A 1 year old roof is leaking.Should we contact the people who installed it?

Question

We recently bought a new home..everything has been updated in the past year.
EVERYTHING IS NEW.
Now wintertime. the roof is leaking in 4 diffrent areas!
what should I do? Im in NY state.
The insurance company wont pay unless its ice damage.
But its ice thats doing it.

I was told there isnt any ice and water shield under it, Is that a code for NY STATE?

Is the construction company liable for it?
It consists of a "25ftx 3ft and maybe 2 feet thick" of ICE,and water is backig up behind it.
what can i use to help remove it?or prevent it from comming back!!
help...our new home is getting ruined.!!

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

Sounds like the roofing contractor cut corners and did not use Ice & Water (I&W) barrier like he was suppose to on the edges, valleys and where else it was needed (especially here in CNY with the weather). It’s not code, just a common safety procedure most roofers take to avoid future returns to fix. It takes about 15 minutes to install a roll properly. Without installing any, they probably made an extra few hundred $$ in saved labor and pocketed the materials $$ for not doing the work.

What you probably have are ice dams forming when the melted snow from the top of the roof hits the cold soffits and freezes. The water keeps freezing and eventually it works its way under the shingles and felt paper and into the living area.

If I&W was used like it should have been, and the bottom edge of the first layer of felt was in the started in the middle of the I&W, you would not have this problem.

Here’s simple way to check. Look at one of the edges (below where a leak is) from the bottom straight up the roof.

A correct edge should look like this: roof decking (plywood), galvanized drip edge, I&W (adhesive side down and stuck to drip edge), starter strip (actual starter strip or reversed shingle), then the shingles. When you run your thumb up the edge, the I&W should be attached to the drip edge.

If you run your thumb up the edge and the layers mimic running your thumb up the side of a deck of cards (nothing sticking to the drip edge), you do not have I&W.

If you do not have it, you got ripped off in a big way. The roofer is the primary problem and the contractor is at fault for not inspecting the work in the first place. He is your safety net to make sure things like this don’t happen. You probably paid somewhere between 190K & 250K for a new home that should be leak free for 25 years if the work was done properly.

Contact the builder, complain and request a new roof at their expense (with proper I&W installation). Take pictures of the ice dams and a close-up of the edges w/o the I&W and send to insurance co., contractor and builder. When they give you resistance, take them to court and get the court to force them to fix the problem.

After a new roof is installed (brand new or a complete re-roof), and the work is done properly, you should stay dry for 30+ years.

Same thing happened to a relatives new house. Just waiting for the call to go over and fix it.

Request once, then use the court method to get results.

Answer 3

I wouldn't ask the same company to assess the damage. I'd find an independent house inspector or other person qualified to inspect. Then have them review the damage and the workmanship. They will be more prone to be honest, since they're not criticizing their own work.

If it is poor construction, you can have this documented and then press the original company to makes repairs. Also have the assessment docu,ent for you insurance company for any reimbursement to other items caused by the damage. I'd think the company should be held completely responsible for all and any damage, but I'm not a legal expert. Best to insure your insurance company is kept abreast of all aspects --- just in case.

Good luck

Answer 4

Get the roofing company to come fix it and repair all the damage because they did something wrong to cause this and they are liable. Most roofing companies are bonded and insured.It does sound as if they neglected to use ice and water shield....their bad!!

Answer 5

contact the builders and see what warranty is , most roofing company's have written one for the roofing materials and work seeing that's its only a year old it must have some sort of warranty sounds like they would be liable for shoddy work and repairs

Answer 6

call the builder , i cant believe they put a roof on in n.y. without ice guard...most roofs come with at lesat a 15 year warrenty and more

Answer 7

I should say so. YES!!!!!