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What kind of roofing problem issues am I likely to encounter?

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Flat roofs are always a problem for several reasons and do not last long. You are lucky to get more than 10 years out of it without major service. This is a huge problem since they must be installed perfectly to seal out the rain water. They often will have rain water puddle on the roof and collect debris in these puddles that will turn to thick heavy mud. Most of these roofing products will not last more than 10 to 15 years. Mainly because they have not protection from the Sun's harsh UV rays. The sole purpose of the sand on the composite asphalt roofing shingles it to be the shade to the petroleum material below.

Very few flat roofing materials are made with some sort of rock shade. Slick talking sales-people will try to sell you a PVC blanket to cover the roof with, but don't be fooled to believe it will not suffer the same sort of damage from the Sun, or worst yet; wind damage from the lack of fasteners.

Moss is also a common problem for any type of roofing material.  The easiest and quickest solution for this is to wash it off with a pressure washer. This often does more damage to the roofing than the moss though. You will be hard-pressed to find a contractor to spend the time and effort to clean it off safely.  Read over our Moss Treatment and Control web page for more details and better solutions. Cleaning those roofs with a pressure washer blasts off a large percentage of the sand or paint, and then the sun rays will rip the roofing to shreds in the next few years.

I designed a flat roofing process that is better than any other concept I have seen, but it is not geared to be installed by the average dim-witted roofing contractor or their employees. Most any successful roofing product has to be simple enough to be installed my the stupidest roofers out there. You can contact me for more details about this concept for flat roofing pictured above.

Composite Roofing
I would have to say that composite roofing is the best value:

(a) It seems to at least go it's promised life span, as long a good flashing is done.

(b) It is much safer to be on years later to access the roof for what cleaning or other service will be needed.

(c) The cost is more reasonable than most all the other roofing products.

(d) Improper flashing is the most common failure of roofs.  This flashing is still the most common problem with the most expensive types of roofing, so why pay more for more expensive roofing when there is no difference in how it is flashed? It is better to pay more to insist on rust free sheet metal flashing and have it flashed properly.

(e) Composite roofing is less prone to damage from hail storms or workers accessing the roof.

(f) Snow loads do not tend to slide off nearly as much from composite roofing as the other roofing products, which can destroy gutters, cars, landscaping, or other property and people. Snow loads can present a grave risk to people or animals trapped under it's fall.

Pabco makes a new shingle pattern in a 35 to 40 year composite shingle. It is in a diamond pattern, so it looks attractive, but most of all it leaves no traps for small debris to be caught in, causing much of the moss growth issue.  I do not hold much stock in warranties, but the better life roofing tends to be thicker, so it is more resistant to high wind damage.

Wood Shake Roofing
They gave up wood shakes being the actual protecting roof cover over half a century back for a good reason, but for some strange reason it made a huge comeback. These modern wood shakes are nothing more than the shade cover for the asphalt saturated paper that is the actual protecting roof cover to keep the rain out. This is not a joke. I highly advise against the best quality wood shake roofing for many reasons:

(a) Far Too Expensive: It cost way too much for the short a time span it actually lasts.

(b) Poor Installation: Due to the irregularity of the material, it is very sloppily installed, leaving many errors that will leak even in low wind situations.

(c) Serious Moss Problems: They grow mildew and moss worse than composite roofs, making them terribly dangerous to access the roof for any cleaning or maintenance, so the workers have to wear special shoes with steel spikes on the bottom (no joke) that will tear up your roof and leave unsightly irregular pock marks on the shakes from their foot prints.

(d) Flashing Problems: It is very rare that they flash it right or use a rust free sheet metal.  The flashing they use in over 90% of the roofing projects is cheap painted steel, which will rust through within a couple decades, so the 40 year warranty for the shakes is completely irrelevant.

(e) High Maintenance: costing over a $1,000 a year to properly treated with the chemicals to keep it under warranty and fire retardant.  So most Home-owners do not have it treated, since the cost out weighs the cost of re-roofing in half the time, so the shakes are typically lasting only 20 years at best.

(f) Poor Ridge Cap Design: The roof ridge and hips are only stapled together with these irregular pieces.  They are stapled with exposed steel staples and are not done well at that.  They are prone to rust and fall apart. even in the best situations, they do not seal the roof along these top edges.

(g) Fire Hazard: This type of roofing can be treated with a chemical fire retardant, but there again it is very expensive to have it retreated to maintain it's resistance to even small cinders lighting on the roof.

(h) Fragile: This roofing is prone to having the shakes cracking apart at the supporting nail from just normal weather and becoming dislodged from the roof. They also have been known to be completely decimated by hail storms, resulting in a full replacement. I just happen sit on a jury case involving a huge law suit regarding damaged cedar roofing in Kansas and Texas from a freak hail storm back in 1996, so don't think it cannot happen where you live.

If that is not enough reasons:

(f) Down Right Ugly!: Some people think it looks good and whole neighborhoods require this type of roofing, but I think if we try to see it for what it is; we will see how it actually looks terrible! (The Emperor is really naked, isn't he?) You have smooth planed boards painted for your siding or some imitation of wood siding, but then you have a rough split wood shake roof that makes your house look like and old country shack?  Charming? That really makes no sense.  If you think about it logically it looks like a beautiful woman in an evening gown wearing an old tattered straw hat. If that was not bad enough; then turns an ugly gray from the Sun's bleaching rays within just a few years, unless you pay thousands of $ to have the roof treated frequently (which rarely winds up happening).

(a) Aesthetics: Other than copper, a shiny painted metal roof may look nice and modern on businesses structures that wants to draw attention, but they look absolutely terrible on most any residential house! Far from inconspicuous looking.  They are great if you happen to suffer from a lack of attention disorder, but in that case I would highly recommend some therapy that will be more helpful long term.

(b) Noisy, Noisy, Noisy: They are very noisy!  Be it from the sun coming out between the clouds, causing sudden expansion or contraction that is different than the wood structure underneath, making them pop and creak.  Rain: perhaps the 3x amplified sound of the rain or critters scampering across may seem charming at times, but when it comes to hail, you will not be able to hear the TV at a normal volume or speak to each other.  There is also the occasional tree branch and pine cones that fall; hitting the roof.  That is down right scary and may be so loud it will jar you out of a deep sleep.  Trust me when I say this. We were living in a house with a metal roof for 4 years (2003/07).  It was already beginning to rust after no more than a decade.  I had to fix a leaking kitchen exhaust vent as well.

(c) Rain and Snow: Rain will shoot so fast down the roof that it will often over shoot over the rain gutters. Especially at the valleys. Thick snow loads will slide off, even on low slope metal roofs, and often cause a great deal of damage to the gutters and other valuables like cars, property, landscaping, animals, and people.  See our Sheet Metal Roofs & Snow Page for more details and photos.

(d) Rust: I have seen in this area of the country that not only most metal roofing are made of cheap pre-painted steel in order to compete with other roofing products, but it accounts for over 90%, since most people are not aware of the dramatic difference in sheet metals like aluminum or copper.  The manufacturers are making unrealistic claims of a 50 year pain finish, which is simply not holding up more than a decade or so.  Beside the fact that cars have a far better paint finish; even when you have your car waxed on a regular basis you still need to have it re-painted within a couple decades?  Are you going to pay someone to clean and wax your roof every 6 months?  Of course not!  How much would that cost? To strip the worn paint down, re-primed, and painted would cost more than a full replacement.  I have witnessed these roofs begin to rust in less than two decades and be nearly paint free within 3 decades.  Of course covered with rust and suffer many holes through that thin steel sheet metal.

Once rust begins to form it is too late to just have it re-painted.  The paint may stick to the rust, but the rust would just flake off the remaining steel.  It would have to be carefully sanded down, which is very costly, and would cause a penetration to the thin sheet metal.  The roll forming machines that make these roof panels are known to crack the paint before this roofing panels are even installed on the roof.  This allows for the beginning a cancerous rust to form right from day one.

(e) Function: Those roofers do not seem to know how to flash and seal a roof properly, and will not take the time to bend a drip edge on the bottom edge, causing the rain water to trickle back under the roof, dribbling behind the gutters causing dry-rot, or shooting over the gutter in a heavy down pour.

(f) Stability: Metal roofs have been more known to not be fastened down well, and have ripped right off in high winds.  Which has caused damage and death from these flying sheets of metal

(g) Leaks: They are very hard to flash properly around the many obstacles on found on most roof. Especially around chimneys, sky-lights, roof-vents, and pipe-vents, not to mention dormers.  They will trap a lot of debris on the roof around these obstacles, which will decompose and hold moisture against this metal and accelerate the rust issue listed above.

(h) Dangerous: They are very dangerous to access for servicing, since they mildew in short order and become very slick when damp! Wood shakes also moss-up like this and become very slick, but at least we can wear special cleated boots.  There are no special shoes to make metal roofs safe.

(i) Expensive: Even if they did last as long as they claim, they still are way over priced. But with all the clear disadvantages of metal roofs, they are not only a very bad choice, but they are a huge rip-off!

Enough said?

Plastic, Steel, Clay, Concrete, & Slate Roofing Tiles
These can look very snappy on a house and last a good long while if done right with good materials and rust free flashing, but there in lays the problem.

Problems:
(a) Very Expensive: They may look great, but they are very expensive, and are rarely found with real stone slate like you would see more in Europe.

(b) Poor Flashing: It is clear flashing is the #1 cause of roof failure, but even though you paid through the nose for a tile roof; in most cases they are still not flashed any better than any other cheaper types of roofing, so it fails just as soon (no joke). These 80 year roofs are only lasting a couple decades.  You will not likely know where the leak is coming from, so another roofing contractor will tell you the whole roof needs replaced only because he wants to sell you over 10 times the cost of what the roof actually needs to repair it.

(c) Not Installed Right: finding good craftsman to properly install a tile roof is rare, let alone a slate roofer. Later service is then just as hard to find, if not harder.

(d) Fragile: Tile roofs are very fragile, making it very hard, expensive, and stressful to have any service or cleaning done. The concrete and concrete composite tiles are even more fragile, no matter what lies the sales-person may claim.  The composite tiles are also prone to more damage from exposure to the elements. Fallen tree branches can be very destructive, and the leaks will cause a good deal of costly internal damage before you may realize what happened.

(e) Not Water Tight: Clay is actually rather porous, unless they are made with a kilned glazing (like dish ware), but is that much more costly, there for is very rare to see.

(f) Weight: They are very heavy, and could cause structural damage to the roof structure if not framed well enough. Especially under thick snow loads.

(g) Moss: They also grow moss and mildew more than composite roofing, clogging up the gutter each year and damaging the tiles, besides from being very unsightly.

Problem:
There is nothing much to say on this subject, since you would be hard pressed to find a thatch roofing craftsman here in the States. Not to mention how your neighbors would probably have issue with it.

First off, most contractors do not carry the proper and required liability insurance and workman's comp that covers roofing work.  This liability insurance is about 5 times as expensive as the other types of construction liability insurance. This has nothing to do with the dangerous nature of this work. That is what the Workman's Comprehensive Insurance is for, so if a worker falls off and gets hurt, they will not sue the homeowner, if they have the proper Workman's Comp Insurance to protect them.  The liability insurance is to protect you incase the contractor or his workers screw up the roofing project and damage your house or property.  It seems that the roofers in this area have been doing such crappy work that they have accounted for 70 to 90% of all the claims processed by the CCB for Oregon.  This is one of the worst statistics you are likely to run across.  And that is even considering how many the homeowner are not able to act on their complaint within the first year. In many cases it is a moot point, since the CCB only requires a 1 year warranty by all licensed contractors.

Few homeowners will really check into the contractor's background for reported complaints, and check to see that they carry the proper insurance to cover roofing work.  Take the time, or you will be sorry.  Ask for a written warranty that is longer than one year.  There should be no reason that a reputable contractor would not be proud to write you a 20-year installation warranty, if they truly believe in their work.

Removal of the Old Roofing

A full tear off is the only good way to get a reliable roof job.  Most people think it is just to get a nice flat laying roofing material, but that is only one advantage.  Many roofing contractors will use short nails or staple to minimize their costs, so often when there is several layers of roofing left on the roof, it will not allow for the fastener to have a good grip into the wood deck of your roof, and may cause the roofing to be more prone to wind damage or even dislocate and slide down opening your roof to leaks.

Also, it adds a great deal of weight to your roof structure, and there is only so much weight the roof structure can handle. It may not seem like a lot, but I have torn of a good 12,000lb off a single house.  Adding another 6,000lb to it with the new roofing being applied, that makes it 18,000lb total.  Was your roof built strong enough to use it as a parking lot? It better have if you are going to put that much weight on it. Some of the older houses I have seen have 32" spaces between the roof trusses, instead of the modern code of 24" apart. And if that were not bad enough, they had no cross bracing inside, or had it removed for better attic storage space. I could see the roof sag from the weight of a single layer of roofing, and felt like I was walking on a soft springy surface when up on their roof.  a bad snow storm could cave in their roof and cause the whole house to collapse.

This photo shows a three-layer tear off down to the skip sheeting boards I did back in 1996.   It also shows the tarps I bought new for each job.  Instead of just using the cheap black plastic most contractors use.  You should make sure they cover the roof each night; rain or shine.  As you know, the weather can change on a dime here in the Great North-West.  The weather can completely change in an hour or less.  It also demonstrates the care I went through to protect the home and property when I have to peel the debris off and get it into a safe area.  I built this shoot over the back balcony to divert the debris to the side.

Also, I would only use exterior grade plywood that was over the minimum code thickness.  Most roofers will use the cheap chipboard.  Even though it is allowed by code, you should remember that the house will sweat, and this moisture can break down the glue, and you would have a mess to deal with that you really are not going to like!

Also check to see where they are taking the old roofing they removed. Plenty of contractors will not want to pay the $75 a ton the dump will charge.  That is how a lot of the illegal dumping happens.

As I have clearly stated above; roof flashing it the #1 cause of roof failure, but still to this day well over 90% of the roof jobs I have seen are done with just cheap painted steel flashing, if redone at all. An inspector would not want to see the old flashing reused, even if it is not rusty, but many roofers will not reflash a roof. 

I have witnessed contractors telling the homeowner that they are going to use stainless steel flashing and valley metal, but when I went there to remove the gutters, they had already installed this cheap painted steel flashing under the expensive 80 year tile roof they were installing.  There is no need to paint stainless steel sheet metal, so that is a clue. Also; the stainless steel sheet metal will not be attracted to a magnet. 

They were paying a huge amount of money to get this expensive 80 year tile roof that even had a kin baked glaze on the top side, and they were going to have to live with 15 to 25 year flashing and valley metal?  Years latter they would have run into leaks, not knowing where the leaks are coming from, and this is of course well past any warranty.  Another roofing contractor will lie to them and say: 'The roof was badly installed, and they are surprised that it did not leak much sooner'.  They will be compelled to replace all the roofing, since roofing contractors will not bid low end jobs to just replace the rusty flashing.

Copper is best, but for cost sake the pre-painted aluminum sheet metal flashing is about twice as thick as the 26 gauge painted steel sheet metal and will not rust.  The roofing contractors in this area have been so cheap that the wholesale suppliers had stopped stocking aluminum flashing altogether several decades ago.  It can be custom made to order, but that makes it just that much more expensive.  Many roofers do not even realize that aluminum flashing is an option, since the painted steel is all they see at the roofing suppliers. 

Also see our 'Chimney Flashing' web page to see more details of the most highly neglected area of roofing.  Also, if you have any dormers, or walls that protrude from the roofing; these are areas that are rarely flashed correctly in a re-roofing project.

I can fabricate this custom flashing for you, in aluminum or copper even if you are not local to us here in the Portland Oregon Metro area.  I can make it in stainless steel, but since copper is around the same price, that is what I recommend to our clients.

Asphalt Saturated Roofing Felt

Behind me you will see the 30# double thickness roofing felt I used and you can see me standing on just above the new roofing shingles.  It's purpose is just to be a vapor barrier, but can protect the roof temporarily before all the roofing material is installed.  The standard roofing felt is very fragile though and tears easily.  It may cost twice the price, but would add very little to the extra cost to the roofing contract, since it is an inexpensive material.  It is less than $10 more per square: 10' x 10' area.  It will not be used if you do not have it written into the contract. Also several hardware stores sell a 30# felt that is actually the thin 15# felt, so buyer beware. It should be thick like leather and not tear easily.

If you have a low slope roof or just want extra protection, a rubber under-layment, commonly called 'Water and Ice Shield' can be used instead, and adds about $40 to $50 per square (10' x 10' area).

Make a trip to your local wholesale supplier.  They may not be willing to sell you roofing products directly without a contractors license, but they will happily show you examples of the different products that the roofers can get.  They will have sales fliers to take, or at least make notes of the products that you favor.  A local company named Woodfeathers is a wholesale supplier that has a good set of sample roofing and other products on display to examine.  Just look them up in the phone book.

 Even the coil nailers are too brutal to the roofing, and many homeowners have lost roofing shingles in high winds because of this.   I also insist on installing the higher quality 40-year shingles.  Mainly because it is a thicker product that is heavier and much less likely to be damage in a windstorm.  I do not place much stock in the manufacture's warranty.  Most roofers will not openly tell you about the thicker product, since it is a lot heavier to haul onto the roof and harder to cut with their utility knife.  They simply do not want to mess with it.  It is a matter of being just that lazy.  Few installers will consider hand nailing, no matter how much you are willing to pay.

They do not make aluminum nails for the power nailers, but they do sell them in stainless steel. This option should only add around $200 to the cost, but it well worth it!  Especially since the shingle only over-laps the nail head by 1/2" or so.  When I have torn off a roof, it tells a story and I see how most of the nails were rusty.

Again, it should not take a genius to see the evidence of what failed with the old roofing and why it now needs repaired.  These are some of the things I have found that are the most common causes of roof failure, and the products that can help to avoid this in the future. Most of the money you will pay is to cover the cost of labor and business expenses, so if you have to roof half as often, due to a little more cost for better materials, that is still a huge savings!

Here is a close up, showing the 6 aluminum nails I used on each shingle.  On a steep roof I would use 8 nails.  Most roofers will only blast in 4 staples with each shingle.  As you can see in the photograph, the nails go through the top edge of the row of shingles below that row, so actually there are 12 nails now that hold down each shingle, as opposed to their 8 thin staples, which will void your roofing warranty (no joke).  This is over a 150% stronger hold than the other installers who are not even meeting the manufacturer's requirements.

A few roofers will use a 'coil nailer', which is a little better and will not void the roofing warranty, but most roofing contractors will not buy them for their installers to use.  It is because the loads are a little more expensive, and they will have to reload a little more often.

What is worse is the inherent problem with all power nailers or staple guns; how there is a pressure setting on them, and at the proper pressure setting they will not smack the fastener down enough when it hits the 2x4 truss under the roof deck. The roofers do not want to stop and hit that fastener down flush with their hammer when this happens, so they will set the pressure too high. This means that most of the fasteners which do not hit that 1.5" wide board under the plywood and will be shot too deep. Literally cutting through the shingle.  That makes the fasteners nearly pointless.

I recommend only hiring a contractor who will hand nail the roofing on, but that will be very hard to find. There is no way to blast the nail down through the shingle surface when hand nailing.  The hammer head will hit the roofing material and be stopped before the damage is done. It also means the roofer is a lot closer to the shingle surface for closer inspection of each nail placement.

I used aluminum nails that will not rust, because when I have torn off the old roofing it tells a story (if one cares to look carefully).  It clearly shows what caused the roof failure. The roofing shingle only overlaps the nail head by not more than 1/2", so it stands to reason that it does not take much to have the rain water soak up under the shingle to the nail head and rust it out.  When I had done tear-offs, I could see that most all those galvanized steel fasteners were rusty.  A rusty nail will leave your roof with a nail hole at the very least.  Not to mention the lack of stability to hold the shingle in place.

Stainless steel nails are even better than aluminum, since they are stronger, and can be purchased for a coil nail gun.  But good luck getting your roofing contractor to actually get them.  even if they write into the contract that they will use only stainless steel coil nails in their power nailers, if you do not inspect the work, they will most likely still commit a fraud just to save that $100.

I had only found one supplier who was willing to go to the trouble to special order these nails for us.  That should show you how bad it is, that most roofers just don't care to even research the market to see what is available to them.  But the bottom line for them is the need for speed, and making the fast buck.

This was a difficult project where they wanted the skylight over their Jacuzzi tub, so it needed to be installed crosswise.  I had to cut through 3 rafters and then support them with a cross beam tied into the rafters on the sides of this hole I cut.  I had to build a framework inside the bathroom to support the roof while I was worked on it.  The skylight is one of the highest quality.  It is made with double pane glass that is tempered and laminated for high impact resistance and safety in the event of a large branch hitting it.  It is as safes a car's front windshield.  I also had them etch the glass to deflect the light into the bathroom, instead of having this blinding force of sunlight to sweep across the room each day, as it would bleach out the floor, walls, and such.  This is not common amongst skylights, as it adds to the cost, but the customer has reported that they simply love it over the years.

This is the skylight in place. It also shows the dark gray pre-painted aluminum sheet metal diverter that I installed to minimize the river of water in a heavy down pour that would hit the horizontal flashing on the topside of the skylight.

Here is also a good example of the lead pipe flashings I used.  Most roofers will use the cheap steel flashings with the black rubber boot that hugs the outside of the pipe.  This seems like s good concept, but the rubber they use is a very cheap rubber and will deteriorate from UV Sunlight exposure within a decade, allowing the roof to leak.  You will also see many homes that suffer from rust streaks running down the roofing under this kind of flashing.  These are galvanized steel flashings, and the zinc they use for rust protection is very thin and a very soft metal and will wash away in the rain.  The lead pipe vent jackets are a little more costly, but they are the only things I have seen that will last.

Roof vents are also a big problem with not lasting as long as the roofing. The standard roof vents these days are made of a PVC plastic. They may not be able to rust, but they are failing sooner than steel vents from UV damage of Sunlight. Aluminum or copper vents are the only way to last, and can even be re-used when roofed again. That is if they are not made with very thin sheet-metal to save cost. They should be at least .027 thick, or made of 20oz copper.

To read our special web page on Chimney Step and Counter Flashing go to our web page for this import and issue and see how it is to be done right.

As much as 2/3 of the money you pay for most construction work covers the cost of labor, business expenses, and profit for the contractor, so re-roofing half as often due to a little more cost for better materials is a huge savings!

When I have torn into any construction project it tells a story about what failed. Why am I here is the question?  It should not take a genius to see the evidence of what failed, and hopefully solve this from reoccurring in the near future.  It is sad to think how pretty much all the roofing contractor know the solutions, but you are not able to pay them enough money to do the job right.

I approached a few of the less terrible roofing contractors with a list of roofing standards, saying; if they could follow these standards, I would make it worth their while.  But the response I got was that they were not willing to do this kind of quality workmanship at any price.

Below are some of the detailed issues and solutions to what I have found that are the most common causes of roof failure, and the products that can help to avoid this in the future for a willing roofing contractor to fix those problems. 

If you find the information here very helpful, it would be kind of you to show your appreciation ($) for the generous advice I spent thousands of hours to provide here for the world wide web consumption.  Don't feel too bad if you are not willing to appreciate us for the advice here, since no-one actually has yet (a sad commentary on our society).

To recap, insist on:

(a) A full tear-off of the layers of old roofing shingles, especially if there is a layer of wood shingles, or the thickness of the old roofing will not allow the nails to be able to grip into something more solid.

(b) If a new roof decking is needed; thicker than code exterior grade plywood with the opposing wood grain layers to grip the roofing nails better  (none of that 'cheap ass' chip board crap).

(c) Real 30lb roofing felt, or the better Water and Ice Shield under-layment.

(d) Aluminum or copper roof vents and flashing (not steel or plastic), with lead pipe vent sleeve flashing w/matching lead caps.

(e) Demand that the chimney and dormer flashing replacement is written in the contract and inspected to verify it was properly flashed (or they won't!).

(f) Better than standard 25-year roofing material for better wind resistance.

(g) Hand nailed with aluminum or stainless steel nails (if you can find someone who is willing to do this), or at least a coil nail gun with stainless steel nails.

(h) More nails per shingle than the minimum code requirement: at least 6 per shingle on low slope roofs, and 8 per shingle on roofs above a 10/12 pitch.

(i) Have the new roof treated with moss control powder and or a copper ridge cap  (no zinc metal strips)

Consultation Service
If you are impressed with what you read on this web site and you feel you need our expertise, it is true that this web site demonstrates how I (David Rich) have been tested to have a 99% mechanical aptitude and an extraordinary ability in spatial arrangement, so I seem to be able to evaluate situation better than most experienced contractors and even inspectors, be they unbiased and honest or not.  If you are or are not local to us; with an existing issue or a up-coming issue about construction work regarding many aspects of construction, I offer a Quality Control Standards Consultation Service for a fee.

I would love to be able to help you all for free, but in the real world this is simply not possible, or I would be on the phone 24/7, and you would still have trouble getting your call in to me.  I am still an active construction worker, using the daylight hours to get our paying work done, be it in the shop or out at a work site.  Not to mention having to do local bids in the evening or paper work.  That is not counting having a life outside of work (when I am up on a roof, that is not a good time to chat for a half an hour about your problems caused by some other contractor 3,000 miles away).

Below is a photo of our
Better Business Bureau's
NW Business Integrity Award
for the year 1998

I was also a 1997 finalist for this same award. See our referral web page to see how I managed to be honored with this special award