so even though i haven't gone with him yet, im gonna have to give thumbs up to Dave's dad, Dave Sr.
the house im looking at being sold as-is has some shingles missing on the roof...the bank is needing to get an estimate to replace the shingles, and needs to make sure it has 2 years of life left (FHA requirement).
i talked to dave sr. on thursday, and he said he'd get back to me with an estimate by friday or so. saturday i wasnt able to reach him, and needed to find someone to check it out. turns out my sisters friend is a general contractor...he came out this morning, said the roof is in bad shape (looks like it), and said it would need replacing this year...he said he would sign off on it, as long as i knew it would need to be replaced. i figured it might, so ok.
well tonight, dave sr. called me back, said he got a chance to go out there and look at it. said the roof looks good, aside from the few missing shingles from the wind storm. he said the reason it feels mushy/weak is because then the house was built, 3/8" plywood was acceptable to use for the decking (i think he said its required to use like 5/8" now), and the trusses are 24" apart, giving it that feel that the roof isnt solid...he said the shingles arent cracked/curled, and the roof probably has 5-10 years of life left after the shingles are fixed.
the estimate he gave me was slightly higher than what the other guy said, but he did say if it came out to be less, he would refund me the difference. even if it comes out to be a few bucks more than the other guy, i feel like since he came out, he saved me from dropping thousands of dollars into a new roof right off the bat that isnt needed.
plus, he found what looks to maybe be a .223 or 7.62x39 bullet stuck into the roof, which made me LOL. ill try to get a pic of it later.
so anyone looking for work, dave sr. definitely someone i would reccomend just off this. its obvious he does honest work, and not looking to make a quick buck like the guy who gave me the first estimate. not to mention ive seen threads here where he has been reccomended, so heres another for him.