CHRONISTER PRESTON BLDG

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After the roof inspection report (see above) I contacted Mr. Chronister, along with 2 other contractors, for a quote.  His prompt and professional response impressed me, as did another referral on Angie's list.  His price was very fair and he promised to do the work in the first part of October, weather permitting.  Luckily for me, a time slot opened up earlier, and the work was completed on September 29th.  Both Mr. Chronister and his son did an outstanding job, and I am very pleased with the result.  I understand he also does much larger scale jobs, including major remodeling, and I would certainly consider him if I ever need that kind of work done.

I had met Buddy through church several years ago, although I was not aware of his occupation.  I only knew that he had set out to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.  Recently a friend recommended him for any repair and/or remodeling work.  When I called he promptly came over and looked at the job.  He called his dad, Preston, also an established contractor I learned, with more experience in masonry, to see when his dad was free and then gave us a reasonable estimate. Later that day he called to confirm the date for the job, two days later.

We had moved in to this 1961 ranch house at the beginning of May - and then the rains came.  Although the real estate disclosure had no report of roofing leaks I found some indication that the heavy and prolonged rains were finding access.

The roof was generally in good shape, and the Home Inspector we used stated that the shingles had at least several (5 to 7) more years of usable life. He did make note of the deteriorated cap and "recent" patch repairs around the flashing, but saw no visible signs of leaking on the inside.

One very rainy day after we moved in, as I was doing my own "inspection" of my purchase,  crawling around in the attic, and discovered several water leaks around the old-style roof ridge vent, the chimney flashing and it's cap. Re-flashing the chimney seemed to be the largest part of the repairs needed and with more rains in the immediate forecast, I got materials and re-coated the flashing myself, filling in some obvious cracks.

Then, two estimates from Angie's List roofers were collected. Both were only for the flashing, ridge vent and roof patch repairs needed since I did not want to bear the cost of an entire new roof now.  Both companies were concerned about the chimney being repaired first and it was incorporated into their quotes. 

That's when a friend made a comment about a job Buddy had recently done for them.  He recommended I call.  I thought, OK, let's take this one piece at a time.  I was confident that the flashing was patched to last until the roof gets replaced, and I was also considering tackling the ridge vent re-caulking or replacement.  What I needed was the chimney done by a pro.

Today's work has solved my immediate problem and the cost has already given us a considerable savings.  And Buddy is returning to also take care of installing a new ridge vent and repairing a soft spot at the peak.

I'm thankful for the friend's recommendation.