Poor roofing job

[tube_guy]

In April of 2007, we hired a roofing contractor to reshingle the roof of our home. In August of 2009, the roof had a major leak and the resulting water infiltration damaged the ceiling inside our house. The contractor would not fix the problem as he believed the problem was not with his workmanship. We repaired the roof and determined that the leaky flashing was not installed according to the roofing shingle manufacturer's specifications. The flashing was smaller than the minimum flashing size specified by the manufacturer of the roofing shingles so I believe that the contractor is responsible for the leak. We are planning to take the contractor to court for the cost of the repairs. Unfortunately, we are facing a couple of thousand dollars in repair costs for the ceiling inside our home and we don't have the money to pay for these repairs right now. My question is do the repairs have to be completed and paid for prior to taking the contractor to court or is it acceptable to take the contractor to court for an amount that is based on another contractor's estimate for the cost of the ceiling repair? Thank you for your time and your courtesy.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

In April of 2007, we hired a roofing contractor to reshingle the roof of our home. In August of 2009, the roof had a major leak and the resulting water infiltration damaged the ceiling inside our house. The contractor would not fix the problem as he believed the problem was not with his workmanship. We repaired the roof and determined that the leaky flashing was not installed according to the roofing shingle manufacturer's specifications. The flashing was smaller than the minimum flashing size specified by the manufacturer of the roofing shingles so I believe that the contractor is responsible for the leak. We are planning to take the contractor to court for the cost of the repairs. Unfortunately, we are facing a couple of thousand dollars in repair costs for the ceiling inside our home and we don't have the money to pay for these repairs right now. My question is do the repairs have to be completed and paid for prior to taking the contractor to court or is it acceptable to take the contractor to court for an amount that is based on another contractor's estimate for the cost of the ceiling repair? Thank you for your time and your courtesy.

In order to win any civil action, you need to prove (with a preponderance of evidence) both liability and damages.

You will have to convince the court that the contractor is liable for your damages, and you will have to prove the amount of those damages.

A quote from a contractor is evidence of damages that the court will weigh. An invoice from a contractor is better evidence. Submitting three estimates is good too.

Since you refused to answer the question posed about your state, I will leave it up to you to determine if your claim can be handled through a small claims court in your state.

 

[tube_guy]

Thank you very much for the reply. We are located in Rhode Island. Based on some online investigation, it seems that there is a $2500 upper limit on small claims court cases in our state. I was planning to handle the matter through small claims court provided the damages are less than that dollar amount.