Roof Repair Dispute with Contractor
I’m looking for advice if I’m in the right over a dispute with a roofing contractor. Background story is we purchased a home earlier this year in Contra Costa county - California. Right after we entered an offer there was a leak in the living room detected by the sellers. The leak occurred under where solar was installed 3-5 years ago. They engaged with a licensed roofer, had it repaired and there was a 2-year warranty on the work with a “2 year/2 free return guarantee against leaks”. Minimal damage to the interior that just required fresh touch-up paint. Moving forward, we close on the house and move in, a few months go by and after a major rainstorm, we didn’t find any leaks. A second major rainstorm happens a few weeks later and we return home to standing water on the hardwood floors in the same area, causing the floorboards to swell and disjoint, plus visible drywall damage where the water penetrated. Call the roofer and they send out the same guy twice who takes pictures, walks around, and then says there is nothing he can do each time and the “previous repair clearly wasn’t good enough”. After finally getting ahold of the owner of the company, he says I need a new roof on the rear half because a repair won’t cut it and they need to remove the solar panels and install a whole new section of roof in that area to guarantee any further work. They’re quoting $5800 with a discount given their previous work. I go back and forth him asking what the guarantee is worth if I’ve had a massive leak causing interior damage, plus risk of mold growth. He says that’s the best he can do and will defend himself litigiously if needed.
Roof is composite shingles, approximately 15 years old but in good shape according to the inspection, covers 1300sq foot first floor.
In my mind, what’s the guarantee against leakage worth from the original work if they aren’t willing to repair or replace for free, or at least there should be a much steeper discount. By sending their staff out twice, is that their guarantee satisfied? Am I getting a bum deal or being unrealistic? Thanks in advance for any help!