Guess I did well

[philo]

A few weeks back I had asked for roofing advice and now all the work is done. As I think I mentioned, this contractor put in a bid that was actually lower than I expected and did more work than the contract stated. The bill was to the penny exactly the same as he estimated.

Since it was a complete "tear off" and he did four or five additional repairs, the $13k I spent was well worth it. ( I had budgeted for $20k) He even corrected a mistake that was made when the house was built in 1898 !

A friend of mine who is a retired building inspector said it's probably one of the best roofs he's ever seen! My building inspector buddy does not usually have good words for anyone.

If by chance there is anyone here in the Milwaukee area, I just wanted to put in a good word for Brew City Contractors.

[Ed Pawlowski]

This is a double surprise

1. It is on topic
2. You had a good contractor

Nice to get really good job at a good price. You're going to have to do it again in another 30 or 35 years though.

[philo]

Yep. Had the roof done maybe 26 years ago....this is getting to be a PITA

[Unquestionably Confused]

While unusual, this is not a rarity. I think you'll find many of the good tradesmen who do superlative work and do it for a reasonable price. The trick is finding them. The ones of which I speak are often a smaller scale operation and they typically so busy, that they don't advertise. The only way you pick up on them is by word of mouth from satisfied customers.

Philo? How did you find your roofer?

[philo]

After doing a Google search and finding local contractors one of two things happened:

1) They did not bother to return my call

2) They made an appointment to come out for an estimate, then never showed up.

I finally asked on a local Facebook page if anyone knew of a good roofer and the contractor answered literally in minutes.

When I made an appointment he showed up on time.

All thorough the job he phoned or emailed to let me know progress.

Next year when I need more work done I will contact him.

He seems to be smart in that he does a limited amount of work himself and subcontracts out to trusted workers.

The first two days there must have been at least six people here working their butts off

[Frank]

My deck was just finished by a contractor like that. He had a small crew for removal of the old and cleanup but subcontracted to a guy that specializes in decks. I discussed this arrangement with him and he said I probably would not have saved any money going directly to the sub as the sub would have had to spend time bidding and with all the paper work with the county. He was also recommended by word of mouth. Out of the

4 bids I got, his was $500 above the lowest but $4,000 below the highest.

Thread has been good as I am going to have my roof looked at in the spring. It is not showing signs of serious wear like shedding grit or shingles curling but it is about 30 years old. I have a contractor in mind but also have a cost in mind, so we will see.

[philo]

I normally don't go out for bids to get the lowest price...

If the contractor seems to know what they are doing and the price sounds reasonable I just do it.

In all the years I've owned my house only once did I get a bad deal. The guy fixed the leak in the roof at the price he quoted but did not do it the way he told me and it looked like hell.

It was in an area that was just about impossible to see from the ground so I just let if go.

[Frank]

Our low bidder, recommended by a friend, did a good job for our friend but was going to skirt the county permit although it would have been built to code. Plus, too much legalize in the contract not protecting us and more him.

Cost is only a factor to be balanced with other things.

[philo]

I was able to get records on work that was done to my house.

Interestingly, no permit is required for a new roof.

That said: I put the wooden siding (board and baton) on my house 30 years ago with no permit and found out later I technically should have gotten one.

Still remember the time, while I was doing the work, the Alderman (or should I say Alderwoman) stopped by on her successful campaign run. All she said was "nice job."

The city never got on my case about it.

[Frank]

It is a good idea to see what your county requires. Here roofing does not require a permit but you will need one if over 20% of the sheathing must be replaced. Building codes can often vary as well as permit requirements. I needed a permit to tear down old deck and to put up a new one. Downstate a permit would not have been required for my deck.

[Ed Pawlowski]

My roofer got a permit, but no one ever inspected anything. It is a revenue source. I believe in doing things to code for safety reasons, but I don't think anything inside the house should require a permit. The tax assessor comes around every 5 years or so to see if you added value so they can tax you more. Outside should be permitted if it affects property lines and the like only. Not siding.

[Tekkie®]

Oren posted for all of us...

Oren, how is the the drain job going? Flowing smoothly?