A 30-foot Blister was Only the Start
A property manager was frantic. Her predecessor had installed a new roof on the building six months earlier. Now this brand new roof was already leaking badly, and the manager was beside herself about what to do. An inspection of the roof revealed very large blisters — one extended more than 30 feet. Further investigation revealed that the new roof had been installed over an existing membrane, but the existing, poorly installed pitch pans had been left in place. Water had gotten into the old pitch pans and spread out from there. Wrinkles in the membrane left long thin tubes between the plies to funnel water into the roofing. After only six months in use, a moisture survey discovered that nearly 80 percent of the roof was completely saturated.
The property manager then looked at the contract to try to resolve the problem with the contractor who had installed the roof. To her horror, she found that the previous property manager had failed to get a signed contract from the roofing contractor. The previous property manager had spent $57,000 to replace a roof without a signed contract.
The new manager was left with the prospect of having to explain to the owner why the roof had to be replaced twice in one year and why there was little recourse against the roofer. She had to find emergency money, not only to replace the roof, but also to remove all of the existing roofing down to the deck. Proper completion of the new roof cost about $110,000.
Moral: Get a signed contract.
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