Outstanding character and integrity. It's easy to earn a great review when everything goes right. Very few can claim the same after an experience such as what I share here. If you're looking for a great roofer that stands behind their word, Luis and L&R Roofing should be your choice.
From Yelp, I interviewed 14 roofers. Luis was the first I met. He told me that the best solution in my case was to replace the existing three roofing systems with a foam roof. All the other roofers agreed.
Regarding cost, Luis was in the middle of all quotes. Which is exactly where he said he'd be. He explained that he understands his market and prices fairly for a great product. He went on to explain how important his reputation is and how he focuses first on customer results knowing that profits will follow. Little did we know at the time just how much his words would be put to the test!
Since my home also had quite a bit of drywall repair on the ceilings going on, the underside of the roof could be seen in many areas from inside the house. Showing Luis this, I negotiated with him. Since his bid was in the middle and higher than my lowest bid, I suggested that I'd give him the business but asked in return that he include all wood that needs to be replaced. From my perspective, being on a very tight budget, I wanted to limit my risk while choosing a quote that wasn't the lowest. Being able to see so much of the roof top and bottom and wanting to help me out, Luis agreed.
Due to my business travel, I requested the crew begin upon my return. I wanted to be there to understand and inspect the roof wood with Luis.
As I rolled up to my house after my trip I found a roofing crew started early. They had already torn off the old roof and were just finishing spraying on the foam roof. Oh no!!! I stopped them and discovered that in addition to not addressing a number of items discussed with Luis, they hadn't replaced any of the roof's wood.
The crew made an honest mistake. They showed me what Luis had texted them. He properly told them what needed to happen, but they did not fully understand the importance of the start date until they read his note again. Luis came over and first suggested that we tear off the foam just in the areas that we think had the largest issues. Seeing my non-verbal response, Luis smiled and said, Ok Jack, I get it...we'll start over. Without fighting, without being ugly, without being anything but a good man wanting to do the right thing, Luis in that moment committed to expanding a 2-3 day job to at least 6. In that moment, I thought to myself, This job just became a financial loss for Luis.
For 2 days, the crew worked tirelessly removing the new foam. It was hard work. Yet, they always were cheerful and apologetic that they had made the mistake. After all the foam was off, I went up on the roof and to my somewhat horror, found the plywood underneath to be generally speaking...all in terrible condition. The crew even mentioned to me how bad the wood was and that they too felt that a lot or even all of it needed to go. Even to the extent that perhaps it's the worst they've ever seen. Dread I thought. Luis agreed to replace all wood that needed it and by the looks of it, ALL of it might need to be replaced. With that prospect, I contacted my brother-in-law. He's a supervisor on custom home construction sites. A good man with a flair for no-BS. I wanted to be fair to Luis so I needed a knowledgeable person to advise me on what needed to be done. Early in the morning, he and I went on the roof. A few walks around and he said, Jack, this is all crap and needs to be replaced. So you understand, think about walking on plywood that is so dilapidated that you need to watch your step so you don't fall through.
My heart sank. Now, I would need to go to Luis and hope he would honor our agreement to replace 'all' the wood. Luis and I spoke by phone. Naturally, he was disappointed, but in that moment where a person has a number of options and ways to wiggle out of what was agreed, he didn't. He essentially said that he made a deal that he probably should not had made, but would stand by his word. He said, Jack, I want you to be happy and I want you to feel as though we delivered what was promised. If you've read this far, I truly hope you understand the character and integrity it takes to say something like what Luis chose to say.
In the end, the crew replaced 70 sheets of plywood, put down an amazing roof and were the nicest group of workers a homeowner could ask for. True to his word, the original contract price never changed!
I truly hope this review makes it easy for you to choose L&R Roofing. Luis jokingly has assured me that he'll never deviate his negotiations this much from his standard business practices again. However, while you might not get the same 'deal' I'm sure you'll get the same value, character and integrity.
Thanks Luis!
Jack D.