Carthage Roofing

TLDR - Started work without consent. Were no prepared to complete the job. Didn’t have the material we agreed on. Communication and response to our concern was rude and dismissing. My husband and I had been in contact with Carthage Roofing to replace the front facing mini-mansard roof on our home. Our contact, Rob, asked us to go to Willoughby Supply to pick out the specific siding we wanted. We responded back the week of 11/6 with the exact product we wanted. They agreed to contact us during the week of 11/14 to set something up to get started. On 11/14/22 they arrived between 8-9am unannounced and began to remove the current roof with no call/text/or knock on the door. They removed the remainder of the roof and then Rob left to pick up the material at Willoughby Supply. At that point Rob called my husband and explained that they did not have the material we requested and that we would need to pick something else or wait one to three, or more, months for them to order what we requested. The major issues were 1) they began work without notice 2) they fully removed our roof before making sure they had the correct material to finish the job 3) Rob was an incredibly poor communicator during the entire process. We felt forced to make a decision and get material installed that was not the agreed upon material because our roof had already been removed. Although Rob insisted that he did not force us to make any decision, it was his error in not securing the material that changed our circumstances drastically. Had Rob checked to make sure he had the material to complete the job before beginning, he would have discovered that he did not have what we needed. At that point we would have waited for the material to be ordered and still had our current roof. Instead we were forced to make the decision to change the material or wait one or more months in winter completely without that large section of our roof. The material that they had available has made our home look cheap and significantly impacted our curb appeal. We filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the response from Carthage was a joke. They completely dismissed our concerns and made no attempts at any amends.

I hope this will be taken as constructive feedback to improve business practices and professionalism. I would advise caution, research the process, vet carefully with other estimates/quotes, check for quality of all materials used (e.g. thin aluminum flashing vs. copper flashing) and use a contract instead of a handshake deal based on what could be a very inaccurate estimate. This is my experience: A roof leak was not repaired after 2 visits by Carthage Roofing costing cash $250 charged at the first visit only. Carthage Roofing owner was responsive and provided estimates for a partial and a complete roof replacement. Roof replacement was promptly scheduled. I had a quote from another roofer with the same type materials for the same pricing but less quantity therefore less cost. Due to the rain threat I hastily trusted and assumed that the estimate given by Carthage Roofing would be the basis and the final charge would be for actual work and materials used. Delivered items were inventoried and photographed when delivered as exactly what was specified on the estimate. Materials were verified to be overestimated when Carthage Roofing owner and sons were observed removing approximately 20% of delivered materials to the owner’s business/personal pickup truck. When asked, Carthage Roofing owner argued vigorously that there were materials used that were not on the estimate. After contentious discussion he offered to add to the job the removal of construction materials from a shed tear-down he valued at $500 (Junk King was $380 for identical job) and a $400 reduction of the charges he intended to collect. He tried to collect the charges hours before the job was complete, and after extended argument again, we agreed that I would pay after roof was finished, cleanup completed, and workers gone. He came later that evening and I paid $6,000 minus $400 reduction to equal $5,600, and I requested an accurate invoice to support his charges. An invoice was provided a week or two after payment. My inventory, notes, and photos showing work done, materials delivered, materials removed, did not agree with the final invoice. In addition, the charged estimated layers (2) removed don’t agree with layers I observed actually removed (1 layer over 95% of roof). The Carthage Roofing owner twice adjusted the invoice detail of items charged, basically moving items around to justify the final price he collected. Compared to a quote received from another roofer and according to the Carthage Roofing estimate, it appears I have been overcharged and the owner had either no ability or intention to accurately invoice for the job. The roof was promptly replaced, the crew was a hardworking, mostly non english speaking group of men, apparently contractors to Carthage Roofing. The leak is repaired. The roof is working but the flashing doesn’t match in color. Gutters were incompletely cleaned and still loose in some areas. The minor siding repair failed and when contacted, the owner did not want/could not offer follow up but instead offered a refund for part of the $100 charged, but has not acted on this yet. It is difficult to vet this type of transaction, but months later and after much thought I hope I have fairly and accurately depicted my experience with Carthage Roofing.

When I looked, I noticed the color wasn't what I wanted. The shingles were standing up on one side of the house and he told me the sun would make it lay. I had him look again and he found a nail that needed to be be removed. Later the rain came, and I noticed the rain came through the ceiling and walls in my garage which has never happened. You can see where the rain has ran down from the roof on the side of the house.