Answer Questions

Did the actual roffing contractor do this or was it the supplier who delivered the materials with the truck.Was there anything in wrtiing telling them were and how to deliver the materials.If there was nothing in writting about specific delivery instructions other than to deliver them to the address listed then I would say no they are not liable.If this was the only means of getting the materials to your house then that is what they had to do.Was the driveway built and formed correctly in its construction phase? Sounds to mee it had some issues and it should have held up to a delivery truck pulling in there to deliver a load of shingles,But I know from experience in my area if you do not give them specific delivery instructions and something like this occurs they are not held liable..

Lots of unanswered questions here about the construction quality of the driveway, the size of the truck, who was the driver working for and more.

Id recommend a friendly call with the roofing company to let them know that you'd like to work toward an amicable solution here.

They may be able to twist the arm of the delivery company or repair for you with their laborers resetting the blocks and/or split the cost of the repair. I think it is fair to let them know problems happen but its how they assist in resolving those issues that makes them a great company and that this can be the difference between a glowing and scathing review on Angie's List, at the BBB, with the contractor licensing board, etc.

Generally speaking a truck used for shingle delivery should not have damaged a properly installed driveway. I agree if the driveway was the only access to pull up next to your home there was no choice on the delivery driver's part. However, if the driveway was visibly weak or in otherwise poor condition the contractor should have pointed it out in advance and raised the price accordingly to manually haul and hand load the shingles from the street. When you say "concrete blocks" are you talking about thin pavers or large slabs of concrete? if they are the small 12x12 or 16x16 paver blocks the contractor should have had you sign a damage waiver before having the delivery driver take the truck over them. He couldn't have known how well they were installed and on what type of base unless problems were already evident. I agree with HMD that you should speak with the roofing contractor about it to better understand why the damage occurred. Also, have a contractor who installs similar type driveways to your own out to get their opinion whether it was installed correctly or not as well as what it will cost to repair it.

Todd Shell
Todd's Home Services
www.thomeservices.com

Hi, these things sometimes happen. It happened to me once when the customer for some reason got a new driveway 3 days before he knew we were going to start the roofing project. Because of this, it is company policy to when ever feasably possible, not place a tire on a drive way. Even when I do estimates, I usually park on the street and walk up the drive way.

Let me explain that it was actually not our trucks that caused the damage, but was the delivery truck. These delivery trucks are big and weigh alot! Ultimately who is at fault? Well you hired the contractor, the supplier is his subcontractor. You can back charge your contractor if his sub contractor doesn't want to fix it. In my case, the customer and my supplier were more than happy to work it out amongst themselves. But if this material supplier doesn't want to fix it your recourse would be to go after the contractor whom you hired. He may then go after the material company.

The simple fact is this. Mistakes happen to all of us, tven the best of us. What seperates a good contractor from a bad one is how the mistakes are dealt with. This can all get messy and a good reputable contractor will try to make sure his/her customer is happy and satisfied. Give your contractor a call, explain your concerns, aks what he/she suggests for a correction.

I have another situation right now where the dumpster company damaged the overhang on the neighbor's house. The dumpster company hasn't fixed it after a couple months, even though they said they would. This reflects poorly on me, therefore I will most likely have to fix it myself to protect my reputation, absorb the hit onto my bottom line, and find another dumpster company. See my point?

Good luck!

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