Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU - not paying the roofer?

151 replies

Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 19:31

I have a leak coming in through the roof. I called a roofer last Thursday to come and have a look. He said it could be some mortar that needs re-doing or it could be due to a small gap that he found.

He decided it was best to start with filling in the small gap to see if that was the issue (using no-nonsense roof silicone, so nothing expensive). We agreed on a price of £100 to be paid via Bank transfer. He sent me his bank details a few hours later, but that same evening, it started raining and the leak was still present.

I didn't pay him but messaged him the following morning to let him know that the leak is still present and if I could get a quote for having the mortar re-done in that area, as that was the other thing that the roofer thought might be causing the leak. He said he can re-do the mortar in March, but won't give me a quote for it (or a definite date) and keeps messaging me asking for the £100 for filling in a gap, which didn't even fix the leak!

AIBU to not pay him the £100?

OP posts:
NoBiscuitsLeftInMyTin · 18/01/2023 20:19

I doubt - actually I hope - that he never comes back after the way you’ve treated the poor guy.

CombatBarbie · 18/01/2023 20:19

He was trying to save you money.... He could easily have quoted for the most expensive job first.

OK so he got it wrong but by your words he said "let's try this first". He's done that so he needs to be paid!!

We had a leak, roofer came out and said similar, thankfully it worked, however he charged nothing but we gave him £40 for his time/petrol anyway!

He's not giving you a quote because you haven't paid the first bill.

CombatBarbie · 18/01/2023 20:20

Cross Post.... But my post still stands

Mummyoflittledragon · 18/01/2023 20:20

If this happens again, I would agree to both. You don’t want a gap in your roof even if it isn’t causing problems and if the mortar is degrading that also needs addressing to avoid future problems.

Original poster
Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:21

Mummyoflittledragon · 18/01/2023 20:20

If this happens again, I would agree to both. You don’t want a gap in your roof even if it isn’t causing problems and if the mortar is degrading that also needs addressing to avoid future problems.

Probably the most sensible reply I have had tonight- thank you!

And thank you for not calling me a theif, CF ect...,

OP posts:
EmilyGilmoresSass · 18/01/2023 20:22

Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 19:52

I'm surprised at how many people are calling me a theif?! I called the roofer to fix a leak - he has no call out charge - it was his idea to use silicone to fill in a gap - he said was most likely causing the leak.

I did NOT tell him to do that instead of fixing/ re-doing the mortar - he told me in his professional opinion, the 'small gap' was causing the leak. He told me that he was 90% sure its this 'small gap' causing the leak, and that he would fill it in for £100. He said if that didn't work, he would give me a quote for re-doing the mortar in that area. I have asked him twice now for the quote and he will not provide me with one.

Roofer was found via Google- had decent reviews on Google and yelp.

His idea? He didn't hold you at gunpoint, he offered to try a cheaper option first so that you could avoid the more expensive option unnecessarily. Its not about a call out fee, you, in your own words, AGREED A PRICE OF £100 for him to try the cheaper option first. He did it and by god if I was him I'd take you to small claims for the hell of it. Its people like you that give tradesman a bad name unnecessarily. He has bills etc. and was good and honest enough to try and help you in the cheapest way possible first. Not many would and I hope they don't for you again frankly.

Beautiful3 · 18/01/2023 20:23

Well, you asked him to fix a leak and he hasn't, so why would you pay him?! I'd ignore him now and find someone else. £100 is alot considering

Original poster
Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:26

It's only been a few days and a few messages exchanged - you are all acting as if though it's been months I haven't paid him and I have been harassing him for months!

I have paid him now so you can all stop acting as if though I killed someone!

OP posts:
IhearyouClemFandango · 18/01/2023 20:26

If he 'just wanted to make some money' out of you, he'd have been diagnosing massive issues straight off the bat. But you have paid £100 for all the time spent talking to you about and doing the work. That's not a massive expense. We own a drainage company, sometimes we carry out £1000 of work and still haven't fixed the problem. We still need to be paid! Trades aren't no win no fee.

saltinesandcoffeecups · 18/01/2023 20:28

Glad you paid him. I do agree with a previous poster. A lot of times with type of thing, it’s best get a temp solution while waiting for the permanent solution. Sometimes the temp solution doesn’t work, but you really do want your trades people to give you all options.

Think of it this way, had it worked you would have been singing his praises for giving you a temp fix while you planned for the permanent one.

WeepingSomnambulist · 18/01/2023 20:28

Why would you agree to silicone filling on your roof?
You really ahoups know the basics as a homeowner so you dont agree to have bodge jobs done.

Why didnt he trace the leak? Didnt you ask about that? I had a roofer trace the leak. They can simply go at the roof with a hose, or they can use water with dye in it so they know when that water has come through or hot water and thermal camera. Didnt either of you discuss testing the roof with a hose before he just left after a silicone bodge job?

PorpoiseWithPurpose · 18/01/2023 20:31

WeepingSomnambulist · 18/01/2023 20:28

Why would you agree to silicone filling on your roof?
You really ahoups know the basics as a homeowner so you dont agree to have bodge jobs done.

Why didnt he trace the leak? Didnt you ask about that? I had a roofer trace the leak. They can simply go at the roof with a hose, or they can use water with dye in it so they know when that water has come through or hot water and thermal camera. Didnt either of you discuss testing the roof with a hose before he just left after a silicone bodge job?

OP should’ve contacted you @WeepingSomnambulist and all her roofing problems would be magically solved.

pilates · 18/01/2023 20:33

Glad you paid him but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t rush back

Original poster
Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:39

WeepingSomnambulist · 18/01/2023 20:28

Why would you agree to silicone filling on your roof?
You really ahoups know the basics as a homeowner so you dont agree to have bodge jobs done.

Why didnt he trace the leak? Didnt you ask about that? I had a roofer trace the leak. They can simply go at the roof with a hose, or they can use water with dye in it so they know when that water has come through or hot water and thermal camera. Didnt either of you discuss testing the roof with a hose before he just left after a silicone bodge job?

It's hard to find a roofer that even responds to an initial message, never mind someone who will do the above you have mentioned. I live in a main city and it has taken me over 5 months to get to where I am - a silicone repair and a roof that is still leaking!

OP posts:
Coffeellama · 18/01/2023 20:42

Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:26

It's only been a few days and a few messages exchanged - you are all acting as if though it's been months I haven't paid him and I have been harassing him for months!

I have paid him now so you can all stop acting as if though I killed someone!

No we weren’t acting like you had killed someone, we were acting like you were planning to refuse to pay someone for work done and making out like you didn’t owe the money. Glad you sent the payment, fingers crossed he does return and fix the problem for you

Original poster
Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:42

I bet if I had the opposite issue and made a thread asking for advice after paying a roofer to fix a leak, and it was still leaking, everyone would respond telling me how stupid I am for paying him and not waiting for rain first to see if the leak had been fixed!

OP posts:
TinySaltLick · 18/01/2023 20:42

Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:01

All those people telling me to pay him - I called him out to fix a leak, he didn't fix it. I didn't call him out to inspect my roof for the fun of it and fill in random small gaps (that he could just have been making up).

He had no call out charge. Part of me thinks he just made up the small gap, so that he could make some money out of me.

What if I pay him now and he doesn't turn up in March to re-do the mortar? What if I pay him 100's more to re-do the mortar and the leak is still there?

His job was to fix the leak and it was him who said filling in the 'gap' would most likely make the leak stop. If he had told me that the 'gap' is not the issue, its the mortar, I would have told him to leave the gap and just go straight to redoing the mortar.

Just to answer this bit - if you pay 100s more for mortar and leak is still there, then it is the same situation. Certain things can be really hard to diagnose and you are paying for a person to attempt to fix it for you - but as others have said unless they give some sort of guarantee (which you might get with a brand new roof for instance) then it really is just picking a reputable person and hoping the fix works. All you are doing is paying for their time and experience.

It is a massive pain and the roof can be a total nightmare, water ingress can be really hard to work out sometimes, good luck!

DottieUncBab · 18/01/2023 20:43

Pay him! It sounds like he was pretty clear that it may not solve the leak but you still agreed that he could give it a go.

Teaandtoast3 · 18/01/2023 20:44

You agreed with the plan so you pay him. If you weren’t happy with the plan you should have said at the time before he did it.

SeeYouNextTLol · 18/01/2023 20:52

FFS. People who post AIBU and don’t accept the feedback if it is not to their liking. Don’t fucking post in the first place then!!! 🤫

corcaithecat · 18/01/2023 20:53

I would expect an experienced and competent professional to find and fix the problem, not to keep trying any old bodge until something worked.

Lialou · 18/01/2023 20:56

Notjusta · 18/01/2023 20:02

Imagine your boss says to you "Hey Advice, I've got this problem, can you try to fix it please?" You come up with two possible solutions and agree with your boss which you will try first. You implement the solution but it doesn't work. Your boss then refuses to pay you for the time you spent implementing the solution. Ok or not ok?

This

Original poster
Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:56

SeeYouNextTLol · 18/01/2023 20:52

FFS. People who post AIBU and don’t accept the feedback if it is not to their liking. Don’t fucking post in the first place then!!! 🤫

I have accepted the feedback and have paid him.

What I don't accept is all of the horrible names people have called me, which is completely un- called for.

OP posts:
Lialou · 18/01/2023 20:56

DottieUncBab · 18/01/2023 20:43

Pay him! It sounds like he was pretty clear that it may not solve the leak but you still agreed that he could give it a go.

Also this

Lialou · 18/01/2023 20:57

Adviceisneeded1 · 18/01/2023 20:42

I bet if I had the opposite issue and made a thread asking for advice after paying a roofer to fix a leak, and it was still leaking, everyone would respond telling me how stupid I am for paying him and not waiting for rain first to see if the leak had been fixed!

Or they'd simply say "what did you agree to, oh you agreed to trying that first well what are you complaining for then"