Action 9 confronts roof coating company

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orange County man claims the company he paid to protect his roof instead badly damaged shingles that will now cost him thousands of dollars.

Action 9 found the company used a controversial product we first exposed four years ago.

John Pennington hired a roofing company to clean and preserve his shingles with a special coating.

“He said it will be a 15-year coat and I won't ever have to look at it again,” said Pennington.

Pennington paid Advanced Roof Restoration $3,500 to clean and then coat his roof with a rubber paint that would extend the life of the shingles. Instead, Pennington claims it made a mess of his roof.

Pennington said the coating didn't look right so he hired a home inspector. The report found the product was improperly used and now the shingles had to be replaced.

“He's glued the shingles down, and shingles have to breathe, so now they'll hold water and it will rot out the roof,” said Pennington.

The Florida Roofing Association said coatings should not be used because of potential shingle damage.

Action 9's Todd Ulrich confronted Advanced Roof Restoration owner Bill Wolf.

“Did that coating wreck his shingles?” asked Ulrich.

"I don't think it did, no," said Wolf.

“The inspector said it did," said Ulrich.

"He hired me to paint his shingles," said Wolf.

Action 9 then used an Orange County home as a test. Again, Wolf recommended coating the shingles since it can preserve the roof according to the product's manufacturer.

“It says roof tiles and roof shingles on the label,” said Wolf.

As for the roofing association and shingle manufacturers concerns, "Roofers don't want you to know about this stuff because they just want you to replace the roof every five to 10 years,” said Wolf.

Florida regulators issued a cease and desist order against Wolf for doing roof repairs without a state license.

“Now this is what you get these days if you don't check people out,” said Pennington.

Pennington has hired an attorney.

Wolf said he won't refund any money but he'll stop using the product on shingle roofs. He does not need a state license for roof cleaning.

WFTV