roofer vs me - who's screwing who?

Factual Questions
1

I bought a house last year, and the roof was in awful shape, so we had a roofing company do a tear-off and put a brand new roof on.

Now, I live in Los Angeles, and with the record rains we had recently, we got two leaks. I’m trying to determine how much of what the roofer is telling me is correct, and how much he’s just trying to screw me over by refusing to pay for the repairs.

1st leak – he claims that there was a small hole in the roof, but that there was also a crack in the chimmney where water was getting in, so he was willing to pay for half. To me, it sounds iffy but kinda-fair. I mean, maybe there was a crack. Maybe his crew put it there. (Accidentally, while installing the roof.) Maybe the crack had nothing to do with the leak? Opinions?

2nd leak – this was in the back of the house, far from the chimmney. Our regular contractor claimed it was from insufficient flashing, and he filled the gap with some tar. The roofer says the flashing wasn’t the culprit, that it was the gutters.

Now, when we got the roof estimate, there was NO mention of gutters that needed to be replaced. Now the guy is saying they are falling apart, are the cause of the leaks, he doesn’t do gutters, and it’s in no way his responsibility to inform us that we need new ones, even while his crew is replacing the roof.

Once again, our regular contractor says the roofers absolutely SHOULD have told us, and that they are just trying to cover their ass.

Anyone have experience in this arcane world of finger pointing?

2

A reputable contractor will point out problems he encounters if for no other reason than he stands to make additional money on the deal. A roofer that actually knows what he’s doing should inspect flashing, gutters and other problems before beginning work. To not do so can result in warranty problems with the roofing. He’s probably under no legal obligation to tell you about these things, but it’s shoddy workmanship.

I’m not sure how gutters would cause a leak unless they haven’t been cleaned out and the water is somehow backing up under the eaves. If the gutters are falling apart or missing, the water would just cascade off the shingles and onto the ground. Sounds to me more like a flashing problem as your GC indicated.

3

Bill Levitt built over 17 thousand homes in Bucks County, PA between 1951 and 1958, and not one of them had gutters. Speaking as a contractor, your fellow is talking out of his hat. While true that masonry chimneys are typically poorly flashed, due diligence regarding minor details precludes problems. What small hole in the roof? Even if a silver-dollar sized knothole fell out of the sheathing (unlikely) proper grade roofing felt/bituminous adhering rubberized barrier, and proper flashing would negate a problem.

4

Well,the gutter problem he is claiming is that there is a space under the gutter, that it’s not flush with the masonry on the walls. I don’t understand how water is supposed to get in there, but the space is definitely visible. It’s small… don’t think you could slide a penny in there (the narrow way). But he says the leak space between the masonry and the gutter went into the house and caused the damage.

5

Can you perhaps take a few photos of this and link or send them to me? (email in my profile) That would be helpful.

6

Will do on Sun. Thanks!