...The biggest problem with roofers is you have a ladder and a hammer and your in business, you just order the shingles boomed onto the roof . The price of entry is so low you get a lot of sketchy players. ...
This is the case for a lot of home services businesses. All you need to be a window installer, deck/fence builder, roofer, bathroom remodeller, basement finisher etc is a truck and some pictures lifted from the internet. The good thing about roofing is i doesn't require much skill or experience. I know lots of homeowners who have tackled their own roofs and done just fine. It's mostly backbreaking labour and danger.
Since we're on a keep the house dry topic another pet peeve is the misuse of good products, namely foundation water proofing, the chocolate coloured dimpled sheet stuff. I see renovations where it is being used on the inside as part of a french drain system.
I am aware of two brands. When I checked a couple of years ago one brand was labeled "Not for interior use" and the other when contacted said the same. It's meant to be used on the outside.
I also checked with a commercial waterproofing contractor who said that you never waterproof from the inside.
Of course doing it right means excavating the perimeter starting at $200 per foot.
"We do our best to ensure......" Who pays for the oopsie is their best wasn't good enough. Who pays the lifetime expenses for the crippled worker that fell off the roof?
I had new eaves troughs installed and yup the upper level dumped on the lower level. Fixed it myself.
A paralegal I know says a lot of roofer employees are ex-cons because they can't get work anywhere else. WSIB rates for small general contractors and roofers are obscene. I hear 20%. Mine was 3.5% in my field.
I've consulted on the metal roof avalanche issue and it's not a simple fix. Also you could get several asphalt roofs for the price of a metal one. How long are you going to be there?
I know a 90 year old lady that paid through the nose for a "Lifetime guarantee" metal roof. Do the math.
Since we're on a keep the house dry topic another pet peeve is the misuse of good products, namely foundation water proofing, the chocolate coloured dimpled sheet stuff. I see renovations where it is being used on the inside as part of a french drain system.
I am aware of two brands. When I checked a couple of years ago one brand was labeled "Not for interior use" and the other when contacted said the same. It's meant to be used on the outside.
I also checked with a commercial waterproofing contractor who said that you never waterproof from the inside.
Of course doing it right means excavating the perimeter starting at $200 per foot.
That is an interesting problem. Yes you should do it properly. For many people, doing it properly exceeds their budget. Sadly for the vast majority, this means "I want taller baseboards and crown molding so I can't afford to waterproof properly". In my current house, the previous owners put down stone over the cold room and painted the wood underneath to hide the mold/leak. Bastardos. Next year I get to rip the stone up (and maybe the concrete and wood below depending on condition), install a flat roof to fix the problem and then relay the stone. It would have been a ^*&^ of a lot easier to do it properly the first time.
I suspect it is "not for interior use" due to fire/smoke/off gas tests (either they don't pass or they didn't bother wasting the money on testing). If it was my house and I was putting it behind drywall I wouldn't be too concerned. I have used that for a basement floor before too (dimple mat then plywood held down with concrete pins, then finished floor on top of that). I am sure that is not allowed either, but it works very well and is a cost effective way to have a warmer basement floor and some drainage/breathing room for the concrete.
The bird beaks and ice fences have to be anchored to the structural members. Sheet metal screws will pull out. Sheet metal screws have to be caulked and caulking fails creating leaks. Isn't life wonderful.
The shingles on my garden shed are over 25 years old and there are no leaks. The moss may be plugging the holes. It's on next years todo list.
crankcall mentions tract builders ordering absolute minimum shingles. Is there any reason a big box builders supply can't do the same? The 10 year shingles IMO were meant for re-roofing without removing the old layer as a cheap stop gap. They are lighter IIRC, 210 lb per square vs 225 - 235 for the better stuff.
BTW you should be able to go on line to WSIB and get a clearance certificate for the company involved. Don't trust an old copy or the "Trust me" bit.
Clearance certificates can be fudged..
Easy to get a cert.. but if the company doesn't pay on the books and report properly.. then those workers aren't actually covered.
Clearance certificates can be fudged..
Easy to get a cert.. but if the company doesn't pay on the books and report properly.. then those workers aren't actually covered.
Haha. If I was going to be a shady roofer, the name on my truck magnet during installations would be an ontario company with wsib coverage. Cheques would be made out to a numbered company that I actually ran. The odds that someone figures out company a is not related to company b is low. You're planning on disappearing anyway, so who cares if you miss a few leads.
That is an interesting problem. Yes you should do it properly. For many people, doing it properly exceeds their budget. Sadly for the vast majority, this means "I want taller baseboards and crown molding so I can't afford to waterproof properly".
This is why Mike Holmes looks like a hero. It's easy to fix everything and make it right when it is being done for free or entertainment. But when it's your own money you do what you can afford. I am not advocating doing it wrong or shortcuts but people either get themselves into reno situations they don't have money for or don't understand the realities of how it will impact the home.
I know how it works.. I am saying is that it is easy for a company to make it look like they're covered to people looking on the WSIB website... but aren't actually fully covered.
This is why Mike Holmes looks like a hero. It's easy to fix everything and make it right when it is being done for free or entertainment. But when it's your own money you do what you can afford. I am not advocating doing it wrong or shortcuts but people either get themselves into reno situations they don't have money for or don't understand the realities of how it will impact the home.
Don't get me started on him. Bah. Turns every project into a $100K cluster *&^*&^ even if the original request was "please hang a new light over our dining room table". By the time he is done, he has dug up the road and installed a new 400A service and panel and rewired your house and while we are at it put down 1.5" subfloor so there are no squeaks. Sure everything he did was objectively better but holy overkill batman.
plastic drain board as an interior drain wall is an approved process. You get an engineers drawing and a 25yr warranty, BUT it needs to be covered with a fire resistant panel, drywall works, use cement board if its a cold room. It has no flame spread rating and accumulated smoke is a concern.
Dryfit floor panels for doing basement floors (the 2x2 tiles you see at Home Depot) are just OSB with a basement foundation drain board glued on the bottom. Its fine for an interior in a correct installation.
The fire rating CSA test is about 20K, or you stamp it exterior use only.
Not even millionaires will rip out a 30K Trex deck to dig a wall and put a drain board on the outside.
BTW, Mike Holmes has a really nice ( million dollar) power boat in Port Credit, he does not have a small motorbike on the transom to fetch beer, even though his slip to the beer store is an 12k trip each way. I docked near him, he's a really nice guy once your over the yelling about other contractors. His kids , Mike Jr has his own shoiw now and does a good job without yelling.
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