Why Hire A Local Contractor Every Time

---

Whenever a large storm, typically hail and/or tornado, passes through an area, it attracts storm chasers. No, not the kind who actually follow the storm to document it, but rather contractors who chase the storm seeking work as a result of the damage incurred by home and business owners. The majority of these storm chasers are based out of state. Once their work is completed, they leave and head home. Obviously, this can likely result in a number of issues.

Storm chasers have been known to use less than reputable business practices. It is not uncommon for a storm chaser to pay a local company (whom typically doesn't do roofing, siding, windows & gutters) to use their name & license. Or, to have a name almost identical to a local reputable contractor. If complications arise after the project is completed, you may not be entirely successful in holding the out of state contractor accountable. Even if they are licensed with the City of Sioux Falls, the city is powerless. The City does not guarantee the workmanship of a contractor. When a contractor refuses to return to address the issues, your typical recourse if take them to court. If you are fortunate enough to receive a judgment in your favor, you still can’t count on satisfaction.

In August 2013, a storm chaser using vehicles with Kansas license plates, was advertising themselves as a local contractor. With a name similar to a legitimate contractor who does not do work on residential homes.  They claimed to be based in Harrisburg. They were trying to convince a local resident to sign a contract with them to replace her roof and gutters. She almost bought their ruse, until the Kansas license plates, and the cheap magnetic signs on the doors of their vehicle were pointed out.

Two houses away a neighbor fell for their ploy, and hired them to replace the roof. The roof they put on looked nice, until the winter wind started howling. The top 5 rows of shingles, along with most of the northwest side of their roof were lost. The homeowner put tarps on the roof to cover the exposed portions. Five months later, there are still tarps on the roof, and a half dozen more shingles have blown off. And, where is the storm chaser? In Kansas, where they live. The chances of them returning to repair the damage is looking very bleak.

Wollman Construction is a Sioux Falls based contractor. We stand behind our work and make ourselves available to deal with any situations which may arise after the job is completed. Following a recent severe storm, several clients had a few shingles blow off their homes. We proactively visited our clients who were the most susceptible to blow offs due to lack of windbreak. For several homeowners, we fixed the issue without them even being aware there was one. Additionally, we are frequently requested by our local supplier to repair jobs performed by storm chasers, that have had an excessive number of blow offs.