We had our roof redone recently, and when the estimator gave us the quote, we felt pretty good about it. Seemed clear enough, price was decent, nothing too crazy. But then the actual invoice arrived after the job was done, and um... well, it didn't exactly match up. Not by a huge amount, but still enough to make me raise an eyebrow.
There were these extra charges for materials that weren't listed in the original quote, plus some vague "additional labor" fee. I get sometimes things come up during a job, but wouldn't you expect them to at least mention it beforehand or give a heads-up if it's gonna be extra?
Kinda wondering if this is normal practice or if we just got unlucky with this company. Curious if anyone else noticed similar surprises popping up between their roofing estimates and invoices or if maybe we're just being picky here...
Had something similar happen when we got our fence done last summer. The quote was pretty straightforward, and we felt like we'd scored a decent deal. But then the invoice showed up, and suddenly there were these mysterious "additional hardware" charges. I mean, what hardware? Did they use gold-plated screws or something?
Anyway, I called them up to ask about it, and turns out they'd run into some rocky ground and needed special equipment to dig the post holes. Fair enough, but a heads-up would've been nice. Still, after chatting with friends who've had work done on their houses, it seems like this kind of thing isn't all that uncommon. Contractors often run into unexpected stuff once they actually start working—especially with older homes or tricky jobs.
Not saying it's cool to just slap extra charges on without mentioning it first (definitely not), but maybe your roofing guys genuinely ran into something unexpected and just didn't communicate it well? I'd probably give them a call and politely ask for clarification on those vague labor fees. Sometimes just asking nicely can get you a clearer explanation or even a small discount if they're feeling generous.
But hey, as a fellow first-time homeowner who's still figuring out how all this works (and learning the hard way), I've realized that estimates are usually more of an educated guess than a firm promise...unfortunately. Next time around, I'm definitely gonna ask upfront how they handle unexpected costs—lesson learned the awkward way!
