In 2014 Corianne and Derek Labounty purchased a two-story house in Maynard, Massachusetts that was built in the 1840s. At that time their home inspector told them the roof would last 10 years, but Corianne said he did not go up on the roof for a close-up inspection.
The Problem
That lapse in the inspection process led to many problems for the Labounty’s. Imagine coming home from work to find water pouring into the first-floor bathroom and three young children needing your attention. Mopping up the water was just the beginning of solving the problem. Corianne said they had to strip the bathroom walls “down to the studs” to avoid mold.
Over the years, The Labounty’s hired roofers who patched the roof on a “catch as catch can basis. It was our intention to make the roof a priority, but other emergencies came up,” Corianne explained. There were things like replacing a washing machine, running gas lines in the house and car problems.
By late fall of 2021 they decided it was time to replace the roof. Derek, who is a chef at a central Massachusetts restaurant, heard about Northeast Home & Energy through his boss Steve, who was very satisfied with how the company had handled a home insulation project in his home through the state’s Mass Save program. Steve also had Northeast Home & Energy install a new roof on rental property he owns.
The Job Assessment
Derek was impressed with the work the North Grafton home repairs company had done for this boss. So, after he did research on roofers, he decided to call Northeast Home & Energy for an assessment. Owner Richard Prunier made the visit. Derek was pleased that Richard came “right on time. I felt he had more grasp of the job than another roofer (who had provided an assessment of the roof’s condition.)” He and Corianne thought they had only one leak that was causing problems, but Richard identified a few more and recommended a full roof replacement.
Richard showed them the GAF shingles that Northeast Home & Energy sells because he considers them the best on the market. “The color, quality and durability have all been consistent. We have installed many brands of shingles over the years, and we have had problems with the other shingles. We installed a roof by another brand many years ago and after 15 years the roof was completely gone. It had to be replaced. And the warranty was practically gone after 15 years,” he said.
GAF asphalt fiberglass shingles were picked for the job, which are the most popular for sloped roofs. Fiberglass is embedded in the shingle to provide an extra measure of strength and tear resistance. They are easy to install, durable and available in a variety of colors.
Corianne said she found the recommend shingles “aesthetically pleasing.” And she and Derek appreciated the 100 percent, 50-year warrantee that Northeast Home & Energy provides.
Richard explained that Northeast Home & Energy can provide the 50-year warrantee because the business has earned a GAF Master Elite ® Certification. This is based on licensing, insurance, an excellent reputation and commitment to ongoing training, he explained.
The Installation Process
With the job scheduled for January 6 and snow predicted for the next day, Corianne reached out to Richard with concerns about whether the shingles would adhere? “If you put the roof on tomorrow and it’s 30 degrees during the day and 20 degrees overnight, will the shingles be OK? Will the shingles adhere, and the job be under warrantee?”
Richard told her that his crew would be able to finish the job in one day “unless there’s a lot of wood replacement.” He assured her that the roof will be water and snow tight even if the adhesive “won’t stick down fully until there are a few sunny days. The full, 100 percent warrantee will be good for 50 years. We stand behind everything we install,” he said.
Corianne also had concerns about the dumpster; what would be dumped into it and how long it would be kept in front of the house. Richard explained that the dumpster would be removed the same day the job was finished, if she wanted that, and the gutters would be checked. She told him waiting a day or so to remove the dumpster would be fine.
On January 6 she said the dumpster arrived at 7 a.m. “The guys were there at 7:30 a.m. When I drove by at 4 p.m. everything was cleaned up. The progress was great.”
Besides replacing rotted wood, Richard said they put on a new drip edge that is designed to protect a roof against up to six feet of ice and water in the valleys where the roof lines intersect. They put on a synthetic underliner and then installed GAF asphalt shingles.
The Results
Corianne couldn’t believe that Northeast Home & Energy workmen “got a roof on one day and that my property looked the way it did afterwards.” She said the property “was cleaner than before the job began. You would never know anything happened to my property from the outside of that house,” she said.
Derek agreed that the job was “surprisingly quick. They were very efficient.”
After the job was completed, Richard checked with Corianne to make sure everything was clean on the driveway and to make sure there were no nails under the dumpster. Corianne said she “appreciated that heads up.”
The dumpster was removed to her satisfaction. “They did the job on Thursday and the snow came Friday,” she said. “The dumpster was gone the day after the storm.”
Both said they were happy customers and would definitely recommend Northeast Home & Energy to other people.