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I’m a new homeowner (Aug ’08) and did my first big screw-up.

We had one small pond up on the roof and I figured it should be fixed eventually. When we bought, the house inspector said the roof was in good shape. But when a neighbor casually mentioned she had a guy coming about to work on her roof for the same issue, I asked him to visit me as well. It was the first time I hired someone without researching them (figuring the neighbor had good judgement.)

I’m not sure if the attached picture quite illustrates the problems but after he left, there were multiple ponds instead of one. I learned he used the torch method to flush the roof which is illegal in NYC. Worst of all, we now have a leak on the third floor ceiling.

I’ve since had three real roof folks (culled from this forum) come examine my roof and tell
me I now need a new roof – they can’t tell where the leak begins because there are now so many holes and open seams. I don’t want to call the previous guy to fix it because as one roofer said, “never let that guy near your roof again.” (His name and company have never been mentioned on rownstoner..)

I have a receipt from his company on his letterhead though I did pay in cash. Not sure if he is licensed or bonded or just has a letterhead. The cost was $1600 and now thousands more for a new roof.

Do I have any legal options of getting some of my money back ($1600 is not a small sum not to mention the thousands more for a new roof.) Or is it an insurmountable hassle? Grateful for any advice.