Families and Cities Affected by the Tornadoes

We’re called Storm Solutions Roofing and Contracting because what we do best is help people get things back to normal after some of the violent storms we have in this part of the country. But there is no way that some people are going to get life back to normal very quickly after the horrendous storms and tornadoes we have experienced in the last few weeks.

Tornado Damage on May 31, 2013

Our hearts go out to families in Oklahoma, those in Shawee, Moore and Oklahoma City. We had our own tornado activity just northwest of here when an EF3 hit St. Charles and there was another in Roxana. While we had plenty of damaged homes, as of this moment, no one was killed, just injuries. Oklahoma lost lives in each of these three tornadoes.

I’m just glad that I do have the ability to make some small part of this big problem a little better. Just looking through some of the photos from St. Charles, there’s many houses that lost roofs as those intense winds blew through.

Some People Just Have to Make Things Worse

If your home was damaged, you need to use some caution in who you choose to make repairs. Unfortunately, every time there is some serious storm damage, some folks who maybe have some construction experience – but no license, insurance or professionally-trained employees – come out of the woodwork and go door to door to drum up business. They’ll offer a bargain basement price just to get the work.

For your own protection, I recommend that you stick with a local vendor, someone with a history, a license, insurance and a good rating with the Better Business Bureau. The best St. Louis roofer is one who has a high rating with the BBB, and it doesn’t hurt if they are GAF certified. GAF is the biggest manufacturer of roofing materials and they have a great certification program that helps you make sure you’re going to get a quality job.

I Know This Sounds Like Extra Work…

It might sound like more work for you when you are already stressed out with getting repairs done. I hate to turn you away from an honest worker who just doesn’t happen to have all the qualifications, but I don’t know any other way of ensuring you can avoid being ripped off.

But I assure you – you don’t need to get a “repair” that won’t protect your home the next time it rains. If there’s no insurance, location, record with the Better Business Bureau, then you may not have any protection. If the vendor has gone back to whatever state he came from, you may not even be able to contact him. If you lose your investment in that new roof, all you can do is pay to have it done again the right way.

It seems pretty heartless to me that some people take advantage of folks who are already stressed out. I can’t protect you from the storms that tear across the midwest, but at least I can offer this advice to try to protect you a little.