We tried to get our family room roof replaced a couple of years ago. Art called three companies that were supposed to be reputable. They came out and measured, promised to get back to us, but never did, even when Art called them a couple of times. We've talked to other people who have had similar problems in Hawaii. We suspect that because we weren't having the whole house done, the job was not lucrative enough. We don't know.
The family room is actually mom's all purpose room. That's where she has her treadmill, watches TV and does her reading and letter writing. It's also quite hot there. I'm thinking it could be because the roof is old and blackened from mold and dirt. Other roof areas were also needing to be changed. I wanted to put a white silicone coating on the roof to cool down the room.
At January's BIA (Building Industry Association) we also got several choices for roofers. This time, incredibly... they all showed up and then presented estimates! After listening carefully to each salesperson we decided to go with Cool Roof because Brenden Clement sounded so honest. He gave us the option that seemed the best choice for the type of roof we had and he didn't suggest the most expensive. He worked to keep the cost down for us. I really liked him a lot.
I wanted to put some GACO reflective silicone coating on the entire roof, but Brenden said the slope of the roof made it unfeasible. GACO should only be put on relatively flat surfaces.
We went with CertainTeed's Solaris shingles for the sloped area. The shingles are also reflective and is supposed to keep the family room cool. I hope so.
When we returned from Bangladesh we got the call from Cool Roof right away saying they were ready to start. I don't think we were quite over the jet lag yet.
Two roofers came and removed the old shingles. They were probably over 20 years old (the shingles, I mean). High winds kept blowing the shingles at the edge off for the last few years and Art kept having to climb up to replace them.
The roofers then installed a felt sheet to make sure the roof would be watertight. This is good since we also get a LOT of rain.
More workers came and spray washed the flat area where the GACO silicone coating would be applied.
Meanwhile, the Certainteed shingles were being hammered in.
They said the edge of the old roofing was actually not done properly because it wasn't finished off with a drip edge flashing.
All the crevices were carefully sealed. A reinforcing fabric was wrapped around all the perimeters and a drip edge metal as well.
We were very pleased with the wonderful job they did. They cleaned up after themselves and tried very hard to make sure no debris was left behind.
We figured they were done. Nope.
Would you believe they sent out a PRE-inspector to check over the work before the "boss" came to OK the job they did?
The PRE- inspector took photos and wrote notes.
He sent out the crew again who fixed what was noted.
Then Kevin McCallum came. He's the Boss (owner). He found a few more little things he wanted done.
Now, I'm really impressed. He's sending out the crew again. Cool Roof Hawaii has been in business for about seven years now. They're working hard to establish themselves. From what we've seen, I do believe they'll be in business for a long time.
The family room is actually mom's all purpose room. That's where she has her treadmill, watches TV and does her reading and letter writing. It's also quite hot there. I'm thinking it could be because the roof is old and blackened from mold and dirt. Other roof areas were also needing to be changed. I wanted to put a white silicone coating on the roof to cool down the room.
At January's BIA (Building Industry Association) we also got several choices for roofers. This time, incredibly... they all showed up and then presented estimates! After listening carefully to each salesperson we decided to go with Cool Roof because Brenden Clement sounded so honest. He gave us the option that seemed the best choice for the type of roof we had and he didn't suggest the most expensive. He worked to keep the cost down for us. I really liked him a lot.
I wanted to put some GACO reflective silicone coating on the entire roof, but Brenden said the slope of the roof made it unfeasible. GACO should only be put on relatively flat surfaces.
We went with CertainTeed's Solaris shingles for the sloped area. The shingles are also reflective and is supposed to keep the family room cool. I hope so.
When we returned from Bangladesh we got the call from Cool Roof right away saying they were ready to start. I don't think we were quite over the jet lag yet.
Two roofers came and removed the old shingles. They were probably over 20 years old (the shingles, I mean). High winds kept blowing the shingles at the edge off for the last few years and Art kept having to climb up to replace them.
The roofers then installed a felt sheet to make sure the roof would be watertight. This is good since we also get a LOT of rain.
More workers came and spray washed the flat area where the GACO silicone coating would be applied.
Meanwhile, the Certainteed shingles were being hammered in.
They said the edge of the old roofing was actually not done properly because it wasn't finished off with a drip edge flashing.
All the crevices were carefully sealed. A reinforcing fabric was wrapped around all the perimeters and a drip edge metal as well.
We were very pleased with the wonderful job they did. They cleaned up after themselves and tried very hard to make sure no debris was left behind.
We figured they were done. Nope.
The PRE- inspector took photos and wrote notes.
He sent out the crew again who fixed what was noted.
Then Kevin McCallum came. He's the Boss (owner). He found a few more little things he wanted done.
Now, I'm really impressed. He's sending out the crew again. Cool Roof Hawaii has been in business for about seven years now. They're working hard to establish themselves. From what we've seen, I do believe they'll be in business for a long time.
Now that is professional work, all right. I hope it makes the room cooler, too. They deserve to survive in the roofing business. :-)
ReplyDeletewow, thats how to get the job done, !!!Looks great,
ReplyDeleteWe found such a place finally in Oklahoma but only after the same trials and tribulations you experienced with no return calls or follow up. Finally a great little company took the bull by the horns and roofed our home in Tulsa for very little expense and great professionalism.
ReplyDeletei wonder if they would come here to fix my roof!!!? i just had my mansard roof done last summer and it is leaking again! i have spots all over mu ceilings. i could scream. it is so herd to find responsible workers!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great and it is always a comfort to find a reputable business around for the long haul.
ReplyDeleteI hope the room will be cooler for your mother! I hope this roof remains excellent for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI'm keeping my fingers crossed since the summer months are around the corner.
DeleteWow...such attention too detail is very rare. So pleased this worked out well.
ReplyDeleteLooks and sounds like they did an amazing Job Kay! So glad it turned out well. Way to go Coof Roof!!
ReplyDeleteDid they select a time with no rain to replace the roof? I assume there was no rain throughout the duration that they replaced the roof.
ReplyDeleteYes, a list of successful experiences with local contractors and businesses would be of great value, at least for those of us who live in Honolulu. Some of these good ones fly under the radar and do not advertise. I found a good house painter because he was working on the house next door, and I asked him if he could get rid of some mildew with a clorox solution. One thing led to another....
Deletemun: They were extremely lucky that it didn't rain when they were working on the roof. Really, really lucky since we do get quite a bit of rain in our area.
DeleteHank: I'll have to come to you to ask for a good painter some day when that becomes an issue for us.
You need to find a blog site or newspaper that would like to hear about your satisfaction. We always hear the bad news and NOT the good news.
ReplyDeleteI actually have quite a few friends and relatives who do read my blog and will pass the word along. In Hawaii, everybody knows everybody.
DeleteGlad your roofing job turned out well as ours did also. I was especially glad to have that new roof because we have had two major rainstorms since they put on the roof. Even though the patio roof was not replaced, it no longer leaks around the edges because the new roof is better attached to it than the old one had become. Do you not have city building code inspectors who have to sign off on various stages of the work? There were two such inspections on our roof, one when the felt was laid and new venting done and then the final one after the work was done. We were told, by the inspector, we could now pay the contractor when he left his signed inspection with all the permit numbers.
ReplyDeleteWe do have city inspectors, but it's only when you're building a structure, I think. The inspectors we saw for the roof was from Cool Roof as far as I know.
DeleteAll remodeling jobs here require permits and inspections. If you do not have the permit numbers, you often cannot sell the property if it's been reconfigured. We've known of people who had to tear out additions so they could sell the house because permits were never attained.
DeleteSuch a professional group of people I must say..you are lucky to get them and they certainly deserve to be in the profession for a long long period..
ReplyDeleteA cool roof, who knew. My theory with companies and small concerns is they find themselves overbooked if they are good. We maintain standing contracts with a few companies, contractors. Dianne
ReplyDeleteI think what bothers us the most is that if they are unable to do the job, TELL US instead of letting us wait forever for an estimate. Art called a company twice that said they would surely send us the estimate and never did. Why do that, for goodness sakes?
DeleteIt's beautiful and sounds as if the room will be cooler. Just taking off the black roof would change the heat absorption (and let the rain in).
ReplyDeleteMan, I wish they could come to Georgia! I like the idea of the white roof making it cooler, that is an idea that needs to be implemented in this state!
ReplyDeleteAll roofing companies can offer cool colored roofing. GAF was the manufacturer of our roofing materials and they had a number of "cool" roof options. We picked the very lightest color possible due to the blazing heat here in Fresno.
DeleteWe tried to pick the lightest color too. I hope it makes a difference.
DeletePeople do NOT return business type calls in Hawaii. During my 'career' I learned not to take it personally. Perhaps its the rust?
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
Our older houses need a lot of maintenance, but they are so comfortable and suitable for the climate. We don't have that cool roofing, but we have an attic fan that really helps. Terry has had to replace the motor twice, though.
ReplyDeleteCool Roof also installed an attic fan for us. Art says he's not convinced it will help that much because he put so much insulation over the ceiling when the addition was being built. We'll see...
DeleteI think you really found a keeper. The inspector and revisit was amazingly rare. You obviously are a good judge of character.
ReplyDeleteWow! I've heard of job inspectors after the work is done, but not several trips to correct things known only to the company. CertainTeed has excellent products (ex used to install siding, windows, and roofing and loved CertainTeed products.) In Kansas, we just hope a tornado doesn't blow things away! Maybe you can be on their TV ads!
ReplyDeleteDrumMajor
We've been happy with the Certainteed windows although the screens promptly started to rust over here and the sashes are a bit difficult to deal with.
DeleteI can imagine how tough of a job than can be. Shingles by themselves are pretty heavy.
ReplyDeleteThe Cool Roof guys were so cute. There were some shingles left over and they told us we could keep it in case we decide to build a dog house some day. That is... some day when we get a dog. Who knows?
DeleteGood to hear a happy story about repair men! Looks great!
ReplyDeleteThat is really conscientious service! The finished product looks really good.
ReplyDeleteblessings....
ReplyDeleteglad you are satisfied with the job. Its hard to get quality workers with integrity.
Fascinating. That's certainly not the sort of roof you'd need in the UK. Here it's mostly tiles, either made from baked clay or slate. There are very few thatched roofs around now as they're so expensive to replace, but you do see a few on really old cottages.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with your finished roof Kay and with the company that you hired.
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence!! We were waiting for our van to be repaired near McKinley car wash and saw the Cool Roof office shingle nearby. Glad you are satisfied with their quality of work. Our Gaco coating is still looking great after 4 years which is a miracle in the leeward hot sun. Acrylic type coatings just don't last as long as it should.
ReplyDeleteL...w
What a great story. We've done so many renos... sigh.
ReplyDelete