Let It Rain, Ltd.

Everyone in our neighbourhood has had the roof done over the past couple of years. Fortunately, ours lasted a bit longer. That said, most of the companies I saw made me nervous. Only about 20% of them wore safety harnesses and several did not install the shingles correctly, even according to my basic understanding of the process. I also gathered that many companies are fly-by-night or otherwise unhelpful in the long term. I heard about Let It Rain (LIR) on the radio, and looked them up here and on Renomark. We had about five estimates done by various companies. LIR's estimator showed up on time and was the only one to park legally. That might seem like a small thing, but the attention to detail was consistent throughout the process. I was given accurate and honest information and advice based on my actual needs and desired price range. The estimator gave addresses of other, local homeowners who had work done by LIR. When I spoke to them, they remembered him and their experience with the company. They told me that their dealings with the company were professional and that months/years later, the workmanship had held up in every way, as expected.
The materials were delivered on time, and work began on time, as scheduled. The installers were extremely polite and responsive to any questions raised. They wore their safety harnesses and appeared to install the roof correctly, according to my understanding of the process. They installed an extra vent to ensure that the attic was properly ventilated, as explained by the estimator. At one point, it appeared to me that one small area was slightly uneven, and they redid it immediately. The completed the job on time. The clean-up was excellent. As we have small people and animals here, I went over the whole property with a rake, listening for nails. I only found six, which I consider remarkable considering the amount of material removed and cleaned up. Apart from that, there was one tiny shingle fragment and a strip of plastic wrap. They removed the bin the same day. (The bin was on tires, so it did not damage the driveway.) The swept the driveway and removed everything they could reasonably be expected to find. I point these little things out to contrast our experience when the neighbours on either side had their roofs done. In both cases, large chunks of shingles fell on our plants and damaged them. There was a bunch of plastic left on both lawns, several full shingles, nails, and handfuls of grit from the old shingles. I checked carefully and not a speck was left on our neighbours' lawns by LIR, and I was extremely pleased with the way our property was protected and respected.
One of my biggest concerns about having this work done was that the company would stand behind it and repair any damage that might occur in the process. It would appear that when our skid of roofing materials was delivered by a third party (not LIR), that company apparently accidentally broke a brick on our garage with the forklift prong. I didn't notice it until about two weeks after paying for the job, but it was quite clear what had happened. I called LIR, explained the issue, and sent a few pictures to show the damage. By this point, I shouldn't have been surprised, but they were extremely responsive. Again, I had paid and consequently had no real leverage, but they carefully noted my concerns and a supervisor responded within 48 hours with a plan. I can't say exactly, but the repair was done within about a week from my first contact with them about the damage. In fact, they not only fixed the brick, but patched a crack in the garage foundation, as well. The affected area literally now looks better than it did before the damage occurred.
I have rarely been treated as well by any company, and each person I interacted with at LIR gave me the same courteous and effective service. We have since had some very heavy rains during which I checked in the attic to be sure, and everything seems to be working properly. Given the way everything was done, I should not need a new roof for many years. However, in the process of having the brick repaired, I learned that LIR does other types of projects and renovations. While I'm not in the market for that right now, they will definitely be my first call in the future, should the need arise. I have told our family and friends about our exceedingly positive experience with LIR. In fact, some of our neighbours have asked about our experience and the price. As it turns out, they were quite angrily unsatisfied with their experience and results. We paid only very slightly more than they did for very similar roofing jobs. Money very well spent, in my opinion. If I'm not mistaken, they think so, too!