recommend them. Our roof was not simple with 4 dormers and 4 skylights and we are very pleased with Balkan Roofing Company of Swannanoa. A+

BEWARE: The work they did was fine and the crew arrived when they said but the customer service and response time was HORRIBLE. Before I purchased my new home, Balken came out to give me an estimate for repairs on 7/15, which I had to pay for. I was told this cost would be deducted from the price of future work when invoiced. We already had a professional do a full inspection of the house, which included the roof, and pointed out the places of concern where we needed repairs. Balken was told, by us and our inspection report, exactly what needed repair before they even got on the roof or in the attic. Then, it took a week (and me contacting the representative who came to my home) to get the quote from them and for them to cash my check that I gave to the rep in person at the time of the estimate. After I agreed to the repairs and cost, it took weeks to get them to return my emails and calls so I could schedule. I initiated the conversation about scheduling on July 27 and was definitely forgotten or ignored. Told they would call me back, but didn't. I was finally able to get an email confirmation on Aug 15 that my work was scheduled on Aug 17, that Wednesday. It probably helped that we had actually seen leaking and I had sent them an email about that a few days earlier. The dispute over the credit for the estimate came when I received my invoice on Sept 1 and quickly responded with an email explaining the situation. They called me back the next day and said that credit only applied if we had the entire roof replaced. The owner, Heather, immediately shifted the blame and insisted that my realtor and I are wrong, that we just misunderstood. Considering we had to deal with about 5 or 6 different people at their company, I don't think it is impossible that we we're told we would get this credit, especially if you kind of do that anyway. I am a young woman buying my first home and I think they took advantage of the situation and I am not pleased with the customer service that I received one bit. I felt disrespected and was spoken to like I was an idiot. There was no offer to rectify the situation or meet me half way. I had a lot of repairs and renovations done to my home recently by several different vendors and had no issues except with Balken. I will definitely be telling anyone who asks not to use this company in the future. I would have used a different company based on the experience I had with the scheduling process but I had already paid $150 that I was told I would get back in credit if I went with their company. I understand things get busy and people make mistakes, but I want people to be upfront with me at the get go and not drag me along in the dark for a month and a half. Be transparent with customers in the future during every process of their repair beginning with the estimate. Own up when you make a mistake - take the opportunity to remedy the situation with your customers so they don't walk away with a bitter taste in their mouths.

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Perfect service. Showed up when they said, did exactly what they said. The cleanup job was incredible, they left my yard cleaner than when they got there. No leaks since roof was fixed. Haven't see a nail on the ground yet. Also front office was very polite and assured us they wanted our business. Probably on the higher side in terms of pricing from the various quotes we received but were the only ones willing to provide licensing, warranty AND references up front. Also gave me piece of mind knowing I could call the office and talk if needed. When we need the other half of the roof replaced, we'll be going back to them!

Excellent in every aspect. Professional quality product and installation. You will not be disappointed with Balken Roofing.

They were on time, worked efficiently, Found and fixed the leak, cleaned up, and were gone. They were polite and comfortable to have around.

I talked to 5 roofers. A friend in Black Mountain recommended Balken. I could see why. He really stood out. He was knowledgeable, on time, and immediately likable.  It took my neighbor's roofer a week to put on their new roof.  It took Balken's team less than a day to put on mine.  He even fixed several problems with my roof that I didn't know about.  I wish he did siding too. 

They came to see the job site on the time and date agreed to by both parties. After the quote was accepted they showed up with a large flatbed truck with a loader for lifting the shingles onto the roof and with a team of men. They were worked very fast and efficiently. The job was done in one day. I'm happy.

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Extremely professional and knowledgeable group to work without throughout the entire process. We had four or five area contractors quote the re-roofing of our house. While their pricing was not the "cheapest" - it was fair for the quality shingle that we ended up getting. Their intangibles (customer service, level of communication, and professionalism) made them the best choice by a mile.
Their crew showed up at 7:30 AM (just like they said they would) - and they were finished installing the roof by 4:00 PM (just like they had hoped that they would) that same day. I could not find a single piece of trash or debris left behind. Very impressive. 
Their level of communication was outstanding. They are a fun group to work with and I will recommend them to anyone in the area looking for a roof.

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It was pretty pricey but the insurance helped with that. It was great. They were on time. They were very punctual. They cleaned up after themselves. They were very professional. The quality was good.

Did not go well....I was out of town so rental agent contracted them....signs of a leak on bathroom ceiling...they went on roof and replaced two "750" roof vents  one of which was nowhere near the "leak"and a few shingles(orig shingles fine)...did not inspect the attic ....tenant calls back a month later same problem only worse...they came back out (kept me waiting 2+) hours...this employee actually went into attic to inspect and felt that the problem was not the roof but rather a possible leakage from the vent fan ducting....no one inspected the attic the first time.  I complained through the rental agent....and again met with their rep.   Later got a call from "bob"....who simply said we are the professionals and felt the repair we did was necessary....rude and hung up on me.   They used maybe $55. of materials and maybe an hour labor and charged about $550. for a repair that wasn't necessary.
I don't know how they do on complete roofs, but do not use them for repairs...ripoff!  their professionalism consists of experienced rip-off methods...feel free to call me

From the initial call through estimating to the actual service, we could not be more pleased with Balken Roofing!  Their salesperson John was friendly and helpful (he was happy to make a repeat trip back to our house with the roofing samples so we could make a decision on color as the website colors were not what we remembered), Heather, Crystal and Laurel in the office were communicative and clear via phone and email and Chris and his team who did the work were punctual, efficient and professional.  We have done a lot of work on our house this year and have had more experience than we'd like with companies who cannot seem to return a phone call (or you cannot even reach as their voicemail box is perpetually full), cannot answer a basic question on their services or are "too busy for new customers" and not interested in even talking to us .  It was refreshing to work with such a professional, friendly team!  I've been recommending them to everyone!

Many times I've been told "There just isn't a good roofing company in Asheville".  These comments from many after two different roofing companies attempted to replace and then repair the roof on my home.
Then I was blessed to find the team at Balken Roofing.  I can not sing my praises high enough for this company and the people that work here. Competent, efficient, reliable and knowledgable.  But also compassionate and caring - they found the solution for me and they got it done right.  They worked with me throughout the process every step of the way and ensured 100% quality craftsmanship to my complete satisfaction.  You can't put a price on the peace of mind I now have that my roofing problems are no longer a worry and my home is protected.  They are simply the best!

Took time to get parts and but it was quickly when parts arrived.

Went well. They showed up when they said they would and completed the job in 1 day, all cleanup included. They also did a thorough follow up to be sure we were satisfied. Already referred one potential customer.

In the last days of march, Balken roofing was one of the first, companies to come to my house and give me a proposal on the work to be carried out. we made appointment to meet with Bob Balken a few days later. He was on time to our home, and he and I walked the roof discussing what needed to be done. He pointed out to me what kind of damage the weather had done to the shingles over the years that a untrained eye of mine failed to see. We talked about removing the roof vents that were an eye sore, and it would keep with the housing code. This last part impressed me most because it is always good to know that this company is up to date with the local housing codes. He answered all the questions that my wife and I asked him in a manner that we both were happy with. He said that he would return with a proposal in a few days, and so he did arriving on time. My wife and looked at the amount and were more than happy to let this company install a new roof for us. Weather related issues held the work up for a week, but Heather Balken would ring us every evening, and also the next morning to tell us if it was a go or not. Their main concern is for the safety of their workers.

Today on may 1st the six workers from Balken roofing arrived at 8.00 am. By 9.30 the old shingles were off our roof. These guys are fast workers. they have a system. The shingles arrived, as the old shingles were being removed, and the new ones were holsted up to the roof ridge on a pallet by a crane on the truck. all work done today in relation to the roof was synchronized like a well oiled machine.







By 10.30 am to 4.00 pm that evening those men worked none stop, except for a lunch break The roof was complete, by 4.30pm The ground around our house, was cleaned by a magnetic sweeper to catch nails that fell off the roof. the thing that impressed me is the manner that these workers chatted to me about their homes and families as they would show me what they were doing, on the roof as the day progressed. These workers are professionals in their field, and in my opinion we (my wife and I) would recommend Balkin Roofing and their roofing associates to anybody that is about to install a new roof around our area.

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