Roof & Exterior Restoration


September 20, 2015

Project went extremely well!!   
It was a large hail damage job (70 sq roof alone), in a rural area, and took approximately 5 weeks to finish 98% of the job. Then, as backordered parts arrived, the owner, Mike Pittman, called or emailed to clear a time to come out and either he or 1-2 of the crew came back to finish the remaining details. I was onsite (but out of the way) everyday, in case anyone had specific questions as work progressed, or needed anything.  The crew size varied anywhere from 2-7 (depending on what work was being done that day).  Jim, the roofing foreman, was very knowledgable and had a “good eye” for straight lines and overseeing his crew’s work.  You could tell this crew had worked together for some time.  At the end of each roofing day, Jim always walked around the house, picking up all trash, nails (both manually and with magnet rollers).  I was very impressed with his oversight and personal attention!  The roofing crew did a very beautiful job: no nails showing (and I have personally been up on our roof several times looking around).  They installed with straight lines (and our roof is more than a 100 feet long w/o turns/interruptions…not easy to keep straight)..and they did a small but attractive detail: they carried the shingle edges about 3/4 inch over the wood frame edge on the gable ends…a very nice clean detail!
Every single crew member was very polite, respectful of property, bushes, parking arrangements, trash, even stacking items into piles before leaving every afternoon.  When my husband and I designed this house, I was the “general contractor” for the entire process; here everyday and oversaw all work, questions and changes.  I have experience with contractors and I admit, I am impressed with Mike Pittman and his entire crew.  I have a very discerning eye when it comes to straight lines (the guys were amazed how I could notice even minor crooked/uneven lines  from the ground).  If there was something I wanted adjusted, I only had to ask and they did without complaint. Frankly, I learned a few new things too: such as how poorly installed my dormer windows were originally.  I was so very impressed with both Tyler and Travis’ complete attention to detail, making sure to multi layer seal around windows as well as wall seams where dormer wall to roof floor meets.  And on fascia metal: they even bent the corners into a cleanly finished ends. Attention was paid to all the details.
Mike Pittman’s motto:  “He wants his customers happy (because happy customers come back and they refer to their friends.)”…and he puts his actions behind those words!  He is a hard working young businessman with many years of roofing experience.  He is trying to expand his business into storm damage repair; offering multiple kinds of repairs, not just roofing…which makes it easier on his clients (and frankly easier when dealing with insurance and banking paperwork too). Mike does/can work with your insurance if you wish; I however, handled it myself.

  • 1.   He hires very experienced staff (talking to the guys, I was amazed by the wide range of experience these guys had).  I knew I was in good hands; and they could work through any kind of a problem, should one arise.
  • 2.   He possesses a “rare quality” in most contractors: Mike both LISTENS to what his client says/wants/needs AND he can EXPLAIN how the process works (in simple terms), which might put older people or worried clients “at ease”. I value this personal trait most, because you, as a client, knows what to expect, and if there is a problem, he comes and talks out options with you.
3.   He’s reliable, honest and upfront and I found I could trust he would do what he said he would: he honored his committments…and if for some reason, he couldn’t make an appointment, he called or emailed.
4.   Long term: I feel confident, that should I have any problems down the road, I will not have any problem getting him back on site.  He (and his staff) takes great pride in their work and finished product.  Everyday, as they were finishing up, I took out drinks and we talked a bit before they left.  I personally noticed that every single one of them looked back up at their work, as we talked, looking to see if they missed anything  (basically, assessing their work from a distance).  That’s reassuring these days.
Bank inspector’s remarks:  My inspector was here for a little over an hour, looking over the entire site.  We then talked about specific details on the job and how things were done.  She admitted before leaving that she knew when she started down our driveway that it was a “quality job” and it was verified as she inspected the job. Moreover, she told me that she very impressed that I was so happy with the outcome and that it was obvious to her that we (Mike Pittman and I) established a good working relationship, because my attitude gave her the impression that the ordeal went smoothly (which it did).  Also, when I called the bank, to get a copy of the inspection report, even the person I spoke with was somewhat surprised to see that the report came back 100% completed; which apparently is unusual for the first inspection done.
No job can go 100% perfect (we life in the real world).  The ONLY “con” I can think of to list; (which Mike corrected with a “pro”)…was being a little late on ordering supplies (specifically siding).  Missouri had ALLOT of hail damage this year, so ALL roofers were swamped all summer.  I’m sure that was the case with Mike’s schedule before arriving on our job site; and most likely the reason siding supplies weren’t ordered a little sooner.  Unfortunately, when he was ordering the siding, several days before they were to arrive onsite, he found that our siding had been discontinued.  Mike called me as soon as he knew, and we both started calling suppliers and checking warehouses for the small amount I needed.  We felt we found an acceptable match, but it happened to be a shade of white not normally stocked locally, so it had to be shipped from out of state and took time to arrive in the area.  I don’t profess to understand ordering routines, but had we known even a week sooner, it likely could have shaved 2-3 days off the overall length of time on the site.  This was not a problem for me, I only mention it because unexpected delays can happen.  Mike handled it very professionally;  he even called around to find a sample, then drove out of his way (into IL) to pick up a sample piece of the siding he found, then drove to our house which is half way through the state of Missouri…JUST so I could look at and approve the color, texture and size of the design, before he ordered what we needed. Obviously, he went out of his way to make sure that we would get an acceptable replacement.  How many other contractors would give almost a day’s time to making sure the client was happy with the replacement?  This “ordering a little late” was the ONLY issue I can think of to mention, and it was very minor!  He apologized for not finding out the siding had been discontinued sooner, then he went out of his way to correct it and make sure I was happy and we wouldn’t have any further delays due to poor product match.  (A+ in handling, quick thinking and effort).
Overall, Mike and his entire crew did their very best to make the repairs easy on me, our property, while keeping me happy during the process and making sure that the job they were hired to do was done to my satisfaction. I would/will hire them again, NO DOUBT!!  This probably sounds silly, but after five weeks of working, I was a little sad to see them go.  They are truly good hearted young men who do quality work.
Anne Knaus

Comments are closed.