Stevens Roofing Inc.

When we first saw the estimate for over $1,200, we naturally assumed that the repair work on the small section of our roof was extensive and would take most of an 8-hour day. The reason for the repair was a report from our gutter cleaning service that the roof had a hole in it and was leaking. We've hired this gutter cleaning service many times over the years and trusted them. They recommended Stevens Roofing. The repair work was scheduled for a particular morning beginning at 9AM. Much to my astonishment, the worker completed the repair work in less than two hours! When I went outside to examine the repair, I saw that the new shingles weren't laying flat and, in fact, in one spot the shingles showed a dented area that I knew was there BEFORE the repair work. When I questioned the man who did the repair, he said that the shingles needed a couple of weeks in warm weather to "flatten out." I accepted his word. After the installer left, I called Stevens Roofing and asked how in the world he could charge $600 an hour for roofing work. I told him I thought it was an outrageous price. He talked about having to make a profit, that he's in business for profit, that the worker gets so much, the materials cost so much, blah, blah, blah. I then mentioned that the shingles weren't lying flat. He repeated what the roof repair man said: needs a couple of weeks to settle in. Well, two and a half weeks later, the shingles still weren't flat and hadn't gotten any "flatter" at all. I then called in two very well known roofers in my area as well as an architect friend. All said that the repair work was poor and was incorrectly done. One of the roofing companies said that Stevens Roofing actually didn't repair the area where the roof was leaking! BOTH roofing companies said that Stevens actually did a repair that was unnecessary ... that there was no "hole" to begin with, that the leak was elsewhere. When I informed these roofers and my architect friend of the cost, they all agreed it was outrageous and that it was an attempt at gouging if not downright cheating. Both roofers did a new estimate and came in under $500. One of the roofers estimated re-doing the entire section of the roof due to the fact that Stevens Roofing didn't match the color of the new shingles with the old. Their estimate for the ENTIRE roof area was $2,000 ... only $800 more than Stevens' price for an area less than 20 square feet! Making matters even worse is that both of the roofing companies had run into this kind of thing with Stevens Roofing and the gutter cleaning service many, many times before ... meaning the same gutter cleaning service would tell the homeowner they have a leaking roof and would recommend Stevens Roofing. When the homeowners preferred to call in their own roofers ... including the two that reviewed Stevens' work for me and provided new estimates ... the other roofing companies would find nothing wrong. Discussing all of this with Stevens Roofing proved not worth my time. They made no effort to re-do the work or adjust their pricing. They defended everything they did without any recognition or acknowledgement of our being unhappy customers who felt cheated. They insisted that the shingles would lay flat in time. Well, they haven't. They're still as rippled as they were when the job was completed. As far as pricing goes, I did an extensive amount of research and discovered the average pricing for our area specifically and nationally as well. Stevens Roofing was charging us 3X the national average and well over twice the average for our area! Bottom line: run as far away as you can from Stevens Roofing. UPDATE, JUNE 10, 2013: I've just read the company response to my original post to Angie's List about Stevens Roofing. In their company response, Stevens Roofing says that "all estimates are provided with pictures." But pictures of what? The entire reason behind the roof repair was that we were told we had a small hole in our roof. THERE ARE NO PICTURES OF ANY HOLE. According to Stevens Roofing, the so-called "hole" was under two layers of shingles. When I asked why there's no picture of an actual "hole," the Stevens Roofing person who came to our home said he could not take the pictures and lift the shingle layers at the same time. Additionally, the gutter cleaning service that first reported "the hole" recently told me that their workers do not lift shingles. Well, if they don't lift shingles, how in the world did the gutter cleaner see a hole??? SO THERE ARE NO PICTURES OF ANY HOLE! Like fools, we trusted both Stevens Roofing and the gutter cleaning service that first reported "a hole." Stevens Roofing says in their response that they've made "numerous attempts to resolve any concerns." Well, they can say they've made a thousand attempts. The first problem is that their work is bad. The second problem is that they won't acknowledge that their was done improperly. The service representative stood by their work even while staring at the warped shingles and dented roofline. The third problem is that their prices are attempts at gouging. I was a fool to hire them in the first place. I'm not sure I want to be a fool a second time. This continues to be a major, unsettled dispute with Stevens Roofing. UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 13, 2013: Since posting this, we've been in touch with other roofers, all of whom have said that it would be best to repair the entire section of roof. They all said that matching the color of the original shingles with patch work would be next to impossible. They also all agreed that Stevens Roofing's initial installation was poor and that, more than likely, Stevens Roofing had installed only one layer of roofing whereas the rest of the roof was two layers. In any event, and against our better judgment, my wife and I decided it would be in our best interests to give Stevens Roofing the opportunity to correct their initial poor installation by giving them the job of repairing the entire roof section. The owner of Stevens Roofing came to my home, where we discussed things in detail. He seemed very appreciative of the 2nd chance. I told him that I wanted some wording inserted into the contract that would protect me in the event the repair wasn't satisfactory. The wording was to be something like, " Full payment due upon final inspection and 100% approval by the homeowner." Stevens Roofing agreed to include this wording. When the contract arrived, the wording was not there. I emailed him about this. He replied that Stevens Roofing does not make proposals and agreements customized for each individual customer. I reminded him in an email that, when he was at my home, he had agreed to insert the wording. In response to that email, he wrote the following: ".....we do not write contracts with payment terms custom tailored for different customers. I am 100% confident in my staff's ability and work but am less so with yours as a customer ..... " And this after we had afforded Steven's Roofing to correct their poor installation. Amazing. Simply amazing.

I chose this neighborhood company because, among the six estimates I received, they were the cheapest: $561.00 for replacing 6’ of fascia board on my house front, refastening two gutters hanging down, re-gluing 3-4 slipped shingles on house front, replacing the perimeter drip edge on a small flat roof, and sealing stack vents on the rear upper level. Work was finished two days before the storm (Sandy). I called after the storm, pleased I had so little damage, and asked them to return to reaffix one gutter nail and a detached leader. They called every day after the work was done urging me to pay the bill and they wore me down. Once I sent the check, it became clear that now they were never going return for those two small repairs; no longer helpful and friendly, they told me on the phone it was now my problem. I will hire someone else – this time from on Angie’s list - to do some additional roofing repairs and fix what they would not.