If he's licensed, he should be insured. If the repairs/fixes are that costly, he can make an insurance claim if he feels he needs to.

None of this should be your problem -- they need to pay to repair all damage they cause. If they are not able to adequately estimate the cost of the job, that's their issue and you shouldn't be sorry about that (In fact, you were inconvenienced by them incorrectly estimating the time to do the job by having workers there an extra day). .

I don't mean to be unsympathetic, but a lot of this sounds like carelessness and the nails sound incredibly dangerous and I'd be extremely upset about this as a dog owner .

beagles: Thanks so much for your thoughts. Your analysis is rational, and I think I’m thinking emotionally. I agree with everything you said, but I still feel guilty about how this is all playing out, The owner is definitely licensed and insured, but I’m guessing this won’t rise to the level where he’d want to make a claim. He’d just absorb the loss.

Any thoughts on whether or not it would still be appropriate to tip the workers? They work so hard, but it feels wrong to give them extra money while their mistakes are costing the owner more.

Edited to add: I’m extremely stressed about the nails and would love to hear any ideas on how to make sure we’ve gotten them all. Like I said, the owner will roll the entire area with a magnetic roller but our lawn is due for a cut on Thursday and has grown quickly with all the rain we had.

I helped a friend use a magnetic roller after a new home construction and it worked so well it even picked up stones with a high iron content! So I would feel confident that they could get all the nails. If you don't trust them to, perhaps ask if they would leave the roller for a couple of days and you can go over things to your own satisfaction.

Olychick: That is good to know, thanks! I will definitely ask if he can leave it with us for a couple of days. If he can’t because he needs it for other customers, I’ll see if he can come back after the lawn in mowed.

Suero: yes, I will. The lawn guys know we‘re getting our roof done - we had to ask them to cut it especially short last week in preparation - and they won’t be back until after it’s been rolled. Hopefully the roller is as effective as it was in Olychick’s experience, but I will remind them about the possibility of nails (and other debris since it was quite messy overall).

I’ve never tipped roofers and certainly wouldn’t under your circumstances. We had a roof done last year and some damage but nothing like you describe. Our new gutters were scraped up because they didn’t use proper ladders that rested on the roof instead of the gutters. And I’m still picking up nails out of my landscape rock and suspect I will be for the rest of my life. Hopefully my new roof was installed correctly. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s possible anymore to get a local craftsman-like roofing crew to install a new roof.

Roofing crew we had the year before at our other house dropped beer cans in our shrubs and our neighbors attic, damaged our windows with falling debris and shingled over the bathroom exhaust opening. Getting a new roof is a crapshoot at best. I have no sympathy for roofing contractors.

3katz4me: It‘s too bad there’s not a better solution for the nails. They’re really a hazard for pets and children. Thanks for the heads up on your issue with the exhaust opening. I’ll be sure to ask the owner to confirm that didn’t happen here.

After using the magnetic roller, what about going over the area w/ a metal detector? Can they be rented?

I think nails on the ground after a roofing job is a common problem. Those big magnets really do pick up most of them. They use the same type of magnets underwater after a dock is built.

Ditto to use of the magnet. However, don’t expect it will catch all of them the first time around. And if there is one on a pole you can run around and under your shrubs, do it. Most roofers routinely do this after a job. I found a few nails for quite a while after our last replacement but almost all were in the shrub beds.

I wouldn’t mow until you are satisfied as many as possible have been removed. I would also worry about nails in tires.

It does sounds like a lot of careless inattention by the workers. You may have had a different crew than your neighbors.

Straitlover: That’s an interesting idea. I think a friend’s son may have one they use at the beach. Maybe he can try it out in our yard!

maddielee and OutsidePlaying: They finished today and ran the roller around a number of times and it seemed to do a very good job, just like everyone thought. I also swept and raked and felt around the grass and only found a few nails stuck in cracks where the driveway meets the garage and in flower beds.

Re: the resolution of our other issue, he asked for the second 1/3 payment so he could pay his crew and told me to hold on to the rest until we’re completely satisfied. He’s being very good about it. The fire pit table is easy to put a dollar amount on, and I’m thinking of reducing the amount a bit because it was 2 years old, but I’m not sure what to do about the pavers. He thinks it’s gas, not oil, but whatever it is, it’s not coming out. I may try to post someplace else for ideas. I‘m not looking for perfection but would like it less noticeable and I’m willing to try a few things.

Thanks so much for everyone’s feedback. I really appreciate it!

If they are concrete pavers, they should pop right out. Either turn them over or see if you can find replacements.

The last roofing job we had done, there were quite a few nails picked up by the crew with their magnet after the job was complete. I wasn't satisfied they were all gone, so purchased my own magnet with a handle and two wheels. HD, Lowes, hardware stores carry them and I think it was around $25, but some are stronger, better made than others. I was able to find nails for quite some time and did get a nail in a tire. I'm sorry you are left with the problems. Hope you can reach a resolution that works for both you and your contractor.

I don't have any advice but I'd probably like working for you.

I thought the same thing, Fori. That the OP is so sensitive to the apparent good qualities of the workers really makes the "humbleandkind" screen name an apt one.

I think the owner of the company is being very fair and thoughtful of your concerns. Sounds like a real stand-up guy. Many would just dismiss issues brought up by homeowners. I would imagine you would decrease the amount of the fire pit as it is not new. As for tips to the workers, I wouldn't. They worked hard, but they didn't seem to be very careful.

pb32: that’s an interesting idea, to flip them over. The pavers aren’t straight, they are angled, but if it didn‘t seep through he might be able to pull up a few and get the pattern to work. I’ll run that by him. Replacing would be great too, but the walkway was in when we bought the house and I’m not sure where to find the pavers. I can certainly bring a picture to a few places to check though.

lizbeth-gardener: buying my own magnet is a great idea! I’ll go this weekend, and check for pavers, too!

Fori and IdaClaire: you’re hired! :) My sensitivity on this issue really speaks more about the good qualities of the workers (and the owner) than mine. Their work ethic and good nature was so refreshing, and they genuinely seemed like they were having fun while doing back-breaking work. They’d sing and laugh, and they always treated each other and the woman who brought them food with so much respect. I‘m just so sad it ended like this. I really wanted to show my appreciation with a tip. And the owner is being so nice and accommodating that I feel badly about his loss, too. Just genuinely good people!

tiwall: yes, I’m planning to reduce the price for depreciation and by the amount I had planned to tip. The walkway is a bit trickier, but hopefully one of the easy solutions identified above works out! The tip thing still makes me sad, but I think not doing it is the right answer.