The Gardner Co

The crew showed up when they were suppose to and covered the bushes with large tarps. At the end of each day they cleaned up and during the day one of the crew ran the magnetic roller and picked up any shingles or old felt underlayment and put it in the large trailer. I checked the work every hour and they laid the synthetic underlayment and Ice and Water Shield as described by Travis, our salesman. When the job was completed, the quality was excellent. The edge of the roof was smooth and the valleys were straight. I watched them and they correctly overlapped the Ice and water Shield. Attention to detail was excellent. Very pleased and highly recommended. Note: This was he only company that would lay the Ice & Water Shield two roll widths wide minus the required overlay. Well worth the price. Note, their original price was slightly higher than the insurance quote so they matched the Insurance company. All it cost me was my deductible.

So far it hasn't gone well. I signed a contract on June 22, paid my 50% down payment, and to date I have nothing to show for it.

We purchased a certificate for 250' of seamless gutters through a MadisonBids.com auction in July of 2012. I had other work to do on the house that needed to be done prior to the gutters being installed so I did not contact Gardner until I was nearly ready for them in October. From October through December I made at least 15 attempts to contact Gardner (I had/have documentation of the calls) and not once did anyone answer the phone. I left at least 7 messages (some I have documented) of which only one was returned. I was on my phone at the time and I returned that call within a minute and ended up having to leave a message, again. Ultimately I had to hire someone else to do the job I paid Gardner to do. That company got two additional gutter jobs from me due to their excellent service. I grade Gardner as follows: Price: F I paid for something I never received Quality: N/A Since the gutters were never installed I cannot judge their quality Responsiveness: F No one answers their phone and only one returned call after 7+ messages?!? Punctuality: N/A Since no work was done I cannot judge their punctuality. Professionalism: F See Responsiveness above

The services were performed to eliminate the possibility of ice or water buildup behind the chimney. The roof had to be reconstructed to force the water to go around the chimney rather than to build up behind the chimney. Once reconstructed, the roof had to be reshingled around the area.

I signed the contract on June 7 and paid the last amount on September 15. Yes it took 100 days to finish the project. The first day they ripped off the old roof and framed out the skylight. It was not the right size, so they reframed it to the next day. The Gardner Co. was the only roofing company (I had 12 bids) that was willing to seal the top plates (meaning take of the sheathing along the edges and foam insulted the top plates of the exterior wall frames) and to use the high-end foil-faced flat roof insulation product that I wanted. This added a lot of expense, but otherwise Gardener?s labor costs were right in the middle of the pack. The roof was installed with many bubble and many seams. I specifically asked that there be no seams near the center drain; instead there were four seams. The actual cutting and clamping of the rubber at the center drain was extremely poorly done. To its credit, the Gardner Co agreed that this was a poorly done job and ripped off the middle section and redid it well. However, all the low, water-pooling spots that I pointed out when they bid the project were still there after the new roof was installed. They also agreed to correct this. On open section, after consulting a flat roof expert, they raise one area by adding roof materials, it drained better but right to the skylight! So they tapered the roof away from the skylight. They just couldn't get the roof to drain right. They took a thermal reading in one spot on the old roof (and featured it on their website) but the water still pools in the exact same spot! While there was a lot of justifiable rain delay this past summer, this project simply went on forever. After completely redoing one small porch roof section, the drainage was better. Thy used 3 separate sheets (and the resulting seams) for a 10 x 12 side porch. They could not explain why they did not use a single piece. The gravel-stop metal edging they installed was flimsy and looked bad, so I had them put in a higher quality edging (at and additional cost) Gardner Co would not install the doors until the roof was (mostly) done. Then, for some reason, they hadn't actually ordered the doors, so I had to wait two more weeks. The actual doors did not include the kick plates or come in the non-standard sizes that I ordered. Instead the installers said that they could make the standard size doors fit. Well, they did, but there is little to no floor clearance when the doors swing open. The result is I can?t even place an entry mat at one door and I had to get a very flat one for another door. Also, the installers stripped a thread trying to install one of the locksets I purchased separately. I had to get another lockset and finish the installation myself. I actually liked the roofers and the project manager Bill was responsive to the poor workmanship, up to a point. As the project dragged on, it was clear he just wanted to cut his losses and run. One hundred days for a roofing job is just crazy. My sense is that Gardener probably does a good, quick job on shingle, pitched roof jobs (as Angie?s List review seem to indicate) but they just don?t have the experience with flat roofs and older homes (even though they said they did). It?s clear that the flat roof stymied the installers who could come close to providing a high-quality (let alone workman-like) roof. However, I do have the ten-year workmanship warranty. I?ll tell you all how well that works if I need to call Gardner Co for a repair. I would never hire Gardner Co. again for my home, and I now know to search for a company with older home experience and sound references for this type of work.

We worked with Travis as salesman and he was very responsive during the process, which was helpful because we were balancing several jobs at the same time. The window selection and install went smoothly, as did the interior door repairs. We ran into a fairly significant delay (8 weeks) on the gutters, but apparently that was due to a number of unforeseen circumstances that is not typical with the Gardner Co. Would work with them again.

Gardner Co. did an excellent job helping us with roof replacement at our home due to storm damage. Travis Miller and his team worked well with our insurance company to make sure everything was done correctly, the work was done promptly and on time, and the quality was excellent. I would highly recommend The Gardner Co. to anyone looking for home improvement work.

Very well. They showed up on the date promised and had the old roof torn off very quickly. The sales person had warned me that they might find plywood that had water damage and they did; he called me to tell me how many and what the cost would be (same as he had quoted). Because of that and a scheduling issue it took a few days longer than scheduled to finish the work but it was well done and the project looks great. I felt as if Travis guided me through the process with facts and not a hard sell. He functioned as an adviser and I appreciated that.

One person came to do the work and it took about 4 hours over a two day period. He picked up everything left the areas clean. He was very personable and professional. He was easy to talk to understanding and willing to work with us.

The communication before, during and after was fabulous. Randy is amazing! He explained the roofing and siding job in detail and in a way we could understand the process. He also called our insurance adjuster and was able to get us even more money from our insurance company to cover this work. Superb service all around. We lost some shingles and others were loose and we also lost some siding in a storm. Our siding was no longer something other companies could get for us but Randy from Gardner was able to get some for us. He also gave us a very nice discount making the cost the most affordable compared to 3 other companies I got quotes from. They showed up a day earlier than planned which was very nice. The cleanup was great and they took extra care of our plants and landscaping. We mentioned to Randy that when we get a driving easterly rain our ceiling leaks in our kitchen. He had a coworker stop out when the work was done with an infra red camera to see if we might have an issue with water coming in from a window or if he could locate why we were getting a leak. Customer Service is always very important to me and this company was A+ all around. We love our new roof and they did a better job than the people that did our original roof 18 years ago. Highly recommend The Gardner Company.

We believe everything went great! The house looks brand new and when it rains the water goes into the gutters and down the spouts like it should. The Gardner Co was always available for consultation for plan changes and also to let me know their course of action (for the problems). It has been about 3 weeks now and everything still looks great. Thanks a lot to the Gardner Company!

I started the process with them the beginning of Aug 2013 to re-roof my home. We had discussed adding dormers to the roof and replacing outside cellar doors. During the fall months I was told that they needed 3 good days of weather to be able to re-roof and build the dormers. I was always the one to continually call to find out where we were with the project. I finally asked if they could install the cellar doors before the weather got too cold for any cement work. I was told they could do that and they would let me know when they would be doing it. Another month went by and no communication or cellar doors. Every month I called or emailed to no avail. Finally in Feb 2014 I told them to end the project. They lacked communication and follow ups, which left me waiting and guessing for 6 months. I was more than accommodating.

When we called the Gardner company for an estimate, Darin and Chrystal we more than happy to work with us to set up an appointment that was convenient for us. Darin came out explained what they were going to do, and provided us with a quote that I was happy with. We signed the contract that day. Unfortunately things started to go bad from there. They didn't come when they said they would, after several calls and two weeks after the service was originally scheduled, the workers showed up late on a Friday afternoon. It appeared they they were more interested in getting home than doing a quality job. The gutters are hung crooked with dips and valleys in them so they do not drain properly, the drip edge is damaged, pulled out away from the fascia, the edge is crushed and bent. The shingles are damaged from where they rammed the leaf guard under them with out using any care. When I contacted the company about the damages, it took several emails and calls with no response before i actually was able to speak with Darin, the owner. On September 4th Darin informed me that they would be out the following week to address / repair the damage. The never showed up. I attempted to make contact again on October 9th and Chrystal the office manager informed that they would be out the week October 21st. Well the 21st has came and went and the Gardner Company failed to show up again. I am attempting to get their insurance information to file a claim to repair the damages.

I called for an estimate and Bryan showed up the next day. I got 3 estimates and two were within $30 and the 3rd was several hundred over. All three quoted the same products. Chose the Gardner Company because they did my neighbors roof and they were very pleased. Work was done one week later. The workers showed up and began work at 7:30am; they were completely done by 3:00pm. Everyone was very professional, no loud music blaring, no chit-chat, just work. I was very impressed. They did a great job of cleaning up. I haven't found any nails laying around. I also requested that they replace a piece of fascia that had previously blown off. We had the fascia but no ladder long enough to get to the peak, they gladly repaired it for us. I would recommend The Gardner Company to anyone looking for a roof replacement.

We had a roof replacement done by Gardner Co a few weeks ago. Their did a great job and accomplished the 1-day installation that they promised. The pricing was in line, or even a little more competitive, than other bids we had received. They were very flexible in getting the work done on our schedule and did a great job.

Great! I had a recommendation for the Gardner Co from a neighbor who had used them and were also very happy. I also got an estimate from another company. Darrin Gardner explained their product, their warranty, and how they would perform the job. We have a very high, steep roof on a Victorian house; the Gardner company was still done in 2 days. They have a ground coordinator who ensures things are on track, and also cleans up after them. I found a few -- very few -- nails in the yard and driveway afterwards, much fewer than I would have expected. They went around with a magnet to pick up the vast majority of what fell. Overall great, I would definitely use them again in the future.

Called for Quote in July Site Visit and quote processed in July with Review of materials and options. Estimated 1 day installation. Scheduled original installation for Late August - rescheudled due to weather to September Complete removal and disposal and most of installation completed in 1 day. Finish of installation completed on second day.

We worked with Al Hoffman to get the estimate and see the process through completion. We are more than happy with the entire process and the final product. Al was very responsive to all of our calls, working with our insurance company, and following up on the job to make sure everything was completed to our satisfaction. We got the estimate in July, but with the busy year for roofers, we waited until September to have the work done. Other roofers told us that as of fall 2011, they were scheduling jobs for spring 2012, so this was a good timeframe, we thought. They completed the job in one day. The crew worked fast, our yard was very clean after the job, no nails or other garbage all over. Also, Garnder company ended up being hired by at least three of our neighbors to do their roofs, and all were very satisfied.

The gentleman that came out was very good. I am satisfied with the service.

It was great. Brian was very easy to work with and wasn't high-pressure or insincere like the others that we got quotes from. We wanted the white Energy Star rated shingles so that we could reduce our energy bills and stay cooler in summer. Brian suggested that we wait until fall to get our roof because the combination of heat on the roof in the summer and the roofers walking on the shingles can affect the white and reflective properties of the shingles. I was really glad for this suggestion and his honesty because many companies would want to get the work done and money right away. We're very happy with our roof.

We had several companies come by to estimate the house and The Gardner Co was prompt and personable with us. It is a family business that was local and they are very professional and clean. They also did our down spouts and there was one thing that needed to be corrected and they came out the same day we called to fix the problem.

Due to early Spring hail storms, we needed a new roof, gutters, some siding, and a few other miscellaneous things around the house. We called Gardner Company for a quote. Darin Gardner was quick to respond, and scheduled a time convenient to us for an estimate. He spent a lot of time coming up with a detailed estimate and then explained the quote to my wife and I in an easy to understand language. His professionalism in the initial meeting made Gardner our roofer of choice. Unfortunately, after that, communication all but ceased. Calls directly to him went unanswered. Calls to his office said they'd pass on the message. Emails were unanswered; frustrating since Darin uses a smartphone. At one point the office informed us we were scheduled to have the roof/gutters done within a week, but we had yet to sign a contract with a few outstanding questions. I informed the office of not signing the contract, and finally, a few days later Darin called back. With the questions we had, Darin preferred to come back to our house to talk. He came out exactly when he said he would, again at our convenience. He apologized, said he was on vacation. We worked through the final questions, received a reference, and then needed a final quote we could submit to the insurance company to justify some cost discrepancies. He said he'd put it together and pass it on by email. Unfortunately, that was the last I'd heard from him. Tried a few emails, since Darin said that was his preferred contact method. Called his cell phone. Didn't try the office since it appears Gardner isn't interested in an additional $14,000 of business. Since I never heard from him, they didn't do the work.

I have hail damage on my roof - I emailed the Gardner Co. twice with no replies - disappointed.

At first, we were very pleased with the work performed. They did a good job of installation and discovered a problem that was created by the previous roofers. (The condo conversion company hired Mad City Roofing after a hail storm in 2006.) Darrin went through our options with us. They presented a very good price. They backed their work up with a 5 year wanrranty and promised thorough work when they cleaned the gutters 4 times a year. We ran into some problems fairly quickly. One tree was rubbing a gutter and knocked a downspout out of alignment. It took three weeks for the company to make this repair. This past spring, the winter snowmelt buckled a gutter. We did not hear from the company for weeks. It turns out that Darrin was in Mexico during the time. We are still unsure as to why no one else returned calls. Recently, we have been trying to get the company on the property for a scheduled cleaning. It has been three weeks and a number of promises with no results. Meanwhile, the rain keeps coming and unit owners continue to get water in their basements. We have made the decision to discontinue work with the company. our property management firm will not use them for any additional work. It is a shame because the company's promise was so bright at the beginning.

Overall it was good. They did a good job. They did it quickly. I would use their services again in the future.