How to Handle Dodgy Roof Repairs

us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 16:12
Last edited 06/05/2024 - 16:26

We had a leak in the roof of a rental property (WA) almost a year ago. Found a contractor on hipages.com.au who gave a competitive quote with a ten year warranty and had the repairs done. He sent a series of pictures (we couldn't attend at the time) showing stages of completion.

The first red flag was that the day the job was completed he was desperate for payment in cash - asked to meet at an ATM and kept pestering when told this was not going to happen.

After he reluctantly emailed an invoice we paid via bank transfer. Not ideal but it seemed he had done the job quite well despite his off-putting attitude. In that series of phone calls to arrange invoice and payment he kept repeating that he definitely works for company X even though I never questioned it. That was a bigger red flag. We later called the company (I don't entirely remember why) and the owner told us that he in fact does not work for them. Because the job had been completed, seemingly well, and the likelihood of improving matters seemed slim for little reward we left well enough alone.

Fast forward to today and the REA has informed us that there is now a significant leak in the roof. Investigation revealed that at least two of the tiles had been replaced by tarpaulin which has now disintegrated. I assume the damage will be covered by insurance but I wanted to know what is the best way to hold this roofer responsible.

Edit: photos added

https://ibb.co/JBy19CL
https://ibb.co/vx7kqD7
https://ibb.co/HDD963V
https://ibb.co/60RRYBk
https://ibb.co/C7KVnfQ
https://ibb.co/L8SB2rt
https://ibb.co/ScMLBXw
https://ibb.co/N2Lq6Nf
https://ibb.co/pvRVWvJ
https://ibb.co/gJ0jDrd
https://ibb.co/V37TqW1

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Duckie2hh on 06/05/2024 - 16:16
    +1

    WACAT?

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 16:29

      I barely have surface knowledge of this process but will look into it.

      Ah, apparently it's the SAT here - State Administrative Tribunal.

      Anyone with experience?

    • HeWhoKnows on 07/05/2024 - 17:04

      A year later and The dog has bolted.

      And zero evidence.

      But looking at the photos the roof looks to be near new.
      But a shoddy job cutting the tiles is evident.

  • mini2 on 06/05/2024 - 16:38
    +2

    Does the bloke even have a valid licence for his trade?

    Have you hit hipages up for help? They take quite a massive cut, surely they have a vested interest to sort this out?

    I reckon you should've just got the REA to organise the repair…you're paying them, after all, and their trades usually won't be the cheapest but won't cause you grief - it's them on the hooks if something goes pear shaped, not you.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:31

      Does the bloke even have a valid licence for his trade?

      I don't even know if he gave us his real name any more.

      Have you hit hipages up for help?

      I didn't think it was worthwhile but easy to do I guess.

      I reckon you should've just got the REA to organise the repair

      It wasn't a rental at the time

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 06/05/2024 - 17:06
    +4

    hipages

    Oh nooooo

    Also

    . I assume the damage will be covered by insurance but I wanted to know what is the best way to hold this roofer responsible -

    I really hope so… but that sounds like an easy out for insurance to reject. tarp as a fix for tiles surely can’t be considered anything better than an emergency make safe?

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:34

      hipages Oh nooooo

      Yeah, I wish I knew then

  • bazingaa on 06/05/2024 - 17:18

    least two of the tiles had been replaced by tarpaulin

    what did I read here ? :O
    do you mean that you kept tarpaulin instead of two tiles, oh mate!

  • Switchblade88 on 06/05/2024 - 17:20

    If you already had insurance, why did you get a no-name cash job done?

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 06/05/2024 - 17:44
      +1

      The only thing I could think of is repairs through hilages guy was way cheaper than excess

      • Switchblade88 on 06/05/2024 - 18:05
        +2

        And the op got exactly what they paid for

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:37

      Insurance might cover storm damage but this was just a repointing job

  • Euphemistic on 06/05/2024 - 17:47
    +2

    Thats not a tarp. Its the insulation layer (or whatever ita called)

    • Ash-Say on 06/05/2024 - 17:51
      +1

      You mean sarking?

      • Euphemistic on 06/05/2024 - 18:16

        Thats the one.

        • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:41

          There's none under any other tiles. When you pull them back you can see straight to the insulation batts on the ceiling.

    • kiitos on 07/05/2024 - 08:16

      The green deteriorated stuff looks like plastic tarp?

      • Euphemistic on 07/05/2024 - 18:06

        Its basically thebsame stuff, but sarking has a layer of foil bonded on one side.

  • Ash-Say on 06/05/2024 - 17:51
    +1

    Insurance is unlikely to cover any faulty roof repairs.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:41

      You may be right, unfortunately.

  • Drakesy on 06/05/2024 - 17:55

    It looks like a fairly new build, is the leak definitely related to the guys repairs?

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:43

      Well there were no missing tiles before he got up there and he charged for additional tiles on the job.

      • Drakesy on 06/05/2024 - 23:50
        +2

        So you didnt check the repair in person?

        Im sorry but that is kinda on you

        • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:55

          Yeah, couldn't get to the property at the time. That's just how it was and this guy took advantage.

        • eckorock on 07/05/2024 - 09:45

          You expect him to go up on the roof to see the evidence?

          • Drakesy on 07/05/2024 - 10:29
            +1

            @eckorock: As a project engineer - yes you always confirm the work trades do, no matter how much you trust them, they cut corners where possible.
            I did when my solar panels were installed as the forums indicated it was mandatory to both confirm the number of panels, make sure there's no loose wires etc.

          • us3rnam3tak3n on 07/05/2024 - 16:51

            @eckorock: If I could attend the site at the time I would have gone up to check. By the time I was available to inspect it, the property was in the hands of the REA.

  • MS Paint on 06/05/2024 - 19:09
    +5

    I spotted a giant crack in one of the pictures.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:58

      I guess plumbers don't have a monopoly any more. He's wearing the shirt of the business he claimed to represent in that picture so I suppose he did work for them in the past.

  • Dollar General on 06/05/2024 - 19:40

    You can take civil action but does he have any money or assets to make it worthwhile?

    Is hipages not insured for this kind of stuff too?

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:45

      Yeah, he probably has nothing much. Maybe hipages should take some responsibility. I didn't read all the fine print tbh

  • Presence on 06/05/2024 - 20:44
    +2

    Most of the pictures are very confusing and/or irrelvant.

    Why are there tiles cut it half? Was there some sort of vent there? Has something blown off?
    The sarking is normal to be under the tiles.
    I highly doubt the guy just left with two tiles missing. You'd have noticed at the first sign of rain.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 06/05/2024 - 23:50

      Sorry, I just uploaded all the photos he sent.

      There's no sarking. The bodgied up temporary seal he's put in had to resist about 3 months of rain. After that we've had drought till last week in Perth.

      • kiitos on 07/05/2024 - 08:20

        So he sent the photo of the missing tiles? Did he mention anything about needing to come back?

        • us3rnam3tak3n on 07/05/2024 - 16:48

          No, the missing tiles were only discovered the other day. The job was done almost 12 months ago.

      • eckorock on 07/05/2024 - 09:48

        Wait so the photos are from the guy who you say was dodgy and replaced 2 of the tiles with tarp?? They are very confusing and seem to be out of sequence.

        I thought those photos were from the mob you hired to fix the dodgy repair job

        • us3rnam3tak3n on 07/05/2024 - 16:42

          Ah, I see the confusion. The photos of the job were sent by the contractor. The house is now a rental and the REA sent the two pics of the dodgy "fix" after moisture began appearing through the ceiling. I uploaded them from my phone while distracted by other matters.

  • ihbh on 07/05/2024 - 07:13
    +2

    I assume the damage will be covered by insurance

    Why the heck would the insurer cover your dodgy work?

    (You hired the guy because he was cheaper than the excess, so it's your dodgy work from your dodgy contractor.)

    Have you tried to call him back to make good his 10 year warranty?

    • Sinnerator on 07/05/2024 - 09:28
      +1

      Meth probably won't answer the call

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 07/05/2024 - 16:47

      You're likely right that insurance won't be helpful. The original job wasn't related to insurance though. As far as I know they don't cover maintenance (repointing in this case) only storm, fire, malicious damage and accident.

      I think we'll have to go via the State Administrative Tribunal or just cop it on the chin.

  • Toph Beifong on 07/05/2024 - 23:57

    Those look like the 'Villa' profile tiles produced by BGC/Monier - I have them on my roof too and they break very easily, especially the tongue & groove/water channel.
    Let this be a lesson learned, you can never trust a tradie, especially when working unsupervised. Don't hand over the money until you have inspected the work.
    If you are handy and want to save some money, but some spare tiles and watch a few youtube videos… I've replaced many tiles myself and saved a fortune.

    • us3rnam3tak3n on 08/05/2024 - 23:02

      never trust a tradie

      Amen

      If you are handy

      Yeah, replacing tiles is no problem. His job was to repoint the capping, which he actually did fairly well and much better than I could. If only he'd told me that he ran out of tiles I could have avoided the damage.

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