Balken Roofing

.

In the last days of march, Balken roofing was one of the first, companies to come to my house and give me a proposal on the work to be carried out. we made appointment to meet with Bob Balken a few days later. He was on time to our home, and he and I walked the roof discussing what needed to be done. He pointed out to me what kind of damage the weather had done to the shingles over the years that a untrained eye of mine failed to see. We talked about removing the roof vents that were an eye sore, and it would keep with the housing code. This last part impressed me most because it is always good to know that this company is up to date with the local housing codes. He answered all the questions that my wife and I asked him in a manner that we both were happy with. He said that he would return with a proposal in a few days, and so he did arriving on time. My wife and looked at the amount and were more than happy to let this company install a new roof for us. Weather related issues held the work up for a week, but Heather Balken would ring us every evening, and also the next morning to tell us if it was a go or not. Their main concern is for the safety of their workers. Today on may 1st the six workers from Balken roofing arrived at 8.00 am. By 9.30 the old shingles were off our roof. These guys are fast workers. they have a system. The shingles arrived, as the old shingles were being removed, and the new ones were holsted up to the roof ridge on a pallet by a crane on the truck. all work done today in relation to the roof was synchronized like a well oiled machine. By 10.30 am to 4.00 pm that evening those men worked none stop, except for a lunch break The roof was complete, by 4.30pm The ground around our house, was cleaned by a magnetic sweeper to catch nails that fell off the roof. the thing that impressed me is the manner that these workers chatted to me about their homes and families as they would show me what they were doing, on the roof as the day progressed. These workers are professionals in their field, and in my opinion we (my wife and I) would recommend Balkin Roofing and their roofing associates to anybody that is about to install a new roof around our area.

Prompt, courteous, totally professional.

This solved wasp intrusion problem and sealed attic better for more energy efficiency. Job very well done.

Got estimate for new roof. Bob Balken came out to do estimate and was courteous and helpful. He was on time and very professional. After getting other estimates we called to let them know they were the highest and would they be willing to adjust their pricing to match or come closer to our insurance allowance. Heather Balken blew up and was extremely rude. We moved on to another roofer that did an excellent job at a much better price - not at the rate of our allowance but closer to it.

They were very professional, and the quality of the work was high. I had it inspected and everything looked ideal.

Balkin Roofing did an excellent, efficient, and punctual job at all stages. Their representative showed up at precisely the appointment time to give an estimate of the work which we needed. The estimate was detailed, showing our options and the respective costs. Once we signed a contract, they carried out the work at the earliest possible date (considerably sooner than I had expected). We had to be out of town on the dates that the work was performed, but they sent extensive photos of the completed work. Upon our subsequent return to our home, we found the work to be everything we had expected.The only glitch, which turned out to be only a minor inconvenience, was that the dumpster which they had used to collect debris had been left in our driveway; when I called to request removal of the dumpster, they had it removed within 20 minutes. We were thoroughly satisfied with our experience with Balken and would use them again if and when the occasion arises for roofing work.

Balkan Roofing was contacted since they were close by and on Angie's List. They were to send an estimator in a few days to provide an estimate. Instead, a crew of 5 showed up late in the day, went on the roof, and declared it would take a full day of work, but they would replace and quot;everythingand quot; to its original condition. We had plenty of roofing shingles, which they would use. An estimate was received promptly. We thought it was a little high, but given that we were told it would take a full day, and due to oncoming rain and snow, we signed the estimate. Rain delayed the date agreed upon, but when we called the office, we were told that, instead of picking a date convenient to us, if we wanted to stay on the list, we had to agree to their policy of just moving the date up one day at a time until they could get there. On the day they were to arrive, a light rain began, so we called and asked about rescheduling, as we planned to leave on a trip later that day. We were told no, they were sending a crew right then and they could work in light rain. The crew arrived and began work. We had to leave just as they were finishing up, so we had no chance to observe their finished work. Rather than taking a full day, the three workmen were here only 3 hrs. On our return, we discovered that they had not replaced the rotten soffits nor the facia board under the portion of the roof that was replaced. When we called to find out why, we were told that this was not included in the estimate and it would be an additional job. We asked for an additional estimate to replace the rotten wood. The estimate which was given appeared to be extremely high (more than 50% the cost of the original work), for what appeared to be a small project, especially since the first work only took 3 hours, not a full day. Interestingly, the estimator who came out stated that this unfinished work should have been done under the original contract. We questioned the new estimate amount and we asked for an itemized estimate. The Office Manager, Heather Balkan, became belligerent and confrontive, even asking who we thought we were to question their charges! She said that they paid their workmen $47.50 per hour, 35% of which was for workman's comp and quot;just to keep you from being sued if they're injured on your propertyand quot;. The more questions we asked, the more angry she became, to the point that we said we were not going to do business with them. Her reply was and quot;Well, I'm gladand quot;. We subsequently had the work done expertly by another company for about half the Balken estimate. This is clearly the most unprofessional business we've ever dealt with and would warn others to avoid them like the plague. However, if you do choose to deal with them, be doggone sure every nail is specified on any contract you sign, because in addition to having to deal with a rude, hostile, condescending person in the office, you will get nothing other than the bare minimum that is on their estimate, and most likely will be grossly overcharged for that.

He did a great job. He was very professional. I plan on using him for other properties.

I think I answered the question above.

My first exposure to this company was with the person who took my initial phone call and the estimator who came to the house. Both of these employees were professional and courteous. Response time to my initial telephone call was excellent. However when I received the quote, their pricing was 14% to 26% higher than the quotes received from 6 other companies. I was curious to determine the reason for the large difference in prices. I called the gentleman who came to my house to measure and submit the paperwork for the quote. Again, he was very pleasant and nice and informed me he would have the individual who works up the estimate from his paperwork to call me. This is where it goes downhill on a fast track. The woman who called me was very aggressive and defensive in nature about her quote. She demanded that I read all my other quotes to her, making the statement that and quot;if it is not on the written quote, it doesn't mean they'll give you what they promiseand quot;. Her tone of voice was denigrating, condescending and offensive. The long and short of it is, during the process of sharing the information from the other quotes, she was basically making accusations that the other companies would not perform as promised. Then she became so matter-of-fact that she said, and quot;I don't know what the difference is but it sounds like you've already made up your mindand quot;. I had not made up my mind but when she said that, I decided this company was not for me. I thanked her and ended the conversation. This was, without a doubt, a very unpleasant experience. As a company spokesperson, she needs extensive customer service training.

Balken responded within a few days to inspect the roof and give us an estimate for our insurance. It was evident that many companies were very busy from our calls, and it was difficult to get estimates due the number of houses with roof damage in Fairview. An estimate was given and after a few days we responded with a signed contract. When there was no response from Balken after one week a call was made to determine the status of our repair. At that point the Office Manager indicated that our estimate was off by $906 dollars due to an error in the original estimate regarding labor. Given the positive evaluations and recommendations of the company, we decided to amend the contract with the higher amount and waited. There was no effort to update us on the timing of our work, partially due to the rainy weather. However, customer service for those who have a signed conract is important! A phone call to let us know of our place on the waiting list would have been very appreciated. Once they decided our time had arrived after several weeks, work proceeded on schedule. The work performed by Balken was extremely professional. The crew supervisor and all the workers were extremely concerned that when they left at the end of the day, the work area was returned to normal. The crew spent a great deal off time cleaning up the job before they left. We received a professional roofing job. I would not have a problem recommending Balken to anyone if there was an improvement in customer service.

Bob Balken Roofing was at my house the same day as my call for service. They quickly found the cause of the rook leak to be a worn sleeve around a roof vent pipe. They checked the other vent pipes and replaced the sleeve on another. They showed me the worn sleeves they replaced when they were finished. I would definitely recommend this company.

I appreciated the education I received as I walked around on my roof with the owner, Bob Balken. I solicited an estimate from Balken and from a more local-to-me roofer, whom I selected because his estimate came in lower. However, I had a very positive experience with Balken and would not hesitate to recommend others solicit bids from him when beginning their own roofing projects.

Bob showed up on time and Heather put together a very professional package including all company insurance documentation. While we were considering the contract we were informed that the price of shingles was about to go up so we needed to commit to the contract so they could have the shingles set aside. Even after that they said the supplier might not hold them. Then after the job was done they said there was no change in the price of shingles. The work crew did a good job and cleaned up after themselves--no problems there. When It came to the sun tubes we ordered 2 with lights and 2 without. They did a good clean install but had to order a second lighting kit. When I asked why the first one didn't lght up we were told that they are not licensed electricians so they can only install the kits but not hook them up--we would need to hire an electrician to do that! This ws the first time we had been informed of this. Balken needs to either get someone on their crew licesnsed to do this work or at least tell customers up front that they will have to arrange for one to do the hookup at the time of installation. So my recommendation is to use them but make sure you get all your guarantees and all details up front, ask them everything.

I wanted a new roof. They didn't confirm the contract until I forced them to weeks later. They never showed up for multiple scheduled appointments for roof work. I wound up spending all winter watching the leaks get bigger as they never showed up or returned calls to fix the problems. I had cash in hand and couldn't get them to show up. Terrible communication. Terrible service. They operate on lies if you aren't a 10k+ job. They treat you like royalty until you sign the contract... then they leave you for dead. Now I will have to spend hundreds / thousands more to fix the additional damage they never fixed. I wouldn't recommend these clowns to my worst enemy...

The crew that did the work was on time, professional, friendly, helpful, courteous, answered any questions I had. They did an exceptional job from start to finish. Cleaned up at the end of the day and at the end of the job beyond my expectations. I am very grateful and feel completely confident and secure under my new roof. Their price was the best and they were forthcoming with small print items in the warranty that some of the other people who bid the job did not mention. I would confidently recommend this roofing company to family and friends.

Experience was excellent overall. After the crew left, I checked again for nails and small pieces of wood in my backyard as I have two dogs that use this area. I collected quite a few pieces of wood and 4 roofing nails. I would have liked to have had that area be more carefully checked.

They came out to give a free estimate. He was extremely thorough. He took pictures of the top of the roof then came down to show me where the problems were. He was very punctual, he inspected the shingles, flashing and gutters. He took photos with his phone then showed me the problem areas.

He was excellent. He was prompt and friendly. I liked him. I have used him several times. I don't know about their price. I checked around but they were recommended and I went with them.

There was very poor communication on their part.

He came out when he said he would and looked at what I needed to have done. I asked for the estimate to be broken up into sections. He told me he'd be back the next day. He never came back to give me the estimate. I've tried to call back but you don't get a live person, just a recorded answering service.

Bob's crew were here when promissed and didn't stop until the job was done. Afterwards the crew cleaned up well. These guys were the best and remember you get what you pay for. I found that out the hard way.

When they finished with the initial roof installation 6 years ago, there was not a nail or piece of shingle anywhere on the ground. They did a thorough job on the roof and in cleaning up afterward. When we had an issue recently with the chimney flashing, they fixed it promptly and guaranteed the work.

Everything went well. Roof looks good. Workers came on time, knew what they were doing and finished in about five hours.