Who is responsible for roof vents?

While your details are a little tough to understand IMO your issue lies with the actions of the roofer.

If they did work on the roof then they should have returned everything to its original state or condition unless of course they modified the vent piping for some other reason.

You would need to provided a more detailed explanation of why the elbow was removed or left off and if the roofer has some reason in doing so.

How the owners now foot this bill I don't see it.

Has the roofer been paid?????

If the roofers made a mistake, ask them to fix it. Why bring the homeowners in right away. Is someone too shy to call the roofer?

The person who inspected the work and 'signed off' on payment should be held accountable for his/her negligence ... let him/her deal with the roofing contractor ... if 'to no avail' let the D&O insurance come into play.

Director and Officer insurance --> http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20021211_hoado.htm

Hope this helps.

Lynda:

I would doubt anyone inspected this work by climbing onto the roof and measuring the vents. Simply not SOP.

As to D&O insurance that is nonsense.

As to the "stinky" behavior by the Board I would call it gutless.

The roofer IMO has no clue what they were doing. Vents need to be located in a certain position and set to a certain height to prevent exactly what you have seen happen.

Now if these vents in fact vent the heating systems or hot water heater tough to tell from NY then the imbeciles who shortened them could cause them to become covered or blocked in which case the exhaust from the vent would be forced back into the unit.

In most cases that would be CO gas, carbon monoxide which can kill you.

Sometimes elbows are added bend the ventpipe down to prevent being blocked or in some cases they are run straight up and left uncovered.

My way of handling this would be either have the MC call the roofer and demand the vents be replaced or brought to a state in which he found them. Or have your attorney write them a letter and suggest the BOARD not the unit owners will pay to have someone make any necessary repairs and in the event any damage or injury should result from their work they will be held liable to the fullest extent under the law.

Many folks never look up on the roofs and vents can need repair or upkeep and if not maintained properly can cause injury, damage or in some cases death.

Someone needs to light a fire up the roofer's __________.

John:

I think you would have some time collecting on such a claim under the D&O portion of your policy.

And I would never put in a claim for an amount Lynda suggests totals $800 which more than likely would barely exceed the deductible.

IMO many repairs which are made on many properties are not inspected when the MC or members of the Board as neither would have the knowledge or ability to fully make such an inspection.

This case would require these folks to have roofing knowledge, knowledge of proper venting procedures, and the condition of the roof prior to the work being done. And as to hiring someone to oversee this sort of work in some cases due to the size of the project it would not be feasible to hire someone at more expense to oversee this type of work.