Universal Roof & Contracting

James W.

This company did marginal work, left the property trashed. They trashed my gutters and would not replace but charged the insurance company for gutters. Spent 8 months trying to get gutters had to pay another contractor. Now a year later they have me in collections for money owed for gutters I never got and a bill I never received. I have now spent 2 months talking to their collections department to no avail. Getting a lawyer and calling the insurances fraud department.

Judi G.

Our daughters house was badly damaged by hurricane Michael. She had to move in with us due to unhealthy living conditions such as black mold, collapsed ceilings, broken windows and electrical problems. A coworker used Universal Roofing and was very pleased. He told my husband about the great job they did on his home so we contacted them based on his experience.
A quote was given for the roofing, siding and windows. Then another for the work on the inside. Our daughter asked if they would be interested in doing some upgrades in the master bath Since there was damages that would require work anyway. The carpet throughout the house was ruined from rain and instead of replacing it she opted for whole house tile another upgrade. A separate quote was given for the upgrades. We met with Jay and James aweek later and they went through the house determining which ceilings could be saved and which ones needed to be removed or replaced. The garage was to be gutted to the studs due to the black mold and so was one bedroom. It was agreed at that time that the roof had to be replaced before anything inside could be done.
The weather was not cooperating and the roof was pushed back a few weeks, which was understandable. In the meantime Jay, the one who would be doing the work inside contacted our daughter and convinced her that he could do the demolition on the master bath. Then he convinced her to go ahead and let him tile the shower and the floor. The next thing we knew he had replaced part of the collapsed ceiling, painting and stippling as well. The entire garage was painted too. She reminded him that the roof had to be completed before he could do any of that work and he told her it was fine and not to worry. She asked him if he had replaced the moldy sheet rock in the garage and bedroom and hallway and he assured her he had. We found that hard to believe since there was not any sanding dust anywhere in the garage and no sign of a dumpster for the ripped out sheet rock and no signs of fresh debris at the curb. The General Contractor was contacted and he, our daughter and my husband went to the house to see what Jay had been doing. First the shower he ""tiled"" was an abomination. Grout was missing, spacers grouted in, some of the tile my daughter could stick her fingers underneath, two inch gaps on the floor where he simply just used grout. The bench is crooked and the tile is overlapping. He left holes in the walls which can be seen between the shower and the sink vanity. The window that was removed and sloppily tiled only had sheet rock behind it, no vapor barrier and no wood. The screws, all 3 of them were exposed to the outside and rusted. The tile on the floor was not laid right; You start in the center and tile outward keeping the lines straight, something he obviously didn't do. The old shower was removed and turned into a crooked closet.
Jay did not remove any of molded sheet rock in the house. He simply painted over it. The mold can be seen on the sheet rock when the electrical panel cover is removed. The mold is pushing through the very cheap paint that he watered down. The stippling on the ceilings that were replaced doesn't even come close to matching.
The insulation is still wet in the attic and yesterday it rained again all night and all day. The house is a disaster and my daughter emptied her savings account to buy the supplies Jay said he needed.
Our daughter worked her way through 4 years of college and graduated without owing a dime. She was hired by a local company as a computer programmer and has made Panama City her home. We were so proud of her when she paid cash for her brand new car and then bought her first home. She has always been very careful with her money and saves in advance for the things she wants. Hurricane Micheal did a lot of damage to her adorable home but she took it in stride and swore she would have it fixed and upgraded.
I really have to ask this company, do any of you have children? Would you find the work she's received acceptable if she were your child? Would you not be enraged if your child had been scammed out of her entire savings? What is wrong with a company that allows this to happen. Do you feel because she's young and a female that she's an easy mark and her family will sit back an allow this to happen to her? Shame on everyone one of you. Each and every person that works for Universal Contrtrators is responsible for this situation and should be appalled and embarrassed. I fully expect the owners of this company to contact my daughter and make this right for her immediately.
My review of this company will be updated in one week.

Judi Gannaway

Danielle C.

They lied to us to get us to sign the contract. Now they refuse to give us a refund on our deposit and refuse to do any work until we pay almost $4000. I've found that many other companies are willing to do the work without being paid up front. But because Universal Roofing is refusing to return the money they scammed us out of, we'll have to pay 30% out of pocket. This company is a scam. Do not use Universal Roofing.

Michael P.

We were going to use them...and had an appointment scheduled as I heard their ad on WDBO.....the contractor calls me the night before the appointment and says since we are in ligation with the insurance company we are going to have to charge you the highest rate you would get from the insurance company...I told him we probably were not getting anything and would pay cash....he kept insisting and I said why should we pay the higher price we don't even know if we are going to get any money at all....con artists beware!!

Sophia A.

My husband and I called Universal Roof and Contracting after Hurricane Irma hit us. We first heard about them on news 96.5 and ended up very happy with our decision. This is one of the only companies who offered to come out and inspect/estimate damage on our roof without a charge. Originally our appointment was scheduled for December (due to high demand after the storm) surprisingly, they were nice enough to call us when they had a cancellation and we were able to have them at the house 3 months earlier than expected! Patrick came out and inspected our roof. We had a small leak during the hurricane and wanted to get a professional opinion on it. Patrick was great, very friendly and knowledgeable. The best part was that he was honest and did not try to up-sell us anything. He told me great news (that there is no damage on our roof and we have at least another 3-5 years of life left on it). We definitely recommend their service and plan on calling them when needed.

Erin M.

My original appointment with Universal Roof & Contracting was Sep 6th at 5:30pm. I was called the day before and asked if my appointment could be switched to the morning of the 6th because they supposedly had people going out of town and couldn't come at 5:30pm anymore. I couldn't do a morning appointment because of work. Being that Hurricane Irma was on its way, I figured maybe some employees were evacuating so I was understanding and was fine with rescheduling my appointment for the following week.

Fast forward to this week... My appointment was scheduled for tonight (Sep 14th) at 5:30. I got a call yesterday saying that the estimator would be in the area in the morning and the receptionist/scheduler wanted to know if I wanted to switch my appointment time to 11am. Again I said I didn't want to do that because I had to work. I was then told ""Oh... um okay well we might have to reschedule again... hold on, let me check."" She checked and agreed to keep my 5:30pm appointment for today.

Then today I get around to checking my phone as I was leaving work at 5:00 and see I have two missed calls and although I didn't recognize the number at the time, I had a pretty good feeling it was someone from Universal Roof & Contracting and that no one would be showing up for my 5:30 appointment. I had another call I was finishing up on my way home so I didn't get to call the number back before arriving home. I get to my house at 5:28pm and naturally there is no one there and I find a business card on my door from the estimator, Archie Simon, whose number on the card matched my two missed calls.

People make appointments at specific times for specific reasons. If I don't schedule a morning appointment, it's because a morning appointment doesn't work for me. If you agree to a 5:30pm appointment and then don't want to drive back to my area of town at that time because it's not convenient for you, that's not my problem. It's your job to come to my house at the time that we agreed and not keep rescheduling or purposely showing up early to miss our appointment just so you don't have to make a special trip at the end of the day.

We all have jobs to do, I was doing mine and that's why I couldn't reschedule for the morning. It's too bad you couldn't do yours and now you won't be getting my business because this is unprofessional and unacceptable.

Monique P.

Beware of this company. They sell you by trying to go completely through insurance therefore you have to pay nothing out-of-pocket only your insurance deductible. 2 years later we have 3 leaks in our roof we were supposed to have a tenure warranty but they refused to cover. The flashing was installed incorrectly... Or should I say not at all. And they failed to put a cricket on a roof we asked. It's not worth it. Don't do business with this company.

Ryan T.

Universal roofing did an amazing job. Everyone I worked with was very professional and polite. They professionally helped me out throughout the entire process. In the middle of summer it only took them a day and a half and I have a wonderful roof.

Laura S.

Had a great experience with Universal Roof. Staff and crew were all very professional and helpful throughout the process. Thanks!

Dev L.

SAVE YOUR MONEY, TIME AND HAIR


Great roof product/ HORRIBLE COMMUNICATION WITHIN COMPANY and LOTS OF PROBLEMS during the job


To start we contacted a few roof companys, Richard Smith which gave us a great quote he has done my families roofs for years and does a great job! Universal came out and we told them about the extensive work inside and out and roof problems, they suggested a certain roof product which is great, but the installation process was a nightmare. They also said that they could take on some other contracting work like ELECTRIC and maybe drywall and other issues. Then after a week we are told that they are trying to get out of the contracting business and stick more towards roofs, ok we understand, and still agree to go with you all on the roof even though the bid was $7,000 more than our other bids. So the roof work is said to be started in 3 weeks, thats fine we can wait. Then the roof gets pushed back another week, and another week, finally they send a crew for about two to three days, we went and got them breakfast every morning and couldnt have been nicer. Reuben was full of false promises and over commitment from the start, we had wood damage underneath the roof and were asked for more money for it, first is was $5,000 more but then when questioned more it suddenly was $800? Then after the workmen were pulled from our job to work on others because they had alot of roofs scheduled then, they half tarped over the pieces that werent finished and left it. Well in florida during the rainy season on a leaky roof thats a HORRIBLE idea. OF COURSE one afternoon we walked into the kitchen and it was RAINING INSIDE OUR HOUSEEEEEE! So i called Reuben like he said to if anything was wrong and he was like ""it didnt leak when my guys left its not my problem its (the other person who worked on it after my guys left, still someone else within universal) I DONT HAVE TIME FOR THE BLAME GAME I just needed someone out there to tarp the roof and stop the water from pouring in inside, and so he told me to call the other guy it wasnt his problem, UM DO YOU WORK FOR UNIVERSAL AND YOU DID YOU DO MY ROOF IT IS YOUR PROBLEM! so if that isnt bad as is, then he asked for the check and I said I had the full last payment of $7,000 and I GAVE IT TO REUBEN, he showed up one day and called saying they wouldnt continue work if i didnt pay for the rotted wood I said all I had was a full check for the last payment combined and he said it was fine and took it, Then I get asked from another guy WHO ACTUALLY CAME TO REPAIR THE LEAK, if i had submitted final payment and i said yes because REUBEN asked, i was a little worried thinking it had been lost and im not about writing more $7,000 checks. Then after the work is finally complete i get a call saying they dont have the check and CAN I CALL THE BANK TO SEE IF IT CLEARED. Well it didnt so it was lost somewhere, I had it voided and resent, I havent heard back from them, not a THANK YOU or sorry, not even a lien waver or completion packet they promised they would send!

OH we got their electrician to come out and give us a quote, great guy great prices, and then the day we call to schedule him they SHUT DOWN the electric part of the company???? without even telling us.

ALSO we had ceiling and floor damage from the water damage in the kitchen and we havent even received a call or email or anything about PAYING FOR THE DAMAGE.

SAVE YOUR MONEY and TIME and YOUR HAIR!


the only person who made this situation fine is TRAVIS, he is the best worker they have, he is honest, he jumps right on the problem and is willing to fix their problems, travis is you are reading this you are too good and too nice for this company!

.....$19,800 and a lot of stress


Devin Ludwig