09/14/2026
Hello, homeowners.
I’d like you to take a look at this roof we completed Friday.
This homeowner had put her trust in the wrong contractor. He presented himself as both a mason and a roofer, but some of the work he performed actually created new problems and increased the leaks in her home.
He told her he was going to do a full rebuild of the chimney from the roof up, including rebuilding the chimney crown. Neither of those things happened. Instead, he poured leftover mortar over the existing crown, leaving cracks and open mortar joints that had never been properly addressed, despite the homeowner paying for partial rebuilding and tuckpointing.
The roof had also been laid over rather than properly replaced, with the low-slope section improperly installed over the existing shingles. There were already nails coming through the new roofing, and the transitions were done incorrectly, with lower sections installed over higher sections. You can already see where the granules were collecting at those transitions.
There was also no proper soffit ventilation, and the gutters had been damaged during the previous installation.
This is where proper inspection and proper workmanship matter.
Before we started this project, I knew exactly what we were dealing with. We removed the roofing down to the original decking, replaced decking where needed, installed new pipe boots, installed new chimney flashing, and properly counterflashed the chimney into ground-out mortar joints rather than fastening into and onto the brick.
On the low-slope section, we installed a proper three-ply modified bitumen system with no cross seams, designed for that application.
We also addressed the chimney. We’re not masons, so rather than pretending to be one, we used the appropriate masonry caulk to seal the neglected mortar joints and sealed and painted the chimney crown to help protect the existing cracks and prevent further water intrusion.
We repaired and reinforced the existing gutters that had been damaged, and we added the soffit ventilation the roof was missing.
The point of this isn’t to bash another contractor. It’s to show you the difference between simply putting roofing material on a house and actually understanding the system you’re working on.
A roof is much more than shingles. The decking, flashing, ventilation, transitions, penetrations, drainage, and the materials being used all matter. When one part is done incorrectly, it can create problems somewhere else.
And this is exactly why I tell homeowners not to automatically assume the lowest bid is the best deal. Sometimes you’re getting a great price. Sometimes you’re getting less work, cheaper materials, shortcuts, or someone who simply doesn’t understand what they’re doing.
Know what you’re buying. Know what materials are being used. Know what is actually included in the scope of work. And most importantly, know who you’re trusting with your home.
At Arete, we take that responsibility seriously.
We’re an Owens Corning Preferred Contractor, and every Owens Corning roof we install comes with 50 years of 100% material coverage and 10 years of workmanship coverage., backed by Owen's Corning themselves.
We don’t believe in cutting corners just to get the number down.
We believe in doing the job correctly, using the right system for the right application, and leaving your home better than we found it.
Be careful out there, homeowners.
And remember, Arete = Excellence.
