Blue Tarps On Roofs Nearly 8 Months After Wind Storm

CENTRAL OHIO -- Now that it's spring and many people are getting outside again, some homeowners are just now discovering that they have roof damage.

But even for those who've known for a while, the process has been excruciating.

Linda and Juan Kenney say their neighbors keep asking when the blue tarp will be coming off their roof. They're embarrassed by it.

It's been there since the September wind storm.

"We've been going through heck since then," says Linda.

She says they've been battling with the mortgage company for the repair money.

The insurance company sent it directly to the mortgage company instead of directly to the Kenneys.

The Kenneys say the paperwork has been nightmarish.

The insurance company sent it to the mortgage holder instead of to the Kenneys.

"Linda sent the fax papers over three times," Juan says. "And they kept losing them or they couldn't find them."

Jess Biller, the owner of Paramount Roofing, corroborates their story.

He says theirs is not an unusual case. His company has had to help a lot of customers navigate the financial quagmires.

And, he says, new cases are still coming in from the September and February storms. His company is backlogged four to six weeks.

Chad Muth, the owner of Muth Roofing, says he thinks it'll take until July or August for his company to catch up because the jobs are weather-dependent and more cases keep coming in.

He says his company is working through 15 to 20 jobs each week but there are still more than 100 on the schedule.

That means the tarps keeping houses and apartments dry will just keep getting older and older.

"As long as the tarp is secure and installed properly with no tears or rips, it should be sufficient to keep the water out," Paramount's Biller says.

From Chopper 4, the extent of the problem could be seen: Some apartment and condo complexes are seas of blue plastic.

And crews are just getting started on the work.

"In the apartment complexes," Biller says, "it's a worst-case scenario because it's usually a larger project, and insurance companies are more particular in those cases."

Muth says it's important for consumers to do some research.

"They really need to do their homework," he says.

He says consumers should educate themselves and understand the process before they start talking to contractors. Check out each contractor's ratings with services such as the BBB or Angie's List, and talk to your neighbors about their experiences with their roofers.

The Better Business Bureau says the number of complaints filed against roofing companies has more than doubled, compared to the same time last year. And the number of requests for Reliability Reports has nearly tripled.

On Angie's List, the requests for information on roofers jumped more than 500 percent after last year's storm. And the site says, in the past 30 days, roofing is still Columbus' most frequent category
search.

The Kenneys have a contractor lined up, and they think the money's finally been worked out.

"Everybody keeps asking us when the roof's gonna get done. And they say, now, within three weeks. We don't know. It'll get done sooner or later, I guess," says the Kenneys.

Three weeks is still way ahead of a lot of other homeowners.

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