Binghamton Slag Roofing Co Inc
Services we offer
Roofing, gutter repair & remodeling., siding & trim, window
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 48% | ||
| 17% | ||
| 9% | ||
| 4% | ||
| 22% |
"This is absolutely not true. The crews we use live and work in the area and have their I9 forms. Their quality and work ethic are outstanding. We have worked with several large companies that do their own 3rd party background checks and there has never been an issue. I am proud of the crews we employ."
Their prices were in line with the other companies that we received quotes for.
Clean up wasn't always the same day as the demo, but we weren't expecting that to happen. When you have work done in or around your home you have to expect it to be in some sort of demo process that leaves you unable to use some parts of the house/yard.
The workers were friendly and knowledgeable about what they were doing. If they had questions about any part of the job they checked with us first.
I have no reservations about the quality of their work would hire them again.
Rather than the roof being done BEFORE I left for a 3-month vacation, the materials arrived WHILE I was packing to leave. The roof was done while I wasn't home!
When I got home 3-months later, 3 a.m., I pulled into my driveway, the headlights hit the garage door and I immediately thought they looked strange, like a pearlescent white??? When I went into the house, many of my mirrors and pictures were broken on the floor! They had not given me the tear-off sheet warning how violent a tear-off can be and to remove pictures!
The next morning I went out to examine the new roof. I saw that my garage door had been REPAINTED and watery-poorly at that! Then I found tar on my white aluminum siding, bent gutters!!! Now I was furious, so I went out ON the roof only to find my brand new 13,000 btu bedroom airconditioner covered with tar... the additional roof venting I had asked to be installed had been STEPPED ON and dented flat!
My next door neighbor came over and watched the entire install from his second story - high ranch living room window and said he had never seen such a bad job!
I called BSR and they did send someone over immediately. They repainted the garage, cleaned off the tar, offered to replace the dented vents and put new gutters all around the house.
While I was NOT happy at all with all of this - I do give BSR credit for attempting to remedy the situation.
However, it was quite a few years later when the REAL damage became apparent. Bathroom ceiling leaks. I had a custom double-oven, exhaust fan combo ruined by the water coming down the exhaust fan pipe... these were locations I did not look at often and the damage was already done.
Repeated attempts to have BSR fix the problem were met with the company owner having had a heart attack.
Bottom line, I've had every room in my house ruined by the poor roof job.
I think the owner is sincere, but was told that the roofing was done by summer gypsies and that I just had a bad team... bottom line still though, my entire house was ruined by the priciest replacement option
"Our summary response: All issues occurred during installation and were fixed. Owner has an attractive leak-free roof covered by our company 10 year guaranty and an extended GAF Smart Choice warranty. Our detailed response: * Subcontracted out roofing– not correct. All mechanics on her job were employees. * Siding marked by tearoff – correct but not her whole house. Isolated areas BUT WE REPAINTED THOSE AREAS AT NO COST TO HER! * 16 phone calls – not according to our records. We never gave any impression that we were not willing to respond to her concerns. * Subcontract gutter installer – not correct. All workers were company employees. * Downspout leaked – perhaps BUT WE FIXED IT! * 10’ downspout “looked horrible” – This was done at her request. Our installers put a normal 2-3’ horizontal extension at the bottom of the downspout. She told installers she wanted it longer. Installers told her that they could extend it with additional pieces they had on hand. SHE AGREED! She then complained about the pieces SO WE REPLACED THE EXTENSION WITH ONE PIECE! * Numerous call to get extension fixed – might have been several calls asking when it would be fixed. Took a few days BUT WE FIXED IT! * Called her a b**** - could have happened during small talk among crew while on the job not knowing she was home. This customer is not a pleasant person. * Team said that gutter was sagging – not correct. Her neighbor said she should call us because he thought the gutter was sagging. We could find no problem but rehung the gutters anyway. * Shingles nails popped up – she is correct but this is not uncommon on new roofs with a tearoff. If nails hit a deck area that is weak like a knot hole or crack, the deck doesn’t support the nail and it can cause a dimple. When this happens, we go back and fix it AS WE DID WITH THIS CUSTOMER! “Paid for a bad job” – This is her interpretation. She has an attractive leak-free roof using the best materials available with an extended optional GAF warranty installed by a contractor who returns to address any customer issues even two years after the roof was installed. I talked to her last night about her job and asked her if there was anything remaining that we had not fixed. She said no. She said she had a couple more “nail dimples” but were minor. I offered to fix them for her and she declined. She also said she would revise her comment on this site but, to date, has not done so."
November as promised. In January of this year I noticed a discoloration in my ceiling caused by a leak and
called BSR again. Mr. Mosher seemed a bit put off when I reminded him he said he would visit in November but
he did make an estimate and met with me and my wife on 1/17/05 although he arrived an hour late.
During that meeting he presented an estimate that I accepted but he had to return the next day as he did not have the proper paperwork. At that meeting I asked for the measurements he based the estimate on, he did not have them but said he would provide them – he never did. I asked for those measurements on two other occasions from two different people and not received them.
Also at that time he stated he did not do any roofing at this point in his career, just estimating. As a result I was surprised to learn later that he was to be the job foreman. We asked if we should wait for better, warmer weather to have the job done but he said it would be no
problem.
The contract I signed stated the job would be completed in “in 1-2 days from start”. The job was completed in not 1-2 but rather five days at considerable inconvenience to me and my family. Weather was apparently not a factor as the job began with several inches of snow on the roof which was shoveled onto the front sidewalk which required me to remove it Monday night so the walk and front entry would be accessible. I was displeased and considered this to be unprofessional behavior. In addition I removed approximately thirty nails from the driveway so we could access the garage. Despite my efforts my efforts a roofing nail found its way into a tire on my wife’s car. This required a tow, tire repair and hours away from work for her - the owner took $100 off the total bill - whoopee!
Time on the job Monday and Tuesday was not what I would have expected. About six hours on Monday and three
hours on Tuesday which was probably the nicest day of the week. On Tuesday Mr. Mosher had to have his truck and the dump bin towed from the bank on the side of my driveway. How it got there I’m not sure but my lawn was damaged as a result. I stayed home from work Wednesday morning totalk to Mr. Mosher about the progress and completion date of the job. When he did not arrive by 11 AM I called him
and at that time he told me he would not be working that day. He had a myriad of excuses for not working but when I called BSR I learned he had pulled his crew from the job. In simpler terms he just quit. Unfortunately he didn’t have the courtesy to inform me of that during the phone call. Ms. Benjamin was apologetic, recognized my frustration and admitted that BSR “had dropped the ball” - I would use different terms. I would like to note that at that time Ms. Benjamin was quite professional and helpful which were qualities I found lacking in my general experience with BSR.
Finally after the first crew just didn't show up another crew was dispatched and the roof was finally completed. After completion of the job I went on the roof to inspect the work. I am not a young man and climbing on a roof in mid-winter was not something I wanted to do but considering the way the job was handled felt it necessary. I found no fewer than fifty nails lying on the face of the roof itself along with
staples and scraps of shingles that could only find their way into the gutters which were already filled with debris. I also found a gap between the shingles and an exhaust fan outlet where I could see the plywood underlayment. I was told that once the snow melted a crew would come and do a clean up of the debris. I waited four weeks after the snow was gone and no one showed. I did the clean up myself.
Fast forward to November 2012, seven years later. While doing maintenance on my attic furnace system a tech found two major leaks around vent pipes that existed when the roof was replaced meaning they were not installed after the roof was replaced. I called BSR and to my surprise was referred to the same Mr. Mosher who passed me on to a scheduler. Under warranty two BSR employees put roofing tar around one vent which partially mitigated one leak - though I wonder how long that will last - but the other around the bathroom fan vent remained.
I contacted them again and Mr. Mosher said the fan vent should have been replaced when the roof was replaced and he would send the repair guys back. When they came they didn't want to replace the vent as and quot;it's alright the way it isand quot; That didn't fly with me and I argued for replacement which eventually occurred. That appeared to mitigate that leak but thereafter a third leak appeared further down the roof. My attic is a crawlspace comprised of joists, rafter and blown-in insulation. It is very difficult to get into and navigate through with access through a closet which must be emptied first.
From November through March I had to enter the attic crawlspace at least 12 times to check for leaks and to take pictures of the leaks. At her request I emailed the pictures of the leaks to Ms. Benjamin and she said she would show them to a supervisor. That was on December 18th. She didn't show him. When I called a few days later she hemmed and hawed a bit and sent the supervisor to my home - he lives nearby - and I had to show him the pictures on my computer. He was stumped by the latest leak and said when the weather was better the repair guys would remove the shingles below the bath fan vent and find the problem. I didn't hear anything so I emailed Ms. Benjamin on January 2nd and asked her not to forget about the leak and keep me on the queue. Her response was one line and quot;Just waiting for warmer temperatures.and quot; Well surely we have had those in the intervening three months - if a 61 year old partially disabled man can get on the roof three times since then surely they could have - but I never heard anything from them and meanwhile I have a baking dish in the attic under the leak. About three weeks ago I received a call from one of the repair guys who said and quot; We haven't heard from you, are you still having problemsand quot;. Amazing! They completely forgot about what they had told me they would do! It was a common thread in my unfortunate dealing with BSR, the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. I explained to him what the supervisor said needed to be done and he said he would check on it and let me know; I never heard another thing. So finally I gave up, called another contractor and had them look at the problem at my expense.
Bottom line; a roof poorly installed, three leaks only seven years later and nightmarish customer service. If you read the other reviews you will notice the owner of BSR responds to any negative reviews with excuses which is essentially what I got when I contacted him in '05. In one case he says they install 300-400 roofs a year, in another he states the number is 500. I don't know about you but I only care about one roof....mine. He also seems to think the negative reviews come from malcontents, I assure whoever reads this I am not a malcontent. I just like to have things done properly and I don't like laying awake at night wondering if the ceiling in the bathroom is going to fall in. He also seems to dislike Angie's list but my belief is one finds honest and helpful reviews here and yes, I am a member. In all the years I have owned my home this has been by far the worst experience with any contractor. I will never deal with BSR again and I caution anyone who reads this to look to other roofing companies for your needs.
UPDATE 4/20/2013
Having read t
"Short Response: I am Charles Griffiths, President of BSR. In summary, [member name removed] comments are accurate and the result of unintentional miscommunication on our part. BSR is embarrassed by [member name removed] experience. That is not how we like to treat customers. BSR accepts the blame. In quick summary, we will reimburse [member name removed] expense to resolve any roof defect if he provides us a copy of the invoice he paid. Detailed Response (2004 work): • [member name removed] called us in the fall for estimate. We indicated that we were completely booked for the rest of the year. • [member name removed] experienced a leak in January and requested an immediate roof replacement. • We discouraged a winter project but [member name removed] insisted. • Many of [member name removed]complaints were due to inability to work continuously on the job due to winter weather. • Mr. Mosher, our sales representative, agreed to start [member name removed] job himself because our other crews were not available at that time. • Mr. Mosher did not quit [member name removed] job. He simply allowed a regular crew to take over when they became available. • BSR never refused to clean up [member name removed] job. Final cleanup was not able to be done due to snow. We ask customers to contact us after snow has melted so we can see the debris. • [member name removed] paid his bill in full with no records in our files of his complaints with our work. • We heard no more from [member name removed]until last fall. Detailed Response (2012 work): • BSR responded immediately to [member name removed] call concerning a possible leak more than seven years after the roof was installed. • BSR could find no obvious sources of leaks from the rooftop. We reflashed areas that were in the neighborhood of the leak just as a precaution. • [member name removed] had no evidence of a leak on his ceiling and would not allow us into the attic to inspect the underside of the roof. • [member name removed] demanded that a roof vent be replaced even though there was no evidence of a defect in the vent. We replaced it at no cost to him anyway. • [member name removed] said he sent us photos. We could not find them. They could have been misfiled in our computer system. • We apparently misunderstood [member name removed]. We understood that [member name removed] would call us if his leaks continued. We did not hear back from him. • BSR did not charge [member name removed] for any of our 2012 work nor would we expect to get paid for it. It is covered by our BSR guaranty. Summary: Completely unintentional miscommunication. We would go back today for any leaks [member name removed] might continue to experience. Additional comment: Many winter apparent leaks are caused by condensation on the attic roof boards during cold weather, not a leaking roof. [member name removed] never allowed us in to the attic space to inspect the source of the leaks. This might have been a contributing factor."
"My response is in two parts; the first a response to the customer's comments and the second, a comment on how consumers should interpret the Angie’s List business model. First, the customer's understanding of our workers’ subcontractor status is incomplete. Most shingle installers work “piece rate” which means that they are paid based on how many shingles they install, not by the hour. We have a contract with all our installers that defines this piece rate agreement. We do not hire independent subcontract shingle installers off the street and turn jobs over to them. We train our installers, require strict BSR installation requirements, inspect our work both during and after the job, and stand behind our work long after the job is complete. The customer is correct in stating that his roof leaked after installation was complete. The leak appeared to be related to the chimney. We promptly returned to reflash the chimney. When the leak continued, we promptly installed a water diverter behind the chimney and reflashed the chimney again. The leak continued so we suspected siding leaks where the chimney met the wall below the roof. Even though it was not part of our contract, we removed the siding on the wall, installed a waterproof membrane behind the siding and reinstalled the siding, all at our cost. We assumed the leaking stopped since the customer never contacted us again. BSR would have promptly responded to him again if he had notified us of continuing problems. Now I would like to help consumers understand how to interpret Angie’s List complaints. First, most happy customers are not going to pay a fee to Angie’s list to post a positive comment. On the other hand, unhappy customers can post a complaint without paying a fee. Secondly, Angie’s List has told us that the best way to overcome a negative comment is to encourage more positive comments. In other words, Angie’s List wants us to become salespeople for them by encouraging our customers to pay a membership fee and to post a positive comment for us. Our company will not do that. Thirdly, every business will have an occasional customer that is not happy for various reasons. A contractor who installed 300 to 400 roofs a year like us will obviously have more potential for a complaint than one who does just a few jobs a year. In summary, BSR never refused to resolve the customer's issue. In fact, we wish he had contacted us. Not only does he have a well installed roof using the best products available to us, he has a 10 year guaranty against leaks from BSR, and he has a GAF System Plus Roof warranty not provided by most other roofing contractors in our area. The best way for any potential BSR customer to evaluate our reputation is to visit our website www(dot)bsronline(dot)com to see the overwhelming number of satisfied customers."
"This customer was a victim of bad construction of an attached garage to an older home. Two roof slopes improperly intersect at a long horizontal valley resulting in blocked drainage during some winter situations. At the customer's request, we installed the '93 roof on top of the existing roof. The improper original construction drainage created severe ice dam leaks. We recommended installing deicer cables to reduce the likelihood of ice leaks but not aware that the customer installed them. Also, this customer had a recessed window well with a sizeable flat roof. This area also experienced leaks resulting from bad design. This roof was not part of our work. In March of 2006, this customer filed a claim against us in small court (#A17247) The judge ruled against her claim finding that BSR was not at fault. BSR installs roughly 500 roofs per year. We occasionally have a customer that we cannot please no matter how hard we try. Please visit our website and check our reference list of happy customers to get an impression of our record."
Licensing
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Contact Information
120 Eldredge St, Binghamton, NY 13901
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