Yesterday I gave you a little sneak peek into my experience when I hired Cambridge Exteriors to replace my roof (post HERE). But today you get the full story.  Let’s just jump right in to my Angie’s List review.

I feel like I got so ripped off! The roofing estimate I got from this company was thousands more than others but I was convinced by owner Marc Somer’s high pressure sales pitch that I was going to get such superior quality with his products and workmanship that it was well worth the money.  It was such a lie.

I told Marc upfront that I have a DIY blog and I am very particular AND that I have a big mouth and would tell everyone I know if I am not satisfied with the job. He laughed and said that would never be an issue with him.  But the work was terrible.  You don’t have to be at all particular to see how bad his work was. Big globs of silicone instead of flashing, uneven roof tiles, exposed nail lines, and that was just what I could see without a ladder.  Look at the pictures to see for yourself.

I posted pictures of his finished work on FB and my friends ask if my 5 year old son installed my roof. It was that bad.  I called to say I wasn’t happy with the roof and Marc returned my call promptly, but he was very defensive.  He came out to see what was wrong (and to complete the job because he had not been paid yet) and his whole attitude was very unprofessional.  I showed him some of the issues I had and his response was, “Is that it?”   He said, “the roof wasn’t bad”  and repeatedly told me I was being too picky.   His excuse was that his team must have done a rush job at the end of the day.  But there was no project manager here, so he wouldn’t know, and that is a pitiful excuse anyway.  He also stated several times that the issues weren’t he roofs fault, it was my siding’s fault.  Yet my old roof had none of these issues.There is nothing good I found about this company. Project manager James was here just long enough to tell me I should move my flower pots if I thought they’d get broken, then he left a crew of non-English speakers here all day with no one supervising. That was a few days ago and my one-day job is still not finished.  When confronted, Marc apologized on Jame’s behalf and said that he had given James too much to do that day and he was running around to too many projects.  Hmm.  Another poor excuse.

The crew also left a complete mess! They removed two skylights from my screened porch and never cleaned any of the nails, shingles or other debris that was ALL OVER my couch, table, rug, everything.After they left, I discovered that they split a 20 year old hydrangea in half and instead of telling me, just tied to the two pieces together and left it.  They also butchered the wood pergola on my back deck.  They never asked if they could cut anything and even if I had given them permission I wouldn’t expect it to look like such crap.  Totally unprofessional!  And there’s no way to fix it without replacing the whole thing.Project manager Ray did some exterior work replacing the dryer vent and although he was very nice, his work was very sloppy (see picture). I am so mad I wasted my money when I should have gone with one of the cheaper estimates. Don’t be fooled!!  What’s going to happen when I have a problem?  I can just imagine trying to get them to fix anything now that they have their money.  When someone looks me right in the face and lies, I have a very hard time believing anything he says.  What a nightmare of an experience.  If only I could go back in time and choose a different company I would.

What happened with my gutter epitomizes Marc’s work ethic and I find it horrifying that he does what he does for a living.   When he asked for the 10th time for payment (while his guys were still finishing up) I walked around the house to take another look.  I asked about the gutter he was supposed to replace, as per his estimate.  He said they re-pitched the existing one instead of replacing it and to let him know if that worked and if not he’d put on a new one. Are you kidding me?  First of all that was a lie.  Nobody moved that gutter.  The pitch was never the problem and there was ZERO evidence that anything had been changed.  If you raise a gutter there is going to be a dirt line.  And even if you did adjust it, which you didn’t, that is not what I was paying for.  I was paying for a new gutter.  After I told him I was going to withhold $1,000 he called his gutter guy who is supposedly coming out next week.  I still can’t believe his nerve.

This company has great reviews on Angie’s list, and A+ with the BBB, and is Master Elite Certified with GAF.  How??? It must be all friends and family leaving bogus reviews. I’ve also heard from other roofers that he’s changed the name of his company a few times.  Hmm.  He likes to charge premium price for work is very substandard and he doesn’t even care.  He offered me no discount and was resistant to “fixing” his mistakes. Thank goodness I didn’t pay him upfront!  Here’s a tip — quality work means you do it right the first time, even when nobody is looking or wouldn’t know the difference.  Then you can take pride in your work and you don’t have to lie to your customers’ faces.  Saying you’ll come out and make it right or fix it is not the same as doing it right to begin with.  I so wish I had read the other reviews on here.  Your response to the guy with the leaking skylights was basically, hey I’m not sorry for my terrible work but I did send someone back out to redo the terrible work after your skylights flooded, so I don’t know why you’re complaining.  He’s complaining because IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!

This was how Marc “fixed” the glob of silicone next to my front door.  When I complained about the silicone he asked if I wanted him to take those shingles off and cut new ones to fit properly or did I want him to install flashing.  I said I wanted it done correctly.  He only asked me if I approved of this horrendous, giant piece of trim after it had been caulked to the brick.  Doesn’t leave me much choice now does it.  It looks horrible.  And my followers on FB agree.

This is the response written by Cambridge Exteriors on Angie’s List:

We are sorry that you are unhappy with our services. We are reviewing your complaints and working towards a resolution offline. In effort to assure you that your roof has been completed by a licensed and qualified contractor that stands by their workmanship, we have upgraded your warranty to a Golden Pledge Warranty, and a GAF representative will be out to inspect the products and workmanship to assure you that your new roof has been completed to the highest of standards.

Cambridge Exteriors LLC has been in business since 2003 under the name Cambridge Exteriors LLC. The numerous reviews on Angie’s List and GAF.com were not made by the contractor nor by friends and family. These reputable sites require memberships to ensure accurate customer feedback. We encourage others to visit these sites and see the many positive reviews about our company.

Link to our GAF profile:
http://www.gaf.com/Roofing/Residential/Contractors/Profile/ME12658

Thank you.

Cambridge Exteriors LLC

If you recall from yesterday’s post I couldn’t find a way to leave a review on the GAF website, which just goes to show you that Marc has complete control over what is posted there.

And this is the letter I received in the mail from their lawyer yesterday.  Really???Not exactly the meaning of, “We are reviewing your complaints and working towards a resolution offline.”  What do you think?