A-1 PIONEER ROOFING

Don Hwodeky was recommended to me by his relatives, therefore without checking his company with the BBB (mistake #1), I hired him, letting go of a qualified contractor (mistake #2). This house is a rental and the previous tenants failed to let us know that the area leaks where the attached covered porch meets the house. Our current tenants brought that issue to our attention and I contacted Mr. Hwodeky. Initially, he was pleasant and seemed to be interested if fixing the problem, however did not show up when he said he would. I attempted to contact him several times, only to leave a voice mail message. After about the 4th attempt to contact him, I left yet another message stating that I would find a qualified contractor to complete the work and that I will report his company to the BBB. He has my money and I have no other recourse. In the mean time, the roof continues to leak onto the porch and my tenants are complaining of a moldy smell. They have a small child and this was a particular concern. Giving up on Don, I contacted another roofing company (BBB rating A+) and they responded. The contractor told me that the original flashing was still on the roof (house built in 1954) and was deteriorating, and may be the source of leaks. The contractor asphalted the flashing and areas where Don's "work" left bare areas. The contractor also stated that the shingles were not aligned properly, nails are sticking out and said that the work would not have passed inspection! The ceiling in a bedroom is leaking and I contacted Don. He actually ansered the phone, I couldn't understand everything he was saying through his yelling, something about me contacting the BBB and threatening that if anyone set foot on the roof the warrenty is void. I was eventually able to explain the situation to him and what the contractor did. Since Don didn't bother to replace the flashing, I failed to see how his "warrenty" would apply. Don said that he will check it out and hung up on me like a little girl. Great customer service, Don! Don showed up the next day to checked out the ceiling. He did not contact me, the customer who paid $4,000 for his inferior work, but told the tenant something about insulation, condensation, etc.; she couldn't relay to me what he said. Not informing me, but going through the tenant, does not provide me with any concrete information. He told the tenant that if the ceiling leaks again, to call him. I told the tenant that if the ceiling leaks, that she is to contact me, not him. He is not authorized to do any work without my prior approval - as a business man, I'm surprised that he does not know this. Before he replaced the roof, there was a bad leak in the same area of the ceiling. Insulation, condensation, blah blah blah. had nothing to do with this leak, Don failed to replace the rotted plywood and roofed right over the problem area. This is a MAJOR lessons learned for me. I will never contact a contractor without checking them out at the BBB and Angie's List. Needless to say, Don Hwodeky's A-1 Pioneer Roofing will never be contacted by me again. I will be paying a qualified contractor to bring the roof to code - Don's word and warrenty are useless. I would be more than happy to send his warrenty back to him so he can use it as toilet paper. This guy either does not know enough about roofing to do a good job, or he does enough to earn a quick buck and bolt.

I have photos to show fresh caulk exists on seven exposed nail heads driven through the ridge vent and flashing, directly uphill and three inches from where water was dripping into my home. A fresh bead of caulk was also placed down the side of the chimney where the flashing meets the shingles, downhill from where water was dripping into my home. Don claims the bead of caulk he placed down the side of my chimney stopped the leaking; this seems pretty unbelievable given gravity and my roof's 10/12 pitch. He is denying that he placed the caulk on the nail heads at the same time, although freshness of the caulk suggest otherwise. I paid Don in full for his original work and 7 year warranty. His failure to properly caulk his work the first time has resulted in water damage to the drywall in my attic and water collected in eaves directly downhill from the chimney, softening the wood enough to attract carpenter ants that we had to have exterminated.