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Our complaint to the BBB
My husband is a retired handcrafted log home builder, with many years experience behind him in not only the construction of log homes and engineering of complicated roof structures keeping a framing and roofing crew in mind as well as running an efficient and organized crew and business.
In the fall of 2014, Hayward Wisconsin was hit by a very powerful hail and wind storm which required us to replace our entire roof.
On May 27, 2015 Renew Roofing, LLC of Cumberland Wisconsin (owned by James Emerson) installed a new roof on our home. It has been well over two months and it still leaks. All of the “Band-Aids upon Band-Aids” have created new and additional leaks in the long run. We never had leaks before the new roof was installed only hail damage. Only after two inspections by manufactures reps, three attempts were half heartedly made to repair. The first attempt was actually an excuse session by the “head “installer. Before we decided which product to have installed on our home, Jeffrey (my husband) researched and educated himself on the manufacturer installation website as well as several installation videos. My husband Jeffrey knew the correct installation procedures. Several untrue statements were made, screws were put in improperly and Jeffrey was asked if he had a tube of calk. This was simply to fill gap(s) that should not have been there in the first place. Jeffrey said no. Before another attempt was made, two of his workers came out to assess the situation. After a short conversation with me and my husband, they said if it were their home they would have the roof replaced and left. One of them returned to make “further repairs” at the instruction of James Emerson. The company refused to follow the reps recommendations, stating “we do not do it that way". There were also other areas of work done that was subpar and not completed. Unfortunately, Renew Roofing LLC has been paid in full. Upon leaving the job site for last time, the comment by James Emerson was the same “no more problems, we will honor the one year workmanship warranty stated in our contract”. It has been proven, that the only time James is willing do anything, is when the heat is turned up.
On, July 30, 2015 another experienced and reputable company that only specializes in installing this " stone coated roofing ", manufactured by Metro Roof Products came tools in hand fully ready to make repairs. Though his intension was to repair, he regretfully informed us after removing shingles in several random places with our observation and detected that not only were there no fasteners used in many of the shakes but there were still signs of severe leakage that was not repairable or detectable. This man has offered to make himself available to anyone in need of substantiating any information and furnish photographs he personally took during his evaluation.
James Emerson and Pat Warren of ReNew Roofing LLC made it quite clear that they had no intension when they were here on their “attempts” to try and repair their work that they would not under any circumstances follow the manufactures reps recommendations. As it turns out after this last evaluation, the inspector made it clear it is obvious that the only recourse is total replacement. We are requesting that the full contract price of all work be repaid in order to have a complete tear off and reroof our home correctly.
We will not under any circumstances allow James Emerson or any of his representatives back onto our property to perform any work.
We were told by the contractor that made the inspection, that it is all too common that vulnerable senior citizens are taken advantage of.
Like many tasks, there are certain steps that must be taken before a job can proceed. Those other tasks stated in the contract were told to us by James Emerson both verbally and in print that they would be done by him personally before the install commenced in order for the roof to be installed properly. This never happened. A portion was completed in part by two other workers, but some of the most needed important work was never done. Instead, the sub contractor (Affordable Exteriors LLC, Kent Differt, Bloomer Wisconsin) that installed the roofing did a very sub standard job while doing the install.
My husband had noticed a very key element that was incorrect before the first shake was laid. There was an ugly confrontation between my husband and Kent Differt while he was attempting to the best of his ability to point out the issue, he was told “this is the way we do it “. It was not as we had discussed with James Emerson. My husband told the contractor (we were under the impression this was going to be done by a ReNew Roofing LLC crew) to stop work until James arrived on site. The confrontation escalated as he told my husband how much it would cost him per hour if the work stopped. We were informed James Emerson would not be present for the install. James Emerson was called By Kent Differt and between the two of them they were able to convince me that all was well and the work would proceed correctly.
Other work neglected before the install was started:
1. Custom fabrication of proper flashings before the install was to start. These places included a fireplace chimney, skylight, wood stove pipe and a crucial window area. This however is not an exhaustive list. Components were used by the Affordable Exterior crew in a very sub standard method that would not pass inspection.
2. Installation of custom aluminum window wraps (caps) and wooden soffit material in an area where excessive walking on the shakes was to be avoided. Due to this not being done, we the home owners needed to do our own window trim and soffit after the roof was installed.
3. Gutters were to have covers removed, granules from old shingles (due to the hail storm) cleaned out as well as all downspouts. Gutters were then to be reinstalled and raised to a height to work properly with the new roof, with damaged covers replaced. There are still ¼ inch of granules that were never cleaned out and no damaged covers replaced. All the gutters are as they were before the install, with the exception of a feeble attempt to throw a few handfuls of granules on the ground from the easy access gutters just to humor us.
Two other areas of work that were not completed as of the writing of this review / complaint were:
1. The completion of the soffit and facia of a newly framed portion of the roof system (incorrect soffit and facia were installed).
2. The completion of aluminum window wraps on one end of the house. Due to James Emerson having no experience in this area, he threw an otherwise competent and respectable worker “into the lion’s den” by expecting him to accomplish a job he admittedly said he had no experience with “complicated” bending of angles. Therefore this task took the better part of 1 ½ months to accomplish without finishing. After having mistakes pointed out and my husband trying to help him correct them, he walked off the job. Giving him credit, he did after cooling off apologize in a very humble fashion. After venting that he had pressure from James Emerson, and was concerned about not getting paid. He then seemed to accept suggestions seriously. The job was however still dragged out and not fully completed, partly due to James pulling this man off the job to move on to another roofing job. My husband and I had a feeling we might be in trouble when a new bending brake showed up on the job site. I would however like to mention that this man and his partner both made their absolute best effort to please us even though they both worked under extreme duress. Also it is necessary for me to make it clear that both Jeffrey and I hold both of these men in extreme high regard.
James Emerson is new in his business (although he stated he had been a licensed roofing contractor in Minnesota) and seemed to be credible at first. Knowing my husband’s background, he went the extra mile at first to bend sample flashings and travel a distance to show them to us and to get our approval before a contract was signed. James can however be very cocky and arrogant at times when things are not going his way. He showed up one day for repairs when Jeffrey asked him about the flip flops on his feet and what OSHA might think about his wearing them on the roof. He looked my husband squarely in the eye and said “I am the owner. I can do whatever I want. I am not covered by workers comp. I can do whatever I want”. He then proceeded up the ladder and onto the roof.
After problems started to be obvious and the heat started to be turned up with the manufacturer inspections he stopped answering emails and would not take calls. To this day, we do not know if James Emerson has employees or if all his “crew” are actually subs. . It makes no difference really, except that it would be nice if a business owner were up front and honest about everything. Regardless, there were times some showed up without a ladder to get up onto the roof, and even asked to borrow tools knowing my husband had them. Our own scaffolding was even used because none was brought for a particular task.
James is not willing to take responsibility much less be accountable. That is until someone stands up to him. Even then, he is reluctant at the very best. He is very good at blaming others in an attempt to minimize his part in taking that responsibility.
It is our hope that James Emerson and Kent Differt may both have taken something positive away from this experience and might change their business practices. So far, this has not been apparent. As of this writing the installing contractor, Kent Differt has never even bothered to contact us.
We do not recommend any one do business with either James Emerson of ReNew Roofing LLC from Cumberland, Wisconsin or Kent Differt of Affordable Exteriors LLC of Bloomer, Wisconsin for even the simplest of jobs. There simply is no integrity with either man.
It is our hope that this situation will be solved without the need for litigation.
As a side note, Jeffrey does have Alzheimer’s and can be a challenge at times and we acknowledge that. He is however still able to recognize mistakes large and small, although it may not be immediately, but he is very capable once he is able to process if given the chance. Because of this, I will expect James Emerson or any of his representatives that might respond to this or any other review, to very possibly use this as an excuse. Jeffrey’s sometimes challenging behavior or verbal encounters are by no means and excuse for poor workmanship, performance, or lack of honesty or integrity. This did however give James Emerson free reign to take advantage of and be untruthful with me his wife.
It is unfortunate Jeffrey’s longtime experience as a reputable builder in good standing with building inspections for the past 40 plus years had to be an intimidation.
Susan J Shingler and Jeffrey W Merriman
Hayward, Wisconsin
James Emerson Renew Roofing response
On May 27, 2015 ReNew Roofing signed a roofing job for Jeffery Merriman and Susan Shingler. Before a contract was signed, our products and installation process were discussed in great detail since Jeffery asked question after question because he wanted to make sure he knew what was going on his roof and how. I ended up making three revisions of the estimate before he signed, and he insisted that battens had to be installed even though I told him this was unnecessary and left him literature stating that this roof did not require battens. During this time it was also discussed that ReNew Roofing sub-contracts out some of their work. At this time they were also provided with the sub-contractors certificate of insurance, so they were well aware of this prior to the start of the job. When I first met with Jeffery and Susan, they were very pleasant and I actually looked forward to working with them. They seemed happy with me and with the work I would be doing for them. I was informed by both Jeffery and Susan that Jeffery has Alzheimer’s and that he can be rather difficult to work with, and all decisions were to be made by Susan and to not listen to what Jeffery said. The day we started the actual work, they were against everything we did. This took me by complete surprise.
ReNew Roofing hired Affordable Exteriors out of Bloomer, WI, which is owned by Kent Differt, to do the roof for Jeffery and Susan. Once Kent Differt arrived at the site for the first day of work, he was there for not even 15 minutes before Jeffery came out and started yelling at the crew and calling them incompetent motherf***ers. After he did this, Susan told him to come back out and apologize. Once they finished the job, Jeffery requested a representative of the Metro Shingle product to come out and inspect the roof. I complied with this and met the rep out on site. The rep, Chad, pointed out two minor things that should be addressed. ReNew Roofing employees addressed these 2 issues.
There were several things that Jeffery and Susan wanted ReNew Roofing to do that were outside the scope of the contract. They kept adding things that they wanted done that were never discussed and agreed upon by both parties and therefore were not in the contract. In regards to the custom aluminum window wraps, they changed their minds three times. After we had already over half the window wraps done, they decided they did not like the color they chose, so they had us tear them off and start over with a different color. In an effort to make a happy customer, we did as they asked even though that would have been considered outside the scope of the contract. Then once again, when we were close to be half way through the window wraps with the new color, they then decided they did not like the style they chose. They decided to go from a simple window wrap to a more detailed and intricate one which would require much more time to do. We again agreed to make the changes, but I informed them at this time that this is the final time we would do this, and if any other changes were to be made, they would be billed accordingly. After this was discussed, Susan had asked if Jeffery could paint the remaining windows to save them money, I did not have an issue with this.
Jeffery kept going up on the roof and inspecting things himself, when he did this, he would dent the metal shingles. And since he has Alzheimer’s he would complain about those dents the following day and tell us to fix them. I asked him repeatedly to stay off the roof and he said ok, but Susan kept informing me that he would go up there after we left for the day. Every time that Jeffery was on the roof, it bothered Susan that he was up there and in our way, but she didn't make him get off. She simply stated to me that since he never listens, if he falls, let him lay there. One of the big arguments during the job was battens. Jeffery insisted that battens had to be installed on the roof before the shingles were installed. I explained to him that this was a batten-less roofing system and that they were not necessary, I even showed him paperwork from the manufacturer that proved this as well. He still argued and insisted, and I had the battens
installed at his request. The three different revisions of the estimate also reflect this. Then after the Metro rep came out, the rep had mentioned that battens were not necessary but they did not affect the roof. Jeffery then accused ReNew Roofing of installing the roof incorrectly and demanded that we tear off the roof, remove the battens, and reinstall the roof, at our expense. Since I had told him from the start that battens were not necessary and that the rep said they did not affect the function or quality of the roof, I did not do this.
There was some caulking that had to be done on the job, and we had caulk that we typically use, but this was not good enough for Jeffery. He requested a special kind of caulk and therefore it was asked of him if he could supply one tube of caulk to finish that minor detail. We finished the job and finished the two minor issues the Metro rep pointed out, and it still wasn’t good enough for Jeffery. The Metro rep that came out even said the roof looked good and that we used better materials then were even recommended. Susan wasn’t happy with this, so she called and asked for a different Metro rep to come out and take a look. This rep did not say the roof needed to be replaced either. So three people, other than ReNew Roofing employees have stated that the roof does not need to be replaced and that it does in fact look good. Two reps from Metro, Chad and Dan Henkel, and my material rep from ABC Supply, Chad LeCount. So even after the roof was finished and the changes were made that the reps pointed out, and even after these reps stated the roof looked good, they were still unhappy and called a number of different roofing companies to have it inspected by these other “competing” companies. After they were able to get a competitor to come out and recommend them to have the roof replaced, Susan contacted Dan Henkel, the Sr. Metro Represtative. After Dan spoke to Susan, I spoke to Dan and he filled me in on the conversation he had with her. He told me that Susan had another company come out and tell them that they needed their roof replaced and she requested that he give them a discount on new shingles. He obviously did not go for this. Dan told her that he was out there, he made short list with minor changes, the items on that list were addressed by ReNew Roofing, and the roof looked good, and any other concerns or issues they have, should be taken up with ReNew Roofing. After final payment, I have not received one call from Susan or Jeffery with any concerns or issues with their roof.
Sincerely,
James Emerson
ReNew Roofing LLC
[protected]@renewroofin.com
[protected]
Our Response to James Emerson
James Emerson of Renew Roofing needs to review the facts of our roofing job. Many of the facts he stated in his response are incorrect.
Yes, there were three revisions to his contract proposals. Wouldn't anyone want their contract in order before signing? This is a wise move for both the contractor and the client.
I signed a roofing contract on May 11, 2015 and gave a down payment of $16, 000. After making two requests I finally received a receipt for this payment on June 8, 2015. I had also asked for a certificate of liability insurance several times and received one for the sub contractor, but never one for the other workers on the job, which were not part of the Affordable Exteriors crew.
We had discussed the use of battens at length. We wanted a cold ventilated roof; our original roof was a hot roof. We were fully aware that these metal shakes needed no battens at all. However, to achieve a cold roof and avoid any ice damning the counter batten system or also known as a “counter batten system would surely do the job” said James Emerson. Battens or no battens is not the problem that is now causing our completely wet roof under the new roofing. Poor and improper installation of the shakes is the total problem.
Note: counter battens were never installed only single horizontal ones which block any undetectable leaks and prevent water from running down and out. This is not rocket science water runs downhill. It also gets trapped by these horizontal strips of wood enabling the water to find the nearest opportunity to leak and rotting underneath material which eventually leads to the degradation of our entire roof system.
The window wraps were to be done on our north and south facing gable ends where there are triangular and odd shaped glass windows. Between each window framing is not just a flat board but a stepped profile style. Before the contract was signed, this was looked at by James Emerson and we all decided the original profile looked best and would be wrapped in metal as is. His usual comment, " no problem". Unfortunately the gentleman he hired to do the wraps found it very difficult and frustrating to figure out the bending. So he tried it flat on the smallest corner window on the south end (we have 8 windows there). He came to ask me what I thought before he continued. First, the color. It was way too bright green and looked inappropriate next to our lower dark hunter green windows. Easy fix. The large roll of metal had brown on the other side. Just turn it over and wrap in brown. No big deal.
Secondly, the flat wrap vs the profile. The small piece that he had wrapped flat looked very bad. It looked cheap next to the profile along with being dented badly where ever he needed to pound in nails. It was not smooth and as straight as we had expected. He said it was hollow underneath because of the profile and this denting could not to be avoided. I believe he was used to just simple flat wraps. I asked him to go with our original plan of our stepped profile.
He tried very hard to make it look right. Although understandably frustrated, I believe he did his best. It is not perfect but barely acceptable. The south gable alone took about six weeks--one or two days a week here and there, whenever he could get here.
The north end gable was never wrapped as we told him we would just stain it instead, due to the length of time the wrapping was taking and the frustration toll it was taking on the gentleman. It was not done to save money. My husband Jeffrey purchased the case of calking sealant he wanted used instead of the product they brought for the job. As a retired hands on handcrafted log home builder, Jeffrey knows what sealant is the strongest and longest lasting. As it stands today, some of the builders calk has already started cracking, coming loose and needs replacing. Upon inspection, critical areas were neglected and left unfinished allowing bats to move into new areas.
The actual roofing job took two days, May 27-28. We were impressed with the speed. However it took two weeks after several requests to have the debris removed.
After the first rain we were definitely no longer impressed. The following two months, June and all of July Renew Roofing returned to apply many "band aids" in several major leak areas. Affordable Exteriors, the original sub contractor that James Emerson hired for the install refused to return for repairs.
Considering the outcome, I truly believe they had no proper training in applying this type of roofing. My husband Jeffrey has Alzheimer's and understandably so, can be very difficult and was at times. But when he is focused on a problem or situation, he definitely knows what is right and what is not. Therefore on the first day of the roofing install, he saw only single horizontal battens being installed under the first course of shakes and after trying to point it out and being “blown off” he became agitated. Alzheimer’s patients who have never used bad language in their lives, may begin to swear when upset. This probably did occur, so I had him apologize.
On June 1, a friend stopped by to see our “new roof". His comments, " what's with your ridges ( there are three) looks like an inch worm, all up and down, not straight or level at all, it looks really terrible.". "If the ridges are bad, what else is bad"? So he went up on the roof, asked for a camera, and took pictures of multiple bad areas. At that point we hadn't a clue as to the scope of problems that existed. He asked about all the “dished and caved in shakes “Jeffrey told him that the head installer from Affordable (Pat Warren) said, " when the sun comes out and heats the shakes, all of these bad shakes would just pop right up". Jeffrey asked “you mean just like canning jar lids" the Pat said “you bet". How ridiculous-no way-the shakes are made of steel.
Our friend then said, “you better get this inspected". So when the rains began, and the leaks began, we felt we had no choice.
So this same day June 1, I called to James Emerson and informed him of our bad leaks. He sent men out to begin what I call the “first fix process”. That night more rain and more new roof leaks.
On June 3, I called the manufacturer of these shakes, " Metro Roof Products". We were referred to the regional rep. The rep requested we e-mail photos and we did.
On June 5 a rep from Metro, ABC Supply, and a roofer named Jeff ( not a part of the original installation crew) sent out by Renew Roofing came out for an inspection. The rep from Metro made suggestions on how certain areas needed correction because they were not installed properly. Many areas were involved.
On June 8 roofers came back to make more repairs. From this date until July 3 different roofers came several times to make more repairs. More rain, more new leaks, more fixes. There seemed to be little to no communication between our contractor James Emerson and his subs. No one was sure of what to do and why. No one seemed to care what the Metro rep had to say. The comment was always the same “we do not to do it that way". The roofer said they do these roofs all the time without any problems There is certainly no indication or proof of this by this roofing job.
From the very beginning we were told that things would be done in a certain order and why. None of that ever happened. By June 27 there were still nine things on the list to repair. On July 2 -3 James Emerson and Pat Warren came out to remove and re install all three ridges and install them properly. They used the same materials just making more screw holes and new places to leak. I will say though, the ridges looked good. Once again they said “all is good". So I paid them another $8000.
On July 6, it rained and we had more new leaks. Again. Worse leaks in new places. So I called the Metro rep again for another inspection. On July 8 Dan Henkle from the Metro came out to see what was happening. Pat warren of ReNew Roofing also came out. Dan wanted the contractor James Emerson to come meet with him but James Emerson refused. Suggestions were once again given for more repairs (including a partial tear off and reroof) I gave a detailed list to Pat Warren who assured me and Dan Henkle that these items would be done as specified. I will say however Dan did give one complement of a good fix that was done properly. This was the third “fix" in that same area however.
On July 18, workers came out for the next phase of “fixes”. It seemed to us that the “Band-Aids” were just being applied. They said “no more leaks now” and I gave them $3000.
July 20, more rain, more leaks. So on July 23, James Emerson and Pat Warren of ReNew Roofing returned for the last “fixes”. They said, “Your roof is perfect and would leak no more”. I made a final payment of $5294.00. I asked them if they would still honor the warranty for our roof for one year, as stated in their contact. “Yes no problem, call us if you have more leaks”.
By July 27, we knew we needed a new roof, as leaks in new and old places persisted with each rainfall. This was not getting any better, just worse.
We could not possibly call them back. A two day install and two months of many fixes. This needed to end. A new and very expensive roof is not only looking good at a glance but still leaking just as good as well. Two distinctly different things. Our wonderful new lifetime roof is now a giant strainer.
On July 30, after an extensive search we found another roofer who has worked with these Metro shakes for over 15 years. He came with tools in hand ready to make the proper repairs. He looked the roof over, lifted and removed many shake panels in many areas (all were wet underneath) and analyzed the other bad areas, made three phone calls and told us our roof was not fixable. “these guys ruined all of these beautiful shakes, your roof must be torn off and totally reroofed “he said. This was very disheartening. He took many pictures and stated that he would be more than willing to share his findings with anyone necessary. Metro has assured us that this new roofer and his crew are experts in installing this product and will give us a perfect result. He will be taking pictures all through this process to document what ReNew roofing contractor did or did not do properly.
My husband Jeffrey researched this Metro type of Shake installation extensively beforehand and knew exactly how and how not to walk on them if he or anyone else needs to go on the roof after the install. He also knew exactly how to properly install this product.
He did find it necessary to go on the roof three or four times to check out the “fixes” and take more pictures and document the improperly repaired and roofed areas. And was able to document that the ReNew Roofing had not followed the Metro Rep(s) recommendations, including a tear off and reroof of one of the most critical areas. Jeffrey is in no way responsible for even one misstep causing the bad “dishing” or crushing problems that James Emerson has accused him of. Jeffrey knows better, why would anyone want to damage your own roof? We have photos of the install crew walking on the shakes improperly during the install. During Jeffrey’s research he also learned the what and how of things for a proper, leak free installation. Such as flashings, closing up gaps, proper placement all required fasteners and the use of high quality polyurethane sealant instead of an inexpensive “homeowner” type of calk.
In Jeffreys trying to share the recommendations by the Metro reps for proper repairs, he was not only ignored, but cussed out. How rude, uncaring and unprofessional towards the homeowners who are paying you big dollars------especially knowing of his Alzheimer’s. Shame on them.
None of the big, critical repairs suggested by Metro were ever done to their specifications, just halfhearted attempts at best. I seriously doubt that anything would have been done by James Emerson and ReNew Roofing had I not contacted Metro corporate and the Metro regional reps for an inspection.
The next homeowner that hires James Emerson, ReNew Roofing or Affordable Exteriors for a steel stone coated roof is in for a big surprise….. and not a very good one at that, if they do not seek professional training for their crews, as well as educating themselves as the business owners.
James Emerson himself was a pleasant likable man who hired an incompetent subcontractor and did admit it was a big mistake. However being the roll of the general contractor he not only needs to take total responsibility but be accountable of a badly botched roofing job and financially compensate the homeowner by making apologies instead of directing blame towards the homeowners.
James Emerson stated in his own handwriting to us on June 27 when we talked about more fixes that needed doing “any other repairs that are necessary to get the job done correctly”. Well James Emerson “correctly” means you need to finance the new roof on our home. We paid you $32, 361 and it will cost us and additional $30, 000 for a tear off and reroof of our new “last roof you will ever need” (James Emerson earlier quote).
I had asked James at that last meeting how he would feel/respond to a contractor who completed a job like this on his own personal, parents, or grandparents home. He did not answer……………. And then “not the way it is now”. James, it is still “not the way it is now”.
As of this writing our insurance company (AAA) has not received the final papers from Renew Roofing. The last thing James Emerson said he would do.
I know this was a lot to read, and we thank you in advance. Our objectives is obviously try and recover some of our loss of having to do the same job twice as well as help protect those that might possibly entertain the idea of contracting either one of these companies for any type of work, not just roofing. Once again, thank you in advance.
