Retired middle school teacher Jeff Terbush called Josh Tirey Roofing Home Enhancement Specialist based in Liberty Twp. last week because he was concerned about damage to his gutters.
“I noticed huge chunks of ice in them … and they were sagging,” said Terbush.
An expert inspected his roof and told him, “I had premature aging to my shingles and explained I don’t have the ventilation system working exactly right.”
Poor ventilation and ice damming are two common issues according to Josh Tirey, president of the company. He says when snow on roofs thaw and refreeze it causes a lot of problems for homeowners.
“You have ice over the top of water and that water has nowhere to go but back in,” said Tirey. “The roof can cause rotting of the wood decking, the insulation can get wet and once the insulation’s wet it loses its heat preventative (ability).”
He encourages homeowners to be proactive so they’re “not frantic” when they call professionals. Ceiling spots are red flags that professional help is needed.
“Before winter time make sure you have proper ventilation that’s functioning, not prematuring your current roofing systems, make sure all the flashings are up to par,” said Tirey.
He estimates the average cost for a new roof is between $8,000 to $12,000, and new gutter system costs between $1,500 to $2,500.
Terbush, who taught 30 years for Middletown City Schools, said he’ll “have peace of mind” when it’s all fixed.
ROOFING SCAMS
Middletown Division of Police investigated two people who claimed to be professional roofers during the past six months. Lt. Scott Reeve said Clive Brown called Detective Richard Bush because he paid Gilbert Fletcher $3,000 to fix his roof but Fletcher has not performed the work.
Fletcher was charged with theft on Aug. 13 and was ordered by Middletown Municipal Court to pay restitution to Brown.
“They will go to somebody’s house and collect the money but never start the job or go there tear some shingles off, kind of claiming the job then move on and try to get another job right away and never go back to complete the work they started,” said Reeve.
He warns residents to be cautious about someone who goes door-to-door and offers to fix your roof.
“Check with the Better Business Bureau or your local chamber of commerce to see if that person you’re dealing with is a reputable person,” said Reeve. “Of all the professions we deal with and have to investigate, roofing is number one. We don’t get complaints or investigate plumbers or contractors but roofers we do get a lot of complaints about.”
Police have open investigations involving three roofers. And just last week Reeve said a member of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office stopped by Middletown police to ask about a possible roofing scam in Franklin.
Reeve says roofing scam cases are difficult to prove in criminal court, “because there is an agreement between both parties and there are so many legitimate reasons a roofing company would be running behind on work. Most of the time people will be told to take the company to civil court to get their money back. On a few cases we will try to proceed with criminal charges; especially if we receive multiple complaints on the same roofer and there appears to be a pattern of fraud.”
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