The Gopher Company Inc

We purchased a new roof after a hail storm with some insurance money. Sought several bids and Gopher was the middle priced installer. We "upgraded" and paid extra for better shingles and heavier paper based on their recommendation. The first problem we encounter was they showed up with a crew on Labor-day Holiday. No foreman was their. The entire creww spoke nothing but spanish. They were asking questions they we had no clue how to answer. The Gopher office was closed due to the holiday. The roof was installed but within two years the shingles began to fall off. Gopher came out each time and replaced. After about the third time they sent out an inspector who showed me that none of the shingles had sealed. They blamed the shingle supplier and told me to send a sample back for inspection. I did that twice and of course the shingle company said there was nothing wrong with their product. It got so bad that the president of the company came to my home and realized the situation. I even offered to pay for new shingles if he would supply the labor. He declined the offer and after ten years to the day the Gopher Company stopped returning my emails or phone calls. Absolutely the worse contracting company I have ever dealt with. I have shared this story with so many people I have lost count. I reported them to the BBB and their National Association. I would strongly suggest that You think twice about hiring this company.

My mother-in-law hired Gopher to re roof their home in 1999 .My in-laws have had problems all along from 1999 to present. The nail gun was apparently set at a high pressure because boards split when applying the nails to the shingles. Gopher also used short nails when nailing down the shingles. The sections came loose & falling off the roof. My in-laws even had water coming into their dining room. Gopher extended the warranty, in 2008, for 1 more year, & now my in-laws have another section falling off. My brother-in-law has been going on the roof to re nail the shingles that slid onto the ground. My brother-in-law made calls to Gopher in April, 2013, spoke to Jason about the problems to no avail. Just got the run around from Jason. I started calling Gopher on April 10, 2013, & spoke with Jason. He was very rude. He asked me what I expect him to do. I told him I want the shingles checked & re nail the loose ones & replace the ones that have fallen, once again, with 1 1/4 inch nails which is the correct size according to the industry. He said he's not going up on the roof in the weather, snow. I told him I didn't expect him to but once the weather breaks, I'd appreciate this being taken care of since it's been years of ongoing problems. He said he's be out the "beginning of next week." I called him on April 17, 2013. Jason was his same rude self telling me he's not coming out in the "rain or snow". He said he'd call me when he's ready to come out. Either "the beginning or end of next week." I decided to get on the internet & start investigating Gopher Company & Jason Brouwer. I found more than 1 complaint against Gopher & Jason. I also found a report from the Building Contractor Consent Orders & Other Licensing Actions. I found as of Jan. 8, 2013, he no longer has a residential license. I spoke with the Residential Building Contractor Investigation Unit to make sure he has no license at this point, April, 2013 & he does not. He also had a $20,000.00 civil penalty of which $15,000.00 was stayed as of Jan. 8, 2013 as well. So all this run around he's been giving my brother-in-law & me is just that. Gopher Company or Jason can't, under law, do any work on residential property.

I liked that they were responsive and their bid was very competitive. I would tell people that they were fair and they were timely.

This was a commercial flat roof replacement. We had many estimates and many different opinions of what to do. After finalizing what we wanted done Gopher came in just above the lowest price and still very competitive. I didn't at any time feel like I was being pressured into a sale or mislead as to what was necessary. He was very open to options and worked with us to get into a price range we desired. Jason disagreed with a few suggestions to cut costs and stood by his claims which is admirable. The communication was great with both the owner, Jason, and the crew lead by Hugo. Any questions or concerns were called in and responded to immediately. We also had many conversations out on the site. No question was left unanswered and no concern lingered. The final result was a very solid roof at a decent price with excellent customer service. I'd recommend Jason and his crew to anyone.

It went fine, they came when they said they would and as far as I know they did a good job. They answered the phone right away when I called and we set up an appointment. They came when they said they would come.

I originally called another company with an excellent reputation for ice dam removal. They were so busy that they were limiting their service area. Their website/blog/and phone representative suggested the Gopher Company as reputable using similar techniques (ladders-no roof, true steam, not just hot water pressure washer). Gopher Company technicians arrived on time but they used hot pressure washer (rental) and did the work from the roof. I pointed out where we had water coming in from an ice dam and said let's start with two hours and see where we are at since it is so expensive. The crew lead said he could do the whole roof easily in two hours. For some unknown reason he started on the opposite side of the house from where the worst problem was and where the water was entering the house. He did a good job cutting channels into the ice for the water to drain. However, at the end of the two hours, he was only 2/3rds across and was just starting the section of the roof where I wanted the immediate attention. Another 1 1/4 hours later he finished but his work was not as attentive as the length between cutouts got wider. I was disapointed - his most attentive effort and focus should have first been on that side of the house. I felt like a person who had been taken for a ride to run up the bill. Overall, the job was satisfactory. Upon our big warm-up there was no water backup and all the ice/snow melted off the roof/gutters with no further backup into the house.

He came by to give us an estimate and instead gave us a detailed assessment of our roof with a recommendation not to do anything! It was a great experience.

His crew was out the next day earlier than the estimated arrival time of Noon and completed the project in under two hours (significantly less time than anticipated). The ice dams on our house were 4-5 inches thick and the crew worked efficiently. $220 per hour for a two man crew appears to be about the going rate for ice removal in the Twin Cities, so while expensive overall, they completed the project under budget. I appreciated Jason's responsiveness and ability to complete the project on an emergency basis.

They use a subcontractor and someone from Gopher was not on site at all times for communication and questions. They installed the ridge vent wrong--I actually saw light through the roof peak of my house after they were "finished." A lot of spray foam later, it was supposedly fixed. The following winter, we noticed significant condensation -- pools of water on the floor. Gopher strung us along for 2 years with no explanation or remedy, finally my contact there quit or was fired. I then contacted the owner, who could offer no explanation and was hostile to me. I ultimately called in the City and State and Gopher was charged with code violations for improper install. After another 2 years, Gopher ultimately came back in fall 2009, removed the old install and reinstalled the roof to the manufacturers detail and per City Code. I had to come up with additional funds to pay for materials left out of the original bid that were crucial- like a vapor barrier.

It went well. It was great. They did a great job. The cleaned up well. I was very happy with them. They were very nice.

I received quotes from several roofing companies. This one was somewhere in the middle to low end and seemed fair for such a small home. The shingles were removed without incident and the crew (all from south of the border) did a good job replacing as promised. The problem was the poor job done flashing around the chimney. During the first rain storm after the roofing job, water leaked down the chimney side and soaked all the clothes in my closet covering them with a yellow colored liquid. I called the owner of this company, Jason Brouwer, who refused to send someone over immediately as "his people were tied up on other projects." I called several times but never received a single return visit to repair the problem. I had to climb up on the roof myself and caulk the areas around the flashing to fix the problem. This company was paid in full after the shingles were on but refused to return to finish their job. I would not recommend this company to anyone. Several items in my closet were ruined due to both their poor quality work and willingness to allow the problem to continue through several days of rain.

Talked to this company at a home show and asked them to come to our home to give us an estimate. Came as scheduled but was vague as far as product and price. Didn't seem to want to put anything in writing.

I was disappointed in the treatment received. I realize that the person assumed that I wanted more work that I needed the estimate for which can be disappointing. However, I was not given a written estimate and the verbal one was twice as high as others received. I probably would have just appreciated telling me they were not interested in the job.

THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE UP IS THE INSULATION AND THEY WON'T COME BACK TO FINISH THE JOB. I HAVE CALL THEM MANY TIMES AND STILL NO RESPONSE.

WORK WAS NOT COMMENCED OR COMPLETED FOR OVER TWO MONTHS. NUMEROUS CANCELLATIONS AND POSTPONEMENT (AFTER SCHEDULING AND WORK TIME ADJUSTMENT WAS MADE ON MY PART)OCCURRED BY THE COMPANY STAFF WITH NO NOTIFICATION OR COMMUNICATION TO US. NEARLY EVERY CALL TO FIND OUR ABOUT A TIME FRAME FOR OUR PROJECT'S START AND SUBSEQUENT COMPLETION WAS INITIATED BY US. WORK THAT HAD FINALLY BEEN STARTED WAS LEFT FOR OVER A MONTH UNTIL IT WAS COMPLETED. DURING THIS TIME, WE WROTE A LETTER OUTLINING DATES AND WHAT HAD HAPPENED OR NOT HAPPENED WAS SENT TO THE COMPANY PRESIDENT AND EACH INDIVIDUAL WE HAD CONTACT WITH. WHEN WORK WAS FINALLY COMPLETED, IT WAS DONE IN A POOR HAPHAZARD MANNER AND HAD TO BE REDONE. NO CALL WAS MADE TO US TO FIND OUT IF WE WERE SATISFIED WITH THE FINAL RESULTS.

I GOT A QUOTE FROM THEM IN EARLY JANUARY TO PUT AN EGRESS WINDOW. THE QUOTE WAS GOOD AND HE SAID IT COULD BE DONE IN TWO WEEKS. WHAT FOLLOWED WAS SIX WEEKS OF ME CALLING THE SALES REP. EVERY WEEK AND HIM TELLING ME THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT THEY'D PUT THE WINDOW IN. FINALLY THEY CONTRACTED SOMEONE ELSE TO DO THE WORK. WHEN HE CUT THE HOLE IN THE WALL HE HUNG PLASTIC BUT DIDN'T SEAL IT WELL AND DUST SPREAD EVERYWHERE IN MY HOUSE. AGAIN I HAD TO CALL AND CALL, THE THREE OR FOUR-DAY JOB TOOK TWO WEEKS AND IN FRUSTRATION I FINISHED THE JOB MYSELF (I SEALED UP THE CRACKS LEFT FROM THE SAWING PROCESS). WHEN I DID MAKE THE FINAL PAYMENT THEY SEEMED ANGRY WITH ME AS I WAS PAYING THEM MORE THAN TWO MONTHS AFTER I HAD CONTRACTED THEM TO DO THE JOB. I EXPLAINED THE WEEKS OF CALLING WITHOUT PROGRESS AND THAT I FINISHED THE JOB MYSELF. THERE WAS NO APOLOGY OF ANY KIND. I SHOULD NOTE THAT THE WINDOW IS NICE AND WORKS WELL.

A REP OF GOPHER APPEARED ON MY DOORSTEP, ASKING IF I WAS INTERESTED IN GETTING AN ESTIMATE ON ROOFING. HE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED THAT THE COMPANY WAS LISTED ON ANGIE'S LIST. SINCE I'D ALREADY GOTTEN SEVERAL ESTIMATES, I FIGURED THERE WAS NO HARM IN GETTING ANOTHER AND WE SET UP AN APPOINTMENT. SOMEONE CALLED THE FOLLOWING DAY TO CONFIRM THE APPOINTMENT, BUT AT THE TIME OF THE APPOINTMENT, NO ONE SHOWED UP OR EVER CALLED TO RESCHEDULE. I DID NOT BOTHER TO CALL THEM -- SINCE I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN DOING BUSINESS WITH A COMPANY THAT TREATS ITS CUSTOMERS IN THIS MANNER. I FEEL SORRY FOR ANY NON-MEMBER WHO HEARS THEM BRAG ABOUT BEING ''ON ANGIE'S LIST'' AND SIMPLY ASSUMES THAT MEANS GOPHER IS A REPUTABLE COMPANY.

RETURNED OUR INITIAL CALL, CANCELLED FIRST APPOINTMENT AND RESCHEDULED, NEVER SHOWED UP TO PROVIDE ESTIMATE, NEVER CALLED TO EXPLAIN. HIRED SOMEONE ELSE.

THE ENTIRE ROOF WAS CLEARED OF ICE AND SNOW USING STEAM SO NO DAMAGE TO THE ROOF OCCURRED. THE PRICE SEEMED A LITTLE HIGH, BUT THEN I HAD NEVER HAD THIS DONE BEFORE SO I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE PLEASED WITH THE PROMPTNESS, AND QUALITY OF WORK PERFORMED. THE CREW OF TWO WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL AND KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO.

OVER TWO HOURS LATE AND I HAD TO CALL THEM TO FIND OUT WHERE THEY WERE. THEY DID NOT DO THE WHOLE ROOF, I SHOWED THEM THE AREA ON THE ROOF THAT I WANTED DONE. THEY QUOTED ME A $150 AN HOUR. I ASKED THEM TO LET ME KNOW WHERE THINGS WERE AFTER A COUPLE OF HOURS, 4 HOURS LATER THEY WERE STILL UP THERE WORKING. THEY DID CLEAR THE AREA I WANTED IN THEIR FOUR HOUR TIME.

THEY CONTRACT OUT EACH JOB; TOOK TWO MONTHS TO GET SOMEONE TO COME OUT AND INSTALL THE RIDGE VENTS; DIDN''T SHOW UP FOR APPOINTMENTS ON TIME OR SOMETIMES AT ALL

DID EXCELLENT JOB. A BIT LATE IN ARRIVING VS. SCHEDULED ARRIVAL. PROFESSIONAL--SEEMED HIGH QUALITY. USES STEAM PROCESS TO REMOVE ICE. SERVES NORTHERN SUBURBS.