This post will be dedicated to contractor horror stories we either dealt with or heard about from friends or family. The purpose will be to spread information so you can better make informed decisions. Check back for updates.

$60,000 Re-Shingled Roof

We will start off this post with the most egregious story I have every heard. My brother’s coworker needed to get her roof re-shingled. She obviously has no idea what things cost or effort involved and a contractor took advantage. She accepted the first quote she got, which was for $60,000. The contractor helped sell this price by offering “free financing” for up to 10 years to pay it off. To re-shingle a roof should cost more like $12,000, depending on the size of the roof. The biggest thing to take away from this story is to get minimum 3 quotes, ask friends and coworkers what price point to expect, and do some research on google for pricing.

$16,000 Gutters

My brother’s gutters kept getting clogged with leaves, so he looked into getting leaf guard. I had leaf guards installed on my gutters when I had my roof re-shingled, and paid $13/LF for the gutter guards, and $1,000 lump sum for new gutters and leaders. I gave this information to my brother. The first contractor my brother’s met with said all the gutters needed to be replaced before gutter guards could be installed. He then quoted my brother $16,000 JUST FOR THE GUTTERS. For that price, you can go buy gutters for your entire neighborhood. Luckily my brother was smart enough to know this price was egregious and offensive and sent the contractor packing immediately. The moral to this story is do some research and have some semblance of pricing even before you get a quote, this way you will not have to waste time for scumbags like that gutter contractor.

Don’t let a paving contractor add your story to this list, check out my post on What To Ask When Getting a New Driveway.

Please share your contractor horror stories below in the comments section