Opinion ID: 2806922
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Kiker Repairs the Parish’s Roofs

Text: In 2003, the Parish, a Catholic church located in Mobile, Alabama, hired Kiker to repair its main roof by removing the existing shingles and installing new ones.1 Shortly after beginning work, Kiker discovered that the deck supporting the roof was made of gypsum panels surrounded by metal bands.2 Kiker had no experience working with gypsum and did not know how to install shingles on a roof with a gypsum deck. After doing some research, Kiker planned to install a new plywood deck over the existing gypsum deck and attach new shingles to the plywood deck. Kiker then learned that it would be cheaper to use a special fastener, the ES Do-All Loc-Nail, to attach the shingles directly to the existing gypsum deck, so Kiker opted to use the fastener and completed the work. 1 In turn, Kiker hired a subcontractor, Damon Lett Roofing, to perform the work. For purposes of this opinion, references to Kiker’s work include work performed by the subcontractor. 2 Gypsum is a substance with a consistency similar to drywall. When gypsum is exposed to water, it breaks down and turns to powder. 3 Case: 14-12151 Date Filed: 06/10/2015 Page: 4 of 19 In 2005, the Parish hired Kiker to repair leaks in a secondary roof, known as the horseshoe roof. The horseshoe roof was a low-slope roof. Kiker told the Parish that the leaks could be fixed by adding a pitch to the roof, which would allow water to flow off the roof into downspouts. A few months after Kiker finished work on the horseshoe roof, water began to leak through the ceiling underneath. When the Parish complained, Kiker inspected the horseshoe roof and concluded that it was not leaking. Kiker told the Parish that the leaks were caused instead by water flowing through a brick wall that abutted the roof and recommended that the Parish to apply sealant to the bricks to stop the leaking. The Parish followed Kiker’s instructions, but the leaks continued. In 2008, water began to leak through the ceiling under the main roof. Kiker returned to the Parish between 40 and 50 times to investigate leaks. Each time Kiker reported that the roofs were not causing the leaks. In 2010, the Parish hired a roof inspector to inspect both roofs. The inspection of the main roof showed that Kiker’s improper installation of the ES Do-All Loc-Nail fasteners caused the leaks. To secure shingles to a gypsum deck, the fasteners must be nailed directly into the gypsum deck, not the steel bands that surround the gypsum. But, Kiker tried to force the ES Do-All Loc-Nails into the steel bands. The nails could not penetrate the steel and tore the shingles or caused 4 Case: 14-12151 Date Filed: 06/10/2015 Page: 5 of 19 the shingles not to lie flat.3 As a result, water was able to flow between the shingles to the gypsum deck below, transforming the gypsum from a hard, solid surface into powder; thus, it could no longer support the roof and had to be replaced. Water also flowed through the gypsum deck to the Parish’s ceiling under the main roof, destroying the ceiling’s plaster. The inspection revealed problems with Kiker’s work on the horseshoe roof as well. The horseshoe roof also had a gypsum deck, and Kiker used the same fasteners to install the new shingles on that roof. The inspection also revealed a defect in the flashing in the brick wall that abuts the horseshoe roof. Water entered the bricks above the horseshoe roof, flowed through the bricks instead of onto the roof, and eventually reached the ceiling where it caused leaks. Before Kiker worked on the roof, through-wall copper flashing in the bricks forced water out of the brick wall onto the roof’s surface. But Kiker covered over the through-wall copper flashing so that it no longer directed water onto the roof. Kiker then installed surface-mounted flashing, but the new flashing was ineffective in forcing water out of the bricks and onto the roof. Without the proper flashing, water flowed through the bricks and leaked into the building. 3 Kiker should have laid felt between the deck and shingles to serve as additional protection from water, but in many places Kiker failed to install the felt. 5 Case: 14-12151 Date Filed: 06/10/2015 Page: 6 of 19