Since the lawsuit is settled, I will now say that hiring John McDonald was the worst mistake I’ve made in hiring a contractor, ever. There were some warning signs once work started, but by that point it was too late and I was slow to recognize them for what they were. The long and short of it is that he and his partner/subcontractor Doug Ellison did not do what they were contracted to do in putting on the new roof. These contractual failures included, but are not necessarily limited to: not installing flashing around the chimney and putting in a ridge vent and/or other roofing vents. They also managed to damage some of the decking boards, failed to flash around some windows, and there are now questions in my mind about the installation of valley/ice roll as specified given some other leaks that have occurred. If John or Doug want to contest these statements, I am most willing to post all the relevant files and inspection reports here.
John had some good references, as I did check more than one before hiring. That said, one of those references did contact me later to say “bail out” but it was far too late at that point. Had I been aware of this site, I could have saved myself some trouble it seems. For when you do a search on John McDonald, 19 cases come up and 18 of them appear to be relevant —I admit I have not searched them all. When you do a search on Doug Ellison, quite a few cases show up too —and I haven’t searched all of them either.
The settlement was not with either of these people; rather, the insurance company that covered Doug Ellison at the time of the work (but is no longer providing coverage) has paid me to go away. The agreement says that they contest the case, that they admit to no wrong doing or liability on anyone’s part, are prepared to contest in court, etc. and are paying to “... merely to avoid litigation and buy their peace.” I accepted it because, while it was nowhere near what I sought in the suit, it was better than a sharp stick in the eye and will allow me to fix the worst issues immediately. The mitigation that is in place is wearing thin (mitigation being a point of contention betwixt me and the insurance company, to be fair and honest—they feel more should have been done and sooner, and I state that I am not a psychic) and I want the work done right. So, I will get the immediate done to the roof, and then work on remediation that does not involve continuing damage later.
I am getting one more quote and then hiring a reputable company and people in to do the immediate work. Yes, I will be checking them through the site. I also figured that while I could reject and go for the whole amount, the number of suits in place, the parties to those suits, and the apparently very finite amount of assets available to all parties meant that this was the best deal. Not to mention that I fully expected the insurance company to play hardball. Something is much better than nothing, stress is reduced, and I can take care of what has to be done now.
All said, check contractors you hire very, very, thoroughly and ask for proof of insurance, licensing, and bonding up front. Make copies of same, and check references. For what it may be worth, I also don’t recommend John R. McDonald, Doug Ellison, or the John R. McDonald Group if you live in NW Indiana (or anywhere else they do business).
LW
