Jeff Evansrated4.0
10 months ago
In September 2024, our area experienced a severe hailstorm, leading to significant damage to many homes, including mine. Most houses around me qualified through their insurance companies for full roof replacements, and some even for new siding if they had aluminum siding.
Initially, I contacted a few roofing companies on my own, but they either dropped the ball or were not effective in working with my insurance company. Then Smart Roof knocked on my door, and I decided to give them a try and I'm glad I did (mostly).
From the start, Smart Roof did a fantastic job. They thoroughly documented all the damage, submitted everything to my insurance company, and consistently followed up. As the homeowner, I still had to get involved and fight a long battle with the insurance company to secure a full roof replacement, but Smart Roof's support and expertise were invaluable during that process. Their sales representative also did a great job helping me choose the right shingle color, making that part of the process smooth and easy.
Installation Day:
The installation itself went smoothly. The crew showed up early and immediately got to work tearing off the old roof. I expected the process to be loud and messy it’s roofing, after all and they did take precautions by laying tarps around the house to catch debris. However, the tarps they used were clearly old and full of holes. While not a huge issue by itself, it contributed to the cleanup problems afterward.
Where Things Went Wrong: Cleanup
After the crew finished, they did a basic cleanup of the site. However, the next day, I noticed significant issues: roofing tar was smeared across my front steps, deck railings, siding, freshly painted trim, and garage door. I immediately contacted Smart Roof, and they promised to send someone back out to re-clean. Unfortunately, a few days passed with no response. While I was dealing with unrelated siding repairs, I found even more debris and nails around the property.
At that point, out of frustration, I told Smart Roof not to worry about coming back I would handle the cleanup myself. To be clear, I wasn't trying to be passive-aggressive; I simply didn’t want to wait any longer. Still, I expected they might follow up or come out anyway, but they never did. Over this weekend while doing yardwork, I continued finding a lot of nails and other leftover debris throughout my yard and landscaping.
Final Thoughts:
At the end of the day, Smart Roof did a fantastic job helping with insurance, completing the roof replacement, and providing excellent customer service during the major parts of the project. However, their job site cleanup was extremely disappointing and left a bad final impression.
If I were to grade them:
A for insurance work, sales help, and the quality of the new roof
F for post-job cleanup
Cleanup may not be the most glamorous part of the job, but it's critically important especially when nails and sharp debris are left in the grass and around the house where people and pets walk.