Published: February 27, 2009 11:24 pm      

Roofing scavengers prey on city

EDMOND — Roofing scavengers preyed upon Edmondites like vultures after the Feb. 10 tornado ripped through the city leaving millions of dollars worth of damage, money that hungry out-of-state companies saw as an opportunity.

Builders, roofers and other repair companies swamped the area as early as 6 a.m. the day after trying to sell roofs, tree clearing, debris clean up and other repair services.

“I’ve seen trucks from Minnesota, Florida, Texas, ...,” said Damon Schulz, Crown Roofing and Construction project manager.

The Kanalys North Country addition residents, who did not enjoy the benefits of being protected by wrought iron gates as their fellow Edmondites in Oak Tree, were greeted at their doors by at least 50 solicitors, if not more.

“We were inundated by people driving up and wanting to give bids,” said resident Greg Wright.

He said all the door-to-door soliciting made his wife so nervous they called the police to see if they would occasionally drive by to make sure everything was OK.

“There were a lot of people coming from out of state,” Wright said.

Rick Earley, another resident, said he had at least 50 contractors and crew knock on his door. He said he turned them all away because 30 minutes after the tornado he contacted his Shelter Insurance company, which found him a local contractor to look at all the damage to their house and property.

Local roofers said there is a lot of risk that comes along with hiring out-of-state contractors.

“These guys won’t take no for an answer,” said Stacy Caldwell, an Edmond Memorial graduate and president of Crown Roofing and Construction. “These guys are professionals. They’ll low bid jobs.”

Steve Collyar, owner of Red River Roofing and Construction, said these companies come in with low bids because they use cheaper and lower-quality materials that result in a roof that has leak hazards and doesn’t last as long as it should.

“Some people don’t understand that putting on a roof is not just nailing down shingles,” he said. “Local contractors are going to be more interested in installing a roof correctly.”

Many owners of out-of-state companies often hire out crews to do the job and don’t oversee the project, he said.

Both Caldwell and Collyar said they manage their own projects, as do a lot of local companies. Caldwell said local companies have reputations to keep if they want to compete in the local market.

Earley and Wright both hired Oklahoma contractors and said they are pleased with the work that has been done. While Early went with the contractor the insurance company recommended, Wright handpicked four contractors for different jobs on his property.

He said he thoroughly researched each and every one. Wright said he had many offers that were too good to be true, including a bid that was $2,500 less than what the insurance allowed.

“Most of the roofers were about right at what the insurance companies allowed,” Wright said.

He said he made contractors give him a material list, the quality of metal they would use and a breakout of labor costs. He said one painter bid lower than the others but the bid only included one coat of paint while the others offered two coats of paint, scraping and white- washing.

“It’s hard to get someone reputable if they won’t tell you exactly what they’re going to do,” Wright said.

Collyar said many of these companies give what he calls “tail light warranties,” which means despite what they promise they are done once their tail lights no longer can be seen. The result is a hastily repaired or newly built roof that is prone to leaks and other mishaps that an out-of-state company no longer is around to fix. Collyar said his company actually has a trained department that focuses solely on maintenance and repair.

“When it’s all said and done, you’ll have the local company to be here to fix it,” Schulz said.

Caldwell said local roofing companies also should be aware of out-of-state companies. He said in the past he has been offered $200,000, which he declined, to lease his businesses name and contact information from an out-of-state company, but knows a lot of roofers that did it. Caldwell said in these situations the out-of-state company does the job quickly and leaves, which leaves the responsibility of any roofing mishaps to the local company that didn’t even do the project.

Caldwell said he even knows of one case where the out-of-state company used the leased name of the local company to buy supplies on credit and then left town without paying, which left the local company responsible.



cbryce@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 112