This article Reprinted from Western Roofing magazine, March/April 2007, Volume 30, number 2

Weighty Benefits

Reroof Contractor to the Rescue in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

by Randy Franz, freelance writer

A sales representative tried to warn them, but Ann and Scott Berger of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., wanted to save a few dollars. A sales representative told them the concrete tile roof they wanted would be too heavy for their 1970’s-era southern California house with stick-frame construction, and that they should consider a lighter-weight roofing product. Ann and Scott wanted the look of the tile. They bought the tile through another contractor and a host of unwanted problems.

Within two years, an interior wall was bulging 6” over their young children’s play area. They couldn’t open a door that led to their second-floor balcony. A sliding glass door barely moved. Seams in the walls popped. Cracks appeared in walls and ceilings while door frames began to separate. “We were assured by the contractor, the city, the engineer, and the homeowner’s association that the tile product was okay,” said Ann Berger. “We figured that was good enough.”

Unfortunately, the contractor put on a product that wasn’t right for that type of home, which originally was built with wood shakes on space sheathing. The framing and sheathing were not able to hold the concrete tile system that weighed ten pounds per square foot when installed. The results were disastrous, for the Bergers and the contractor.

The Bergers, after spending thousands of dollars on interior repairs and legal bills, later installed a lightweight stone-coated steel roof system. The Bergers sued the contractor, who by then had packed up and left the area. “If the roofing contractor had been responsible in the first place, he might still be in business,” said Ann Berger.

“All roofing contractors suffer when things like this happen,” said Kory Frost of Western Roofing Systems, Anaheim, Calif., which replaced the Bergers’ roof and installed the stone-coated steel system by Metro Roof Products. “Contractors work hard to earn the trust of homeowners. Pushing the wrong product for the design of the home just to make a sale can undo years of good work in one greedy decision.”

Western Roofing Systems, Anaheim, Calif., bid on the original reroof. The sales representative was the one who cautioned the Bergers against the weight. “They were pinching pennies at that point,” said Steve Szalwinski. When the structural problems began, the Bergers remembered the advice of Western Roofing Systems and asked the company for help. Five years after its original bid, Western Roofing did the job.

The Bergers’ story is a reminder that offering structurally sound roof systems, not just whatever system wins the bid, keeps contractors and homeowners safer. •••