About Mark Sundberg Expertise Architecture, structure, construction.
Experience 27 years licensed architect, work in 12 states. Currently working in Hawaii. Over 1000 buildings designed or worked on in a significant role
3 years quality control officer for Navy construction projects.
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Architecture, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA. 1977.
Question i had a roof ripped off and construction company left it exposed with half the roof down to the wood other half with black felt paper on it ,now my garden has tar all over .my three dogs keeps bring this tar into my home . how can i get rid of this and is there a company that can be hire for my job. need to get carpet clean also . please i need help thank you
Answer Aloha Diane,
Not sure what sort of roof you had, but if you have substantial amounts of tar in your garden, mu guess is it would be a flat roof with a tar and gravel surface. Then again, just the usual roofing paper is somewhat messy and if you are in a warm area, it could melt and become a problem. Normally the roofing paper doesn't run, even in high temps, but it could get soft enough that the dogs walking on it could pick up some tar off of it.
On the other hand, if it is a tar and gravel roof and the roofer left a big mess for you, you should be talking to him/her about either cleaning it up or paying someone else to clean it up. In either case, the construction company that tore off the roof and left a mess should be cleaning it up. I would suggest contacting them immediately. If they balk at taking care of the problem, contact your State Contractor's Licensing Board and file a complaint with them and also get the contact information for the contractor's bonding and insurance companies and file complaints with them as well. It's probably going to be a hassle, dealing with people who don't want to part with money always is but you also don't want to keep dealing with a mess.
You should probably give the contractor at least a couple of days to make the effort to clean things up, after that, send them a registered letter advising them you have waited for them to take care of this and they haven't and you are hiring a company to do their work and they will be billed for the expenses. Obviously I don't know what state you are in but it would be a good idea to talk to the State Licensing Board before you do anything. They are there to protect you against contractors.
As for who to do the clean-up, most any serious commercial cleaning company should be able to deal with it. Call a couple up, explain your situation and have them give you bids for the work, pick the one that you are most comfortable with.
