Gord Bailey, owner of Academia Roofing, contacted me and asked me to provide a review.
I had Academia Roofing re-shingle the roof of my old home in Mount Albert. I had obtained two other competitive quotes and in both cases, Academia Roofing quote was higher than the competition. However, after following up with all the references provided by all three contractors, Academia Roofing came back with all positive reviews and reported the highest level of satisfaction with the final result.
Gord seemed to also be very knowledgeable with his trade, emphasizing that he only used CertainTeed LanMark 30 brand shingles with a 30 year life span and Maximum vents for proper ventilation of the attic.
At the time, I was a lay person and new home owner. What did I know about roofing?
Gord sold me on both the CertainTeed 30 year shingles, his expertise and good references he provided. Also, follow up with the Licencing Commission in Toronto had no past complains lodged against Academia Roofing. Gord also went out of his way to provide proof that his company carried required insurance and had a good rating with the Better Business Bureau of Canada.
On Gord’s recommendation, I went with the Resawn Shake style of premium shingles, which both complemented my home’s brickwork and gave the roof a nice ‘cedar shingle’ look. Also, Gord recommended replacing the original white eaves through with brown to further enhance and complement the overall look of the house. I went with Gord’s material and colour recommendations and approved the work.
Academia Roofing had a team of four roofers come to my home early the following week and inside of a few days they re-shingled my roof, replaced the skylight and had my eaves through replaced. As well, Gord’s team installed unique custom trays and metal work along the brickwork, eaves through and roof. When finished, the house looked immaculate and now stood out from all the other houses on the block.
(Friends that work in the trades since complemented me on the thoughtfulness and quality of the workmanship. I also remember looking at two neighbouring roofs that were done just one to two years after mine and I remember seeing their shingles were already showing signs of fading).
Five years later I moved to be a bit closer to work in Toronto. However, the CertainTeed LanMark 30 shingles looked as good as they did when they were first installed – with no fading or any other signs of wear or tear. The buyers of my home said the majestic look of the roof was one reason that attracted them to my old house. Also, the building inspector they hired also gave his stamp of approval and endorsed the quality behind CertainTeed’s 30 year shingles.
The new owners were also reassured that the warranty for workmanship and materials were 100% transferable – including coverage against leakage and condensation. (Because Academia Roofing had also cleared the attic soffits from insulation that was blocking air flow into the attic and installed the Maximum vent, Academia Roofing was prepared to honour warranties to both myself and next owners of my home).
In all this, the message I wanted to communicate is this: Quality pays dividends.
A job well done will enhance the value of your home and provide you with a problem free living space and peace of mind for years to come. However, a roofing job done poorly can come back to haunt you and your pocketbook, with time and effort needed to redo work, repair water damage and remove mold.
Academia Roofing may have been a bit more expensive, however, the quality of both the workmanship and materials resulted in a problem free roof for the five years I lived there and enhanced the overall value of the house when I went to sell it.
Closing words:
In all my experiences dealing with trades people, Gord is one of the few honest ones I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with. In all, Gord kept his word, the work was done on time, on budget and I was very happy with the final result.
It was the right decision I made five years ago and I have no hesitation recommending Academia Roofing to anyone else looking to get roofing or similar renovation work done for their home.
David – formally of Mount Albert
