In November 1998 we purchased a new house from Montecito Homes (then owned by Doug Sandahl) in Phoenix with a clay-tile roof installed by Collum Roofing Co. Over the next four years we suffered through four roof leaks that caused damage to the floor, walls, and ceiling of the kitchen, one bedroom, and two bathrooms. We were forced to move out of the house on two occasions for a total of six weeks while repairs were made. This is the story of our distressing and frustrating experience dealing with the roof problems as well as the irresponsibility of both companies.

During a monsoon storm on about July 14, 1999, rainwater poured into the kitchen through several places in the ceiling and window. We placed buckets around to collect the rainwater and cleaned the water off the floor with towels. We notified Collum and Montecito about the problem that evening and on several more occasions over the next 10 days, but they failed to respond to repair the roof leak. Then on about July 26, another rainstorm came at night when no one in the house was awake to respond. The rainwater that collected on the floor stained the rug and caused damage to the hardwood that required a portion of the floor to be replaced and the entire expanse of hardwood flooring to be refinished. Collum finally said it repaired the roof leak above the kitchen on about August 2. Neither Montecito nor Collum agreed to restore the damaged floor and kitchen rug to their original condition. Our insurance company completed the repairs to the kitchen at a total cost of over $12,000, including living expenses for the two weeks we had to vacate our home. We paid the insurance deductible of $2500. Although we could understand that a leak of this kind was possible in a new house, we felt bitter and angry that Montecito and Collum were unwilling to make the repairs promptly and completely.

Later in about September 2000 we discovered that rain had been leaking into the exterior wall along the patio of one bedroom and bathroom. (Here are some photographs of the damage taken at a later date.) At that time we solicited a professional roof inspection because of our growing concern about the overall condition of the roof. The inspection identified serious defects with the roof's installation, including inadequate overlap of tiles and underlying membrane (inconsistent with the tile manufacturer's specifications), as well as inadequate and missing flashing. The tiles were also not nailed in place, contrary to the manufacturer’s specifications. The inspection report (click here for an excerpt) stated it was impossible to repair these defects in order to bring the roof into compliance with manufacturer's specifications; replacement was necessary.

By this point we were unwilling to allow Collum another opportunity to work on our roof to correct the problems of their initial installation, so we hired an attorney and insisted that a different contractor replace the roof. We felt insulted by Robert Collum’s response (click here), in which he apparently blamed our small dog for the damage to the kitchen rug caused by the roof leak in 1999, and we were offended by his offer of only $1600 in compensation. Our attorney replied (click here) with our intention to file a lawsuit if Montecito and Collum were unwilling to replace the roof. In 2002 we filed a lawsuit against both companies.

In July 2002, rain started leaking into the kitchen again. In September 2002, we followed the inspector's recommendation and replaced the roof at our own expense, including flashing, membrane, and tile. During repair of the water damage in the bedroom and bath, a mold infestation (click here) was discovered in the affected bedroom. The mold infestation required remediation at a cost of $5000, in addition to the cost of the roof and other repairs. We were forced to vacate our home again, this time for four weeks.

After we initiated the lawsuit, Montecito and Collum engaged in extended depositions and other legal delays for more than one year. The contractor who oversaw the roof replacement and associated repairs had his same records subpoenaed three times. which we considered to be a form of intimidation and harassment. In April 2003 we reached an agreement to settle the lawsuit with the help of a court-appointed mediator. Unfortunately, the settlement amount was insufficient to recover over $13,000 in legal fees and about $8,000 of our substantial out-of-pocket expenses for repairs.

Don and Nancy Alpert