American Roofing and Home Repairs

Mr. Thompson removed the ceramic tile, but left the concrete backer board on which it had been installed. Any low spots in the floor caused by the tile removal were leveled using a filler. He then laid and screwed down 1/4" OSB (oriented strand board) on top of the backer board. Over that he nailed down a layer of roofing plastic, then laid the luxury vinyl plank flooring. This vinyl plank flooring was designed to float, and had a click-lock installation. This job took two months to complete - work commenced on February 20, 2013 and was completed on April 16, 2013. By early July 2013, the floor had started to warp in places; by late July it was buckled badly. I contacted Mr. Thompson on 7/27/13 and he came to inspect the floor on 7/30/13. He stated that he stood behind his work and would fix everything. Over the time period of July 2013 through January 2014, he would first agree to fix it at his cost, then offer an explanation of why the failed floor is not his fault (but the fault of the original building contractor who built the house 36 years ago with no problems before now), then back and forth. After Mr. Thompson spoke with the flooring manufacturer and saw the manufacturer's installation instructions, he specifically agreed that he installed the floor incorrectly. He worked for a couple of days to take up the faulty flooring, then stopped and refused to finish unless I paid him thousands more dollars. I wrote him letters in January and again in March, asking him to simply stand by his work and reinstall the floor per the manufacturer's instructions, and he has refused. The fact remains that Mr. Thompson installed the flooring incorrectly (installed wood over concrete, then plastic over that, which the instructions specifically explained not to do), He stored the flooring and OSB in my unheated garage in winter temperatures and did not acclimate them to the heated space in which it would be installed. He used far too few screws to anchor the OSB - every 10-14" (or more) apart as opposed to the standard 4-6" apart. He butted the OSB and vinyl plank right against the walls in many places when expansion space was called for in the instructions. I score Mike Thompson and American Roofing and Home Repairs an F grade on all counts. His price was inflated, and his workmanship speaks for itself. I would rate him poorly in responsiveness and punctuality, because many times he would either not show up when he said he would, or else would complete a day's work and not communicate about what had been done or when he would return. I paid him over $13,000 to take up ceramic tile and install vinyl plank in approximately 900 sq. feet of living space, and now my home has a torn up main level floor to show for it. I will have to pay another contractor to have this entire job redone. I wish I had thoroughly investigated this Mike Thompson and American Roofing and Home Repairs before hiring this contractor. I recommend that before you hire this (or any) contractor, do some investigation. Check for Better Business Bureau complaints, read Angie's List reviews, and conduct a thorough background check, including criminal history! Ask for references and check them out! Ask for proof of license, bonding and insurance, and get an understanding of what the insurance will cover - be sure that the insurance covers faulty workmanship and not just "damages" (which covers only breaking things or backing a vehicle into your house, etc.). Make sure the credentials are up to date (the insurance document Mr. Thompson provided to me was valid August 2011 through August 2012, which means his insurance had expired when I hired him in November 2012 - I didn't notice that). I have certainly learned a hard lesson with this contractor and I hope that this review helps prevent others from having such a disastrous experience.

He arrived promptly, on time and on short notice. I had already figured out where the leak was located and he informed me that this was a "valley leak" -- a leak at the point where two roof planes intersect. He needed to have a partner assist him with the job as the roof is high and steep but he stated that the seam/valley would need sealant applied. He applied the sealant and informed me that the roof should not leak anymore (one-year warranty for repairs). The whole job took about 30 minutes from start to finish, once he had agreed with my assessment of the source of the leak, called in his partner and got up on the roof. He charged $400 for his repair which I though was high. When I questioned him, he said that the sealant was $75 a gallon. I still think $325 is still a lot for the rest of his time and labor (no more than 2 hours from the time I first spoke with him on the phone to when he drove off after completing the job), and when I checked prices on roof sealant at Lowe's the next weekend, I didn't see anything costing more than $48 a gallon... I live in a large home in an upscale neighborhood and I have to believe that I got the "high-end rate" on his fee schedule. To top it off, he suggested that I will need a new roof in another year or two, in spite of this roof being only 20 years into a 40 year shingle, and also having been checked out only a month previously by another roofer/repair man (who installed a couple of aluminum vent openings, and who was unavailable for this job on such short-notice) and being declared in "great shape" and not needing replacement for at least another 10 years. The valley leak repair seems to have been done properly, but I would try to get an upfront cost if possible, and would also consider getting a second opinion if more work is recommended.

Michael Thompson, the owner, was hired to fix a roof leak. Not only did he not fix it, but after telling me the roof was repaired, the next time it rained the roof was worse. He came out again after several attempts to get him to come back, and did nothing to fix the leak. In the long run, after paying him a large amount of money, I had to call another company to fix my problem.

Michael (owner) is a great guy to work with and works hard to make sure that everything is done well and to the satisfaction of the customer. The job was pretty simple but my experience with contractors hasn't been the best since I moved to TN. This project started out well, I could tell right away that he was very respectful of my home and family. When we were walking around the house, I let him know that my 1 year old was sleeping inside and he immediately made his guys be quiet. The funny thing was when we were leaving (I knew that the baby was awake but he didn't) I was talking at a normal volume near where she was sleeping and he reminded me that the baby was sleeping. I really appreciated that he cared enough to do that and showed great respect for my family. On to the job. His guys came by and did the drywall in a reasonable amount of time and did a good job. They also helped move a rug and some furniture out of the way for my wife while I was gone so it wouldn't get dirty. The fireplace was adjusted and lined up with the wall prior to putting up the drywall. This part of the job went well. The tile portion did not go so smoothly although I don't blame Michael for this at all. The normal tile guy was really sick and he didn't want to make me wait too long so he brought in another guy that he had worked with in the past. This guy had many years of experience installing tile but he must have been having a bad day when he came to my house. As my wife put it, "it looks like a 3 yr old did this" and "this is a tile job not an abstract art project". The joints didn't line up and were all different sizes, tiles were cut at different widths on the ends. It was so bad that I considered redoing it myself and even though I only have 1 tile job under my belt, it was much better than this mess. I called Michael who immediately asked me how much I liked the tile, he was quite surprised that my wife and I weren't happy. I could tell that he expected to find some small detail to fix but he was very surprised when he saw the work. I brought my wife down to talk about it and he said that no explanation was necessary, it was obvious to him that it was all wrong. The result was a very strong talking to and firing of the tile guy. Michael also told me that he doesn't pay for a job that he hires out until he personally inspects it. Michael came out the next day and personally ripped out the bad tile and completed the job himself. It turned out perfect, he showed me what a properly done tile job looks like. Michael is now my go-to guy for home repairs (as soon as this rain lets up, he's going to repair a leaky window seal). We are selling our house and I have no problem putting him on the list of recommended businesses for the next owner. Individual workers come and go and you can't always depend on them all to do good work but if they work for Michael Thompson, everything will be right in the end even if he has to do it himself.

He was a good guy. He quoted me $97,000 for the project. He came out pretty much the next day after I called him after I called him and measured out everything. He gave me the quote within a couple of days. He was very personable and he had nothing negative about his personality or anything.

He identified another problem while here. We had 30 year shingles that were brittle after only 15 years. Mr. Thompson inspected the entire roof and informed us the original roof and roofing vent had not been installed correctly resulting in the problems with our shingles. He assisted us in contacting our insurance company and submitted his evaluation of the roof to the insurance company. He has worked for several insurance companies on claims and is highly respected by area claims adjustors so they trust his judgment. We were able to have a large amount of the new roof covered by our insurance -- thanks to Mr. Thompson.. His professionalism throughout the job was refreshing. He was always prompt arriving each morning around 7:30 am. (If he told us he would be here around 7:30 the door bell was ringing at 7:30 am )His work crew was polite and did an excellent job. When he left at the end of the day his work area was cleaned and any trash was removed. After all the issues with the skylights I never wanted to look at another one. We hired Mike to close off the skylights and make the area that was once a hole for the skylights level with the ceiling. Our ceilings are smooth so it was a tedious job blending everything. At the completion of the job it was perfect. A small thing that will tell you a lot about Mr. Thompson: One morning his truck backed into our mailbox. He told us his truck had done it and the next day he had installed a new wooden base and mailbox even putting the same type of lettering on the outside for our house number. We would not have known he backed into it if he had not told us, He is honest and trustworthy and he know his stuff. How often do you see that any more? If you need roof work or remodeling you will not find a better company than American Roofing. .

The quality of the work, pricing, and promptness of this company is exceptional. He's almost always on location within an hour of my calling him and is always extremely courteous.