Had to choose between fixing a flat roof or tearing it off completely on a garage job last week

I was on this little strip mall in Toledo and the owner wanted me to just patch a leak. I told him the whole thing was sagging and had ponding water, but he said just patch it for now. I went with the patch because he's the one paying, and guess what, it rained the next night and the patch failed. Now he's calling me back asking about a tear-off, which is gonna cost him three times more than if we did it right the first time. Has anyone else had a customer fight you on the right fix and then blame you when the cheap option falls apart?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_morgan83d ago

Seth, that ponding water is a slow killer on a flat roof. I've seen it on a few jobs over the years where water sits for 48 hours or more after a rain. It's not just surface water, that weight starts to warp the decking underneath and then you get hidden rot that'll eat through the whole thing. The owner paid for a patch that was doomed because the roof was already sagging in that low spot. Next time he's gonna pay triple for a full tear-off because the cheap fix just sped up the damage.

sethb454d ago

Is a little ponding water really that big of a deal though? Sounds like you’re making more of this than it is.