Elk Run Construction

I made a metal roof estimate appointment with Eli Hostetler of Elk Run Construction as he was referred by Blair County Metals of Martinsburg, PA. I asked him if he had insurance, he said he did and that he was required to have it. He had to cancel the first appointment as he said that an employee got sick and we set another appointment date on 6-23-2020 at some time. I soon realized that I had another appointment on that date at 9:00 am so I called him back to reschedule. I told him that I had to leave about 20 minutes before 9:00 am, he said that it wouldn’t take long and that he would be there between 8:00 and 8:30 to estimate and discuss the roof.

He arrived at about 8:25, I told him that I had to leave soon. He brought another gentleman for the roof protrusions. When they exited the other gentleman’s vehicle he asked him if he had a piece of paper for the estimate, then he asked him if he had a pen or pencil. He then asked me if I had a ladder to get up on the roof. He walked to the back of the house and climbed on the back porch railing and then stood on the other gentleman’s shoulders as he boosted him up onto my roof to take some measurements. I was very concerned about the stability of the railing but I wanted to be nice and assumed that he was apt.

I have dismounted the roof, and due to the overhang and gutter, one must extend one’s body out past the overhang and gutter to successfully dismount. He then proceeded to dismount from the roof and I noticed on the way down, that his belly was catching on the gutter but I thought, well he will certainly figure this out and know that he has to extend himself out past the gutter, and he appeared to be having trouble holding his weight up at a awkward position and I suppose that he wanted to come down. The gutter twisted in the middle with an axial twist of 90 degrees or more and
both he and the gutter and the gutter clips come down, the clips in pieces. He landed on the railing. The 24 yr. old looked at me and the other gentleman as he was adjusting his straw hat and said that he didn’t think that that would happen.
I said that’s why you have insurance.
Lesson learned - use a ladder to access a roof.

They said that they would repair the gutter. It was going to be late for my appointment, so I had to kind of rush them off so that I could leave. When I arrived home I found a piece of paper stuck in the door that initially appeared to have been written in crayon, but it appears that it may have been a marker stating that he had repaired it - while I was not there. The next day I noticed that the gutter was somewhat repaired. Some of the gutter clips were junction, or double width gutter clips that looked out of place. I called him and inquired about the repair, and he stated that the hardware store didn’t have all of the parts that he needed (normal clips) so he used the junction clips. I asked him about applying detergent to the gutter seals (pvc gutters) and inquired to see if he was aware of that necessity for sealing the rubber gutter seals, he wasn’t as he said that they didn’t need any sealant and that he repaired when I wasn’t there, when I wasn’t home - rude.

A day or days later, when walking through the door I noticed that the gutter was leaking when some drops of water splashed on my head. (I can think of only five (5) reasons as to why it may be leaking, not necessarily all of them.) Not much rain during that period, but drops of water landed on my head while and after rains several more times, and I noticed that the water had pooled behind an object that was laying on the porch from where the water had dripped and ran towards that object due to the slope of the porch.

I witnessed firsthand this gentleman’s roofing antics, and I didn’t really want to witness anymore at my expense, but I thought I would be amenable and avoid any paperwork and issues, so I decided that it could be a win/win situation if I could pay him to reinstall some siding and then repair the gutter. He said that would be fine, and that he would get back to me with an estimate - he didn’t.

Days later, I noticed that the deck railing was wobbly, and squeaking where it rubbed up against the house. A little later, it dawned on me that he repaired it while I was not there and that he probably stood on the railing and leaned up against the house at an angle.
Lesson not learned - use a ladder.
I told him that it was wobbly and squeaky. EDIT Space Limitation

Another contractor estimated the roof and he brought a ladder, paper, pen and to my amazement --------- he didn’t “cascade” off of the roof with his belly snagging on, and ripping the gutter off and landing on my porch railing! I had an epiphany, and I surmised that the former method of dismounting a roof was probably not the proper method, and that this contractor’s method just may be. So, I decided that I would hire the non-roof-cascading gentlemen.
RUN FROM ELK CONSTRUCTION