What was it about?
A roofer had installed a new roof on behalf of a consumer. Some time after completion, the resident reported that he could no longer use his fireplace because the damper was stuck. A camera inspection subsequently revealed that the fireplace's flap was blocked by a gravel column as large as 1.24 meters in the flue. The consumer held the roofer liable for this, but the roofer did not proceed with repairs.
Good listening
Indeed, the roofer found it unlikely that the gravel had ended up in the flue during his work. After all, according to the roofer, the resident should have heard that gravel ended up in the flue if it happened during the lifting of the new gravel. After all, the resident was home at the time. In addition, the roofing contractor's employees present stated that no gravel fell into the chimney during the hoisting and hoisting of the old and new gravel.
The resident and the roofer did not come to an agreement and asked the Roofing Disputes Committee for an opinion.
What does the disputes committee think?
Expert research
The disputes committee appointed an expert who went to look at the roof. The expert confirmed that the 1.24-meter gravel column was the cause of the fireplace valve not working.
In addition, the expert recommended hiring a gravel extraction company to remove the gravel from the flue with a small diameter hose or pipe.
Bill repair and examination costs for roofing contractor
Despite the roofer's objections, the disputes committee still ordered the roofer to pay the repair and investigation costs. The committee found it plausible that the gravel entered the flue during the construction of the new roof. After all, there was no other indication that the gravel might have entered the chimney in some other way. A small amount of gravel could still be caused by birds, but the amount involved was too much for that.
How to prevent?
Closing chimney
The Disputes Committee's ruling shows that, fortunately, this situation does not happen often. Nevertheless, roofers would do well to cover a chimney while lifting gravel up and down. This relatively simple and inexpensive measure can prevent gravel from ending up in the flue or subsequent discussion about who is responsible.
Capturing the initial situation
As a general rule, it is important for roofers to properly survey the existing situation prior to work. This ruling shows once again that a roofing contractor often has "appearances againstthem" when damage to existing parts of a home is reported after work is performed.
In such a case, if the roofer has not properly recorded how he found an existing situation, damage to existing parts will be his responsibility.
5 practical tips for capture
Some practical tips to properly record the situation prior to the work:
- Take photos or videos prior to the work, not only of the roof but also of other "logical" parts of the home;
- Make sure the photos and videos are of good quality;
- Invite the client to be present when the photos or videos are taken;
- Share the photos and/or videos taken by email with the client and write in the email the date the photos and/or videos were taken;
- As a roofer, make sure you still have access to the photos and videos taken 20 years after the work was completed (legal statute of limitations).
