Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Experience and Committment

We had Doug the roofer and handyman here on the first and so far only nice day of spring on Saturday. With temperatures soaring to 17C/63F and the sun shining, he picked a good day to do his thing.



He had been by in early November to try to get a handle on our problem, but with snow already on the roof, there was little he could do other than promise to return in spring.

So, what is the problem? Water is leaking into the garage (right photo) and also into the sun porch (left in photo). It has been going on for a long time, well over a year, and no one has been able to fix the leak. We've had more than one roofer up there, and patching has been done, but the problem has persisted.

In desperation, Sue contacted a friend who has lived in the area for a long time, and she recommended Doug. He is an older fellow. He looks older than me, but perhaps he is just weather beaten after working in the elements for most of his life. But he is spry and gets up and down the ladder with ease.

He took his time and studied the situation carefully from both inside and outside the garage. Other roofers hadn't even checked from the inside but just started smearing caulking or whatever substance wherever there might have been a possible problem. But Doug took his time, looked all over, studied the situation to identify the exact problem as best as he could and fixed most of the problem.

But we had an absolute deluge the next night to the point where basements were flooded (not ours) and some roads even had to be closed. Did his patch hold? Mostly. We did have a trickle in what would have been a flood just a few days before. He returned when it was still wet and he could trace the remaining leak, and said that he could now sees exactly where the remaining problems lies. He promises to return for the final fix on a nice day.

You have to appreciate an older fellow who is willing to take his time and do his best to get it right as opposed to a younger run-and-gun fellows who want to get in and out as quickly as possible. Certainly, the years of experience help too.


9 comments:

Mage said...

Gosh what a miracle worker that man is.

William Kendall said...

He certainly sounds qualified.

Marie Smith said...

A master at work!

Jenn Jilks said...

How frustrating for you!
I find the same, the repair peeps like to rush in and do the quick fix, young or old. I'm sure you remember my toilet issues.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

This goes to show that experience and also age does help as Doug seems like a careful craftsperson. We had our share of inexperienced workers as former homeowners. Glad you didn’t have yet another deluge inside, John.

Joanne Noragon said...

We have a contractor like that, for the last thirty years.

Christina said...

Oh we could use someone like Doug, we've had a leak in the showroom for two years and nobody has managed to fix it... I wonder if Doug has a plumber cousin living in Scotland?!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

When you find someone like this, who is such a treasure, hang on to him!

Shammickite said...

Hooray for Doug the Roofer, everyone should have a Doug to call on in times of severe leakage!