New Roof with Aesthetic (?) Issues
May 5, 2016 6:36 AM Subscribe
I had a new roof installed last August and am not happy with the way the drip edge was installed. The company came out and "fixed" this issue which made it look worse. Is this something I need to worry about?
I own an older home and the shingle roof was beyond the end of it's life (30 years). After having multiple companies give me estimates (everything ranging from "there's nothing wrong, we can do some minor repairs for $500" to "that'll cost you about $18,000" which was incredibly frustrating) I went with a big box store installation thinking it would be less hassle and that they'd do a good job.
When the saleslady came to give me an estimate I told her that I wanted to have the fascia replaced as well and she poo pooed that idea to "save me money" and that the fascia only needed to be sanded and painted.
The new roof installation itself seems fine. I don't seem to have any leaks. However, the drip edge doesn't look great and I know that part of that is because the fascia is warped and or needs to be hammered back into the house or you know, replaced.
The project manager came out and looked at the drip edge and agreed that it didn't look great. He tried to adjust it by hand and ended up making it look worse. He also noted that my house must have been "built crooked." The company kindly came back out to "fix" the drip edge which seems to have mainly involved nailing roofing nails horizontally through the face of the drip edge into the fascia. The part where the project manager bent the drip edge by hand was fixed by putting a nail there.
So, now the drip edge still doesn't look good and now has nails through it in multiple places. For the amount of money I paid for the roof, I'd like the finishes to look good and I'm worried about having so many nails through the drip edge.
My question: Will the nails through the drip edge cause any issues over time?
Secondary question: Is my complaint about the aesthetics of the drip edge a legitimate complaint or am I just being picky? I am having a hard time parsing this and can't tell if I'm being treated like I'm asking for so much because I'm a woman or because it's something that's actually dumb to worry about.
I own an older home and the shingle roof was beyond the end of it's life (30 years). After having multiple companies give me estimates (everything ranging from "there's nothing wrong, we can do some minor repairs for $500" to "that'll cost you about $18,000" which was incredibly frustrating) I went with a big box store installation thinking it would be less hassle and that they'd do a good job.
When the saleslady came to give me an estimate I told her that I wanted to have the fascia replaced as well and she poo pooed that idea to "save me money" and that the fascia only needed to be sanded and painted.
The new roof installation itself seems fine. I don't seem to have any leaks. However, the drip edge doesn't look great and I know that part of that is because the fascia is warped and or needs to be hammered back into the house or you know, replaced.
The project manager came out and looked at the drip edge and agreed that it didn't look great. He tried to adjust it by hand and ended up making it look worse. He also noted that my house must have been "built crooked." The company kindly came back out to "fix" the drip edge which seems to have mainly involved nailing roofing nails horizontally through the face of the drip edge into the fascia. The part where the project manager bent the drip edge by hand was fixed by putting a nail there.
So, now the drip edge still doesn't look good and now has nails through it in multiple places. For the amount of money I paid for the roof, I'd like the finishes to look good and I'm worried about having so many nails through the drip edge.
My question: Will the nails through the drip edge cause any issues over time?
Secondary question: Is my complaint about the aesthetics of the drip edge a legitimate complaint or am I just being picky? I am having a hard time parsing this and can't tell if I'm being treated like I'm asking for so much because I'm a woman or because it's something that's actually dumb to worry about.
A good rule of thumb for roofing is NO exposed nails, ever. Every exposed penetration through the roofing material is leak eventually. This includes the drip edge. They should be fastened through the 'top' of the edge and then the 'tar paper' (or whatever waterproof underlayment is used) than both covered by the shingles (or metal or whatever) with the edge of the roofing material slightly overhanging the corner of the drip edge (about a 1/8" is good) ideally into a gutter. While it is impossible to say for certain without a personal examination of the installation, it doesn't sound right. A picture would be very helpful-one of the typical drip edge (no damage), some of the nailing and some of the damage location. They don't want to fix it because fixing it right means pulling off a LOT of shingles and redoing them.
posted by bartonlong at 9:21 AM on May 5, 2016
posted by bartonlong at 9:21 AM on May 5, 2016
Response by poster: Here are photos of the drip edge: https://imgur.com/a/lqGeV
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 11:20 AM on May 5, 2016
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 11:20 AM on May 5, 2016
Yeah, looking at the pictures, those nails should not be there. But I would not ask them to fix it, since they didn't fix it right the first time. Demand a refund. Start by asking for 25% of the cost of the job on the grounds that that's what it's going to cost you to have somebody else do it right. Settle for 15% if that's where it goes. If they insist on fixing it rather than refunding, tell them it would have to be done by a contractor you select, not one of theirs and certainly not the same one.
posted by beagle at 12:26 PM on May 5, 2016
posted by beagle at 12:26 PM on May 5, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks, beagle and bartonlong. Your answers are helpful. I'll be contacting the company and requesting a refund so that I may have to work re-done.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 8:25 AM on May 6, 2016
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 8:25 AM on May 6, 2016
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Nails should not go through the exposed portion of the drip edge, and ideally not through the hidden portion either. The attachment under the shingles should be with construction cement. The function of the drip edge is to minimize water reaching the fascia board. With nails through the drip edge, as long as they are in their tight, you won't get significantly more water reaching the fascia. If the nails work their way out, as nails do, only a tiny amount of water would go through the holes, and even then, most of that would just run down the back of the drip edge flashing. So I don't think the nails are a worry, BUT: the installer should not have put nails there, period. It is now a faulty installation. What I would do is get the store to come back out and tell them you want a partial refund to compensate for the faulty installation. Then, I'd put that money toward the cost of having a local handyman fix things correctly by replacing the fascia, and probably sealing the nail holes in the drip edge with a little caulk, just in case. Ask your neighbors for handyman references.
posted by beagle at 7:17 AM on May 5, 2016