Central Exteriors

The house is a 50 years old "contemporary" design with a low-sloped roof (asphalt shingles). There is an attached flat roof over the carport/walkway (tar & gravel). The roof decking is thin by today's standards (3/8") but mounted on closely spaced (16" center) rafters. Except for sections over the cathedral ceiling, the roof structure has felt solid over the years. The gutters (galvanized steel) were corroded and the fastening spikes were loose. Although Central Roofing & Siding Co. has strong points, their standards for workmanship quality were much lower than expected. I would not recommend this company to friends & neighbors. This is a long review as it covers three jobs, so if you just want a summary, here it is: POSITIVES: + This company will stand behind their work to satisfy the customer. The quality assurance rep (QA/Eric), contractor roofing team lead (Noe) and company owner/mgr (Terry) were responsive and offered reasonable options in correcting problems (see problem discussion below). + Installations of the flat roof "wood nailers" and the chimney & flat roof flashings were done well. + The company provided a written 10 yr warranty on their workmanship. NEGATIVES: + The standards for workmanship quality were much lower than expected. From a distance, the work appeared to be well-done, but inspecting it more closely revealed unacceptable shortcuts that could lead to costly problems couple of years down the road. DISCUSSION The company responded reasonably quickly to address four significant problems with their original work: ISSUE #1 (Deteriorated Roof Decking): After the shingles on the roof were replaced, I inspected the roof and was shocked at the sponginess of the decking -- yielded under thumb pressure! The contract specifically stated that "... rotten or deteriorated wood will be replaced ...". The company explained their standard for acceptability of roof deckings: ",,, if the plywood will hold nail, it is acceptable." Setting up several pieces of 3/8" CDX plywood at 16" centers, I demonstrated to the QA rep and the roofing team lead that (1) the plywood would need to be severely deteriorated/delaminated to yield under "thumb pressure" and (2) a plywood deteriorated down to its last ply would still "hold nail". The company replaced the suspect sections of the roof decking and did a neat job laying the shingles. ISSUE #2 (TPO Flat Roof "Wood Nailers"): The TPO membrane is attached to the tapered foam insulation boards with adhesive. The edges of the foam insulation boards/TPO are protected by a metal "stop" flashing/drip edge. The roofing contractor proposed to screw the "stop" flashing/drip edge through the foam insulation boards to the plywood roof deck. I raised the concern that side forces (e.g. ladder leaned against the "stop" flashing/drip edge) could eventually damage the foam insulation boards & TPO membrane where the screws were attached. The company stated that their standard practice was to install "wood nailers" only on commercial not residential buildings. On the advice of the TPO manufacturer, I insisted that "wood nailers" be installed at all free edges of the foam insulation boards and that the "stop" flashing/drip edge be fastened to the "wood nailers" as initially requested. The flat roofing team did a good job installing the "wood nailers' and the "stop" flashing/drip edge. ISSUE #3 (TPO Slope): The slope for a "flat roof" is created by tapered foam insulation boards attached to the plywood roof decking. The foam insulation boards are precut by the manufacturer to the precise slope specified. Couple of weeks after the installation, I noticed that what had appeared from afar to be a long, narrow bubble was instead an abrupt 1/4" step probably caused by improperly installed insulation boards. The step prevents rain water from draining from that area. A 1/4" mismatch between insulation boards should have been easily detected during installation. The QA rep examined the problem area and gave assurance that (1) occasional pooling of water will not degrade the TPO membrane & seams and (2) the company's written 10 year workmanship warranty would cover a failure should it occur. I decided to rely on the QA reps expertise in flat roof & the company's warranty rather than having the suspect section repaired. ISSUE #4 (Gutter Protrusions Above Roof Line): Two sections of the gutter were found to protrude an inch above the rake board exposing the roof decking to rain & snow. Despite the gutter contractor's opinion that these gutter protrusions above the rake board were OK, I insisted that the gutters be repositioned to protect the roof decking. Sloppy repair workmanship -- attachment hanger screws drilled through the drip edges (instead of cutting tabs at the hangers); segments of the gutter are kinked such that it does not lie flat against the fascia board; and previously drilled holes in the fascia boards & gutter left uncaulked. I inspected the rest of the gutter & drip edges installation more closely. The drip edges on other sections of the roof either were not mounted correctly initially or were pushed out of position when the gutters were installed. I have lost all confidence in the workmanship quality of these contractors. I will either hire another company or make the repairs myself when the weather gets warmer. In summary, the work performance by Central Roofing & Sidings Co. was a mix of bad & good -- much lower workmanship standards than expected vs excellent response to repair problems. LESSONS-LEARNED: + Don't assume that the work will be done according to your expected standards. If an installation method is critical to you (e.g., cut reglets, "wood nailers", water & ice shield, rake drip edge/flashing, flat roof slope,...), be sure that it is factored in the submitted proposals & written in the contract. + In general, contractors and workers are trustworthy and will do their best to do a good job; however, miscommunication happens. Read the contract closely and get a clear understanding on subjective terms (e.g. "deteriorated" wood) before signing the contract. + Before the work starts, reach an agreement on how to verify "cost per piece" material replacements. Verbal quotes are not reliable. As a minimum, have the contractor provide a copy of the invoice upon delivery of the material. A better option is to have the contractor set aside the replaced material and have the customer sign a verification of the count. + If the company uses subcontractors, ask how long the subcontractor has been working for the company. Verify that the contract assigns all responsibilities for workmanship and material to the primary company, not to its subs or material manufacturer. + Get an agreement on long-term storage of material. In the work described above, the contractor chose to have all the material for the two roofing jobs delivered in a single shipment to save cost. The material was stored in the carport, screened porch, carport roof and driveway. The customer had to move all the supplies into the rec room for a painting crew to have access to the carport & screened porch, then move the supplies once again to another weather-protected area until the flat roof work could commence. + Unless there is a significant cost difference or tight work completion schedule requirement, consider splitting the projects into separate contracts. Separate contracts may add time to complete the work, but offer better control of the schedule and quality of workmanship. + If the work area is safely accessible, inspect the work thoroughly before making payment. The Central Roofing & Sidings company was exceptional in honoring their commitment to repair problems even after the final payments were made, but you may get burned by another company with lower ethical standards.

Their crew was on time and did a good job.

I had previously used Central to replace my roof and was very pleased with their work. My townhouse has two 30 year old sliding glass doors that you could no longer easily slide open and closed, or see through. Bernie came to measure the openings and determine the best doors to order. He gave me a preliminary estimate but then negotiated a price with the door manufacturer that was significanly lower. I also considered having Central replace my front storm door but Bernie advised me that having Central do that would be unnecessarily expensive. So I opted to buy a door at Lowes and use its installation service, which worked out fine. Thanks, Bernie. The two-man construction crew was friendly, professional, knowledgeable and efficient. The doors are high quality with a life-time guarantee on the seals. The installation was first rate and included installation of flashing above and around the doors to divert rainwater, something the old installtion lacked, as well as careful color matching of the flashing and inside wood trim. It is such a pleasure now to use one finger to open the door onto my patio instead of wresting with it with two hands. A few weeks later, when I experienced some difficulty with the screen door, Frank made a special trip to show me how to put the door on its track properly. My experience with Central was a pleasure from the folks in the office, to Bernie the estimator, and Frank and the crew.

The person that we worked with was very responsive and attended to our requests. We had decided to move forward with this offer and made an appointment to finalize the contract and details; however, the representative cancelled the appointment and the job with the excuse that the company does not work on roofs with solar panels! We had told the company we had solar panels from the very beginning and this was noted in the initial estimate. We are very disappointed and feel this was not professional at all. We would not recommend them to anyone in the future. Update: After I posted this review, I received a call from the representative and he apologized for cancelling the appointment and he stated that the need to cancel had more to do with personal reasons and not our solar panels. The representative was fully aware during the estimates that we knew we would have to handle removal and reinstallation of the solar panels. We already have the company who installed them originally ready to remove and reinstall after the roof is replaced.

The job took six months to finish. They were very unprofessional. They left the work site on a Friday and said they would be back the next day. They left the site completely trashed. We had to clean up after them. They had poor communication and horrible follow through. While they were completing the siding, personal items fell and were destroyed.

I received 3 quotes, and Central was fairly responsive to my questions, and they were the low bidder. One thing I liked was they offered prices for 3 quality levels (ie the shingles), and I chose the middle level. They showed up on time and completed the work in a timely manner. The final result looks pretty good, but my disappointment lies with things that aren't visible. 1) I was home while the work was being completed and noticed sloppiness with how they installed tar paper, and vapor barrier. They did not go edge to edge in all cases. In one case the installer cut the end crooked, and as far as I know just left it there - about 4" of plywood exposed. 2) The primary disappointment was in the cleanup. They had a full time guy cleaning up shingles and nails as they came down, but he was equipped with only a small tarp that didn't cover enough to catch everything. Further, his nail magnet was only about 6" long. As a consequence I have nails and small pieces of shingle/tar paper that I'm still finding in my yard, and likely will for another year or more. I chalk it up to choosing the low bidder. Their price was a full $1300 lower than the next lowest. Advice - if you use this company - make them commit to better debris catching practices.

The workers were fast and efficient and they were clean and they were punctual. They were on time. They took care of the business very fast.

Called to get an estimate for siding repair and I was asked where I live and when I responded I was told that there was only one siding guy and that they needed to keep him close. They apologized that they couldn't help me though.

Mr Matt Kline came out and took some information. A second guy came out took more measurements and later sent a contract to remove the busted door and put in a new Provia door. The guy came out 7/10/2014 at 9am and by 12pm he had removed the door and install the new door.

The lady answering the phone told me the company does not install light tubes like Solartube, despite their listing under that category on Angie's List.

I've been meaning to write this review for a while. I had an interior crew renovating my home at the same time that Central was hired to do the roofing and hardee siding. A couple of issues arose - (1) the outside AC unit sustained some damage - it was right next to the deck that was removed. (2) there was a cut in an exterior electrical line immediately adjacent to the siding installation. (3) the supervisor of the interior renovation crew called to tell me that rotten wood on the house was not fully replaced when the hardee siding was being installed - he pointed it out to the siding crew (which did not speak much english). When I pointed out these issues to the salesman/estimator, he became quite defensive. Sight unseen, he always took the position that his crew would not have done anything wrong. When I sent him the picture of the electrical cut, he initially told me that his company would pay to have the issue resolved. After he consulted with his siding crew supervisor (who denied cutting it), the salesman changed his position. I had been waiting for 3 weeks on a deck estimate and the salesman said he would not work with me any more. My neighbor also complained as there were roofing nails and discarded shingles that landed in their yard. Central did clean this up when I mentioned it to them. I fully expect the company to write in here blaming everything on the interior renovation company. That's just the point. Despite this large job that I hired Central to do, they were defensive and always took the position they were not at fault for anything without really investigating the facts. I expected greater professionalism from this company given the many positive reviews they received on this site. So far the roofing and siding work seems to be fine. I hope that remains to be the case, as this company became very difficult to deal with when issues were raised.

1. Nice first encounter. Prompt response, came to take a look at the house and gave a good presentation, Arranged for roofing and replacement of gutters. 2, Scheduled roofing pretty fast. Did their job. Did not do shed. Did not do gutters on the same day, came a few days later to do gutters. 3. Called Central to add leaf guards to the gutter and do the shed, no response. 4. 3 months down the road, realised one of the gutters drain into the soil just in front of the house (instead of onto the asphalt as before). Wall in the basement in the exact location is now damp with water flowing out of the wall. Emailed and called Central Roofing, no response. Did not take my calls.

They replaced a slate mansard roof, the flat roof on the front porch, and installed gutters on the front porch. The price was reasonable based on other estimates and they were always responsive and punctual regarding the estimate, a followup meeting, and performing the work.

Where to begin.................... How about my first of several meetings with Chris P. to help us figure out the most appropriate replacement shingle style and color and the selection of replacement skylights. Before we could start the re-roofing, we had a home energy survey performed and major chimney repair work performed. The energy audit was to help us determine if we needed to add insulation in the mostly vaulted ceiling house (meaning no attic over most of the house). Once all of that was completed, the re-roofing began which was scheduled to be completed in 3 days assuming not a lot of plywood sheathing had to be replaced. Well, due to the age of the house (about 55 years) and improper venting, Central had to replace a whole bunch of plywood. The job was completed in 3.5 days which I thought was not too bad based on the additional work encountered. For me, it all started with Chris' professionalism, patience, and guidance. Then when I met the foreman, Jorge, I knew I was in good hands. Jorge made sure I knew exactly what was going on at all times and kept me well informed. Jorge and his entire crew worked very hard and are very skilled at what they do. True craftsmen! The work was completed 8/4/14 and Chris has followed up twice to make sure all is well and that we were completely satisfied. They did a superb job and I would highly recommend Central Roofing to anyone in need of a new roof!!

We were able to schedule the work pretty quickly. They came on time and were able to repair the roof quickly. The roof has not leaked since.

initially, I was very impressed with the company - the repair manager responded very quickly and an evaluator came out within two days to check out the problem. he told me that they could do the job and would have someone come out by the end of the week or early the following week. No one did show up nor did they contact me to tell me that they decided not to do the job. I had to eMAIL and call them to find out that, afterall, my job was too small for them to do. I wouldn't complain IF they had gotten back in touch and didn't leave me hanging for a couple weeks. not very professional for a company that is so highly rated.

11732 Nebel St Rockville MD 20852 This company was a top notch group of people to work with. they gave me a contract within 24 hours, they adhered to the original cost, and the team who performed the work were top notch.

Requested an estimate for a small job for gutters. Called the day of to reschedule to a new time day of, which was confirmed. Person still came at prior decided time anyway, even though I was not available. Estimate was done without me. After discussion over the phone, person said would provide formal estimate in following week. Estimate never came.

I am Steve Dawson. I am using my wife's account for this review. We contracted with Central Roofing for a new roof w/tear off. I'll try and make this brief. PROs: 1. started in a timely fashion 2. most of what they installed was correct 3. were willing to repair their mistakes 4. the roof looks good CONs: 1. didn't seal the last ridge vent cap nails; my son took care of it 2. nailed about 10 shingles below the tab-line, exposing the nails to the rain 3. damaged flowers by dropping old shingles on them; the bushes were not really hurt 4. left small pieces of metal flashing on roof, but most of that blew down soon enough 5. after their cleanup: the back deck was covered in shingle grit and plastic tab-tape; many roofing nails were scattered in the yard around back; nails and shingle debris were in gutters everywhere; nails were in the street around the dumpster. NOTE: There were no nails in the driveway. When I asked them to clean again (because of the above), I watched as they dragged a magnet on the driveway and the front of the house only. They then used a leaf blower around the yard and simply blew debris into the grass. 6. the company never called to ask if we were satisfied with their repair - we were not. Good luck to you. Make sure you have someone who can go up and walk the roof to check each shingle. Without my son, we would now have many potential leaks in a brand new roof.

Always been a quality work. My neighbors have use them. They show up on time. Do the job efficiently, very attentive. I recommend them.

We are very pleased with their services. The sales person was very good, not over bearing and just did a good job for us, stayed in contact with us and answered our questions. Once the roofing event was scheduled, they showed up on time. They were done in a speedy fashion apparently and so far, it looks like they did a good job. Their clean up was excellent, there was no evidence that they were here. I had a $13000 quote from another roofer. The problem was we had leaks in our living room and at least that doesn’t happen but that kind of the least you would expect from a new roof. I don’t know how to assess the quality as of now. I am using them again; I am doing siding with them.

Estimate scheduling was through their office, my details were taken. I was promptly called a few days later; scheduled an appointment for their Estimating Manager to come out to our home to take a look at the work do be done. 3 days later Mr. Eric Keibler,, came to look at the work to be done, then emailed us a quote for the work to be done 2 days later. It wasn't the cheapest quote, but the response time was very quick, they didn't require any deposit monies for the job so we decided to fo with them. It took about 5 weeks for the week to begin as a result of the weather. The start date was a lot later than originally anticipated due to mother nature. The only complaint that I had was for them to be more proactive in relaying the delay in start date, instead of me having to call their office to find out whey they hadn't started. They finally started on June 9th, the work took 3 days to complete. We didn't know they were coming so when they arrived our vehicles were parked in the driveway. If it wasn't for that and they fact that hey got rained out, it's likely they would have finished the work in 1.5 days. They did an excellent job I couldn't be more pleased, the workmanship was of excellent quality. I would definitely recommend them for any roofing or exterior trim work that you may need.

I bid out my roof replacement to x3 providers. Central won out, they were not the cheapest, nor the most expensive. We chose them on reputation, responsiveness, and professionalism during initial meeting/phone calls. Roofing is weather dependent. We had to "wait in line" to get on the schedule, BUT once Central was able to commit to us, they did an outstanding job. This replacement took a full two weeks, workers arrived before 8am every single day! They worked until well after 6pm daily. They were extremely tidy! The crew was courteous and professional. The on site supervisor gave us updates daily! Terms and conditions of the roof and warranty are consistent (or slightly better) with other offerings that we found. Very pleased with this work! Very pleased indeed!

I called 6 mos ago for an estimate which was provided promptly. I then decided that I wasn't quite ready to proceed with the job. In the meantime, I obtained estimates from several other companies. I noticed that 1) Central's estimate was the lowest; 2) the other companies kept harassing me about making a decision, whereas Central was patient. Obviously I went with Central. Overall I was extremely impressed. They did a fantastic job and the yard was pristine after they were done. Workers and head man Julio were courteous and pleasant. Only hiccup was that the job had to be delayed by a day because my car was in the driveway and I don't believe I was told beforehand that they would need the driveway clear. Maybe I should have known that intuitively, but I didn't. Anyway, it was not a big problem. There were no issues with the payment process. Also, I had a lot of questions before leaping in the project and Matt was great about answering all of them. I am an extremely satisfied customer, and my roof looks great!

The entire project was a surprisingly pleasant experience. Central Roofing is a family owned business. They are honest, honorable people. They charged a fair price and did outstanding work. They did everything they said they would do - and more. Plus they did everything on time. I had the good luck of dealing directly with Terry Greenburg, one of the owners. He was always punctual and easy to deal with. He was very professional and made good recommendations for what I needed. The entire job was done in 2 days. The crews were polite and worked hard. They did a great job of cleaning up, especially with the nails. I had some water problems in the front corner of the house (which is the main reason I went to the wider 6" gutters). When the gutter crew was here, the "gutter man" stated that the front of the house was too long for only one downspout, which is what it had. So Central Roofing went ahead and added a downspout at the other end and now there are two (one at each end). They added this mid-job AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO ME. A very strong recommendation!! I was happy with every aspect - which I can't often say about home improvement/maintenance projects. Would absolutely use them again.