Faulty Construction

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My house was built in the Fall of 2003. I had dimensional asphalt shingles put on, which are rated for 80mph winds. This past Friday, we had wind gusts of between 40-50mph, and I had about a 10'x10' section of shingles blown off my house.

I had a roofer (who subcontracts for my original builder) come out and look at the damage. I asked him why the shingles failed, and with one glance at a shingle that had fallen off, he was able to tell me. Apparently the original roofer who put the shingles on my house didn't nail them down in the proper position. Instead of going through the overlapping part of the shingle, the nails were driven behind that overlapped section through only 1 layer. This voids the warranty on my shingles - I have confirmed this fact with the shingle manufacturer. Also, more than likely this happened everywhere on my roof.

The roofer who told me this didn't work for my builder at the time my house was built, but now he depends on the business from that builder, so he doesn't want to get in the middle of any dispute. The builder already told this roofer that I would be responsible for the cost of any work that needs to be done, since my home is outside of my original 1-year limited warranty. In fact, the builder was quite angry with the roofer that he told me exactly why my shingles failed.

I haven't personally talked to my builder since I found all this out, because I'm weighing all the different options I have in front of me. I'd like to think that he should be at least partially responsible for what happened. Even though I'm outside of my home's warranty, their faulty construction and lack of job-site supervision is costing me a lot of money on something that should last for the next 20 years. Do I have any legal recourse in this situation? Is it worth talking to a local attorney, or am I completely out of luck?

Thanks for any opinions you can give.

This is what I would do:

1. Have the roof inspected by a third(independant) party to see how much of the roof was improperly installed.

2. Get an estimate to repair the roofing that was installed incorrectly. (This may mean a complete new roof job).

3. Calculate your usage of the 20 year roof --- 3 yrs of 20 yrs.

4. Subtract your portion of the usage and approach the builder for the remainder.

5. If your builder doesn't respond or you can't come to some agreement, go to the Better Business Bureau and see if the builder will mediate thru them.

6. If not, (most likely), Sue the builder in court

Since this is likely to take time for all these steps, it would be wise for you to have someone temporarily repair your roof which you will probably have to pay.

Thanks, CraigFL for your response. That certainly seems like a reasonable path to take. I guess I'm just concerned that I won't be able to sue, since poor workmanship was specifically covered only under the 1-year warranty. Is this true, or would I really have that option?

Thanks again for your quick reply!