Dura-Foam Roofing and Solar Center

Recently Dura-​Foam re-​roofed our eichler house in Palo Alto, it was a great experience to work with them.
1. Although it did take a little bit long time to get response from them initially, but it’s pretty much the same for other roof companies i have contacted. It’s a busy season, so i can understand the response time takes longer than usual.
2. Randy (the owner) did estimate and explained lots of details about foaming roof which clears quite a lot of my questions.
3. They tried their best to arrange the work to be done asap once i told them my roof has leaking issue. The crew came on time on the work day, they did great job to foam the roof. Now my house temperature keeps 68 °F without turning on the heater.
4. There are some extra work needed to be done during re-​roof. Rick (operations manager) clearly explains the reason and the cost which sounds reasonable to me.
So definitely i want to recommend this company to anyone who owns eichler house.

I called twice, left a message with a phone number and a description of my question. I never received a call back.

I don’t know yet the quality of the work, but the business practices are below acceptable.
1. They did the roof job on Fascia that are rotten. And I didn’t notice.
How could they not point it to advise the customer to replace the fascia?!
2. A water drain was positioned against the wood beam so there is no clearance to put a downspout!
3. Power failure:
When I got back home after the foaming, the power on my kitchen stove was off. I had no power for 4 days. Because the technician did open the back of my Power Panel to connect their machine. In order to generate 220V they disconnected the stove wires on the back panel and forgot to reconnect.
Despite my 2 phone calls and 2 emails to complain noboydy from Dura Foam called me back and I had to call an electrician.
It’s on after few week that the manager called and instead of apologizing asked for all kind of proof. He was supposed to call the next day to confirm they would cover (after verifying with his crew that I was telling the truth…).
After another few days lost they finally cut a check a month after the incident to cover the cost. But they charged me 1.5% for late fee!
4. During the quote process Rick explained that the competitor’s roofing leave puddles like on my neighbor roof. In the long it damage the roof.
Well I wend checking after the first rain: There is as many puddle.
I heard that the father retired and the son took over. I seems it’s not the same company with all the good reviews

I had a great experience with Dura-​Foam.
I own an Eichler in Mountain View.
My house is exposed directly under the sun. The temperature inside the house was really increasing a lot when there was lots of sunlight and decreasing a lot during the night (during March). 60 °F during the night. 85 °F during the day.
Rick came for an estimate and informed me that there was no insulation.
They installed a foam roof and repaired some minor things on the roof and also clean up every useless things on the roof. The communication during the process happened by email: they communicated clearly about all the steps.
The work has been done within a few weeks, without disruption. I didn’t even need to be at home.
Once it was installed, it made such much difference inside the house.
The temperature right after installation in April was 65F–73 °F.
During the regular summer, the temperature is about (73F-​80F)
The foam roof really helped stabilize the temperature here.
They also offered me a smooth payment option so I could get the roof ready before summer.

I had a great experience with Dura-​Foam on a small yet very important home improvement project. I installed a bathroom fan in each of my bathrooms through the already existing foam roof (Eichler owners will understand how complicated this can be). Instead of going with a single contractor, I opted to contract out the job myself to my usual carpenter and a roofing contractor, Dura-​Foam. I bought the exhaust fans and caps myself.
First of all, Randy came out to bid the job. At the same time, he did a thorough inspection of the roof and gave us some tips for extending the life of it. Second, he and my carpenter, Manny, worked together via email to discuss plans and to schedule the job. They cc’d me on all of the communication so I felt like I was in the loop. Finally, we were working between unexpected late spring rain showers and Randy’s crew was totally responsive. They were at my house within a few hours of the completed installation to make sure that the area was sealed and secure. Throughout the whole process, Randy and his crew were timely, polite, and sincerely helpful. We did not feel nickel and dime’d whatsoever.
I have a roof re-​coat due in another couple of years. I am certain I will use Dura-​Foam for that job, too.

I didn’t end up getting a roof from Dura-​Foam, but this review is for the sales process I went through.
I met with Rick who came over to check out my roof. He’s a really nice guy, with honest answers. He was professional and courteous. As promised I was provided a quote within a couple of days.
Why didn’t I go with Dura-​Foam? My roof has 2 pitched sections which needed to be replaced with shingles, which Dura-​Foam doesn’t do so I opted to go with someone that could handle both for me. Based on my experience with Rick, I would recommend that someone at least take a look at Dura-​Foam if they’re looking for a new foam roof.

hi Randy, we live in Palo Alto, not Fremont, I think your explanation is reasonable, if the young man explained this to us, we’d take it too. But when he said is «It was broken before» and we showed him it’s not because the rest covered with dust.
About the skylight work, we are not picky person, we did not complain that it’s high or low, it looks so bad, even the skylight was not in the middle of the wood. If you need to charge extra money to get it right, just tell it before hand. It looks so bad, we decided to redo it immediately.

We bought an Eichler in early 2013 and did some major renovating which included replacing the existing foam roof (the roof wasn’t in too bad shape, but part of the remodel included upgrading the electrical which unfortunately meant tearing into the roof). We worked with Dura-​Foam and had a great overall experience.
They took the time to sit with me and talk about my options and walked me through the process and really made me feel good about the experience. Fast forward a few months and I’m extremely happy with my new roof and with the folks at Dura-​Foam.
They even stopped by when they were working on a neighbor’s roof last week just to «check-​in» with me to make sure there weren’t any issues and that I was happy. Very nice company to work with. Would recommend them.

Lived in an Eichler in Palo Alto. It can get very hot there and an insulated white foam roof seemed like a very good choice. They put it on and sealed it. It did drop the heat inside the house during the summer. However, the roof leaked alot (a gallon or so) around the skylights (3) but they did come out several times to repair it.
I was so impressed with their customer service and product that I put a Durafoam roof on my Daly City house. In both cases the durafoam replaced the tar and gravel. In the DC house it seemed good, but customer service and billing were awful. When I asked them to do a «Roof Check» they wanted $ 150. I had never heard of such a thing. They sent a $ 1200 estimate of repairs/​resealing but had NOT been on the roof. When I went to inspect it myself, I saw the roof was pitted, water puddles and leaking. It looked awful. I called a contractor friend and he said the roof was crumbling in places. The gutters were rusted through in spots. They called back to offer to reseal but the condition of the roof 10 years old was so bad that I went back to Tar and Gravel (half the cost) and better customer service with a local company.
I am REALLY disappointed that they would treat an existing customer so badly. And their delay and reluctance cost me time and money and they lost a job. There are other companies that do foam roofs if that is what you want. Do your research.

I highly recommend you stay away from DuraFoam! Be warned!
I bought an Eichler house, and recently noticed that Few Fascia boards and underlying planks were rotting, indicating a leak in the roof. Since I had a DuraFoam sticker in my garage, I contacted DuraFoam. They told me they had done roofing 25 years ago, and had re-​coated few times in subsequent years (additional payments that other roofers don’t charge), but the last re-​coating they had submitted a quote but not done the job. I now realize that the previous owner most likely got smart and hence had switched roofer for the last job. After many phone calls to DuraFoam and scheduling mishaps, Randy the owner came to inspect. His lack of professionalism and lack of accountability is unbelievable! He immediately played the blame game of how shabby job the other roofer has done, and was rambling on in a completely unfocused way, blaming weather, economy, family etc… (completely unrelated). He would say this his roof would never leak but leak could be through chimney or other areas, due to other roofer’s coating etc… and he said *I* will have to trace it (he will not do it!). Eventually after working with other contractors, I had to call Randy to ensure that contractors replace Faschia via his recommended approach. When I called him, he just continued with the blame game, and rather than suggesting a solution, would continue blaming everyone else in the world, including me for wasting his time, not following HIS directions (which required me to do the work and not him) etc…
Bottom-​line: I believe that after doing a lot of great business during his younger years (when he probably was a capable guy), Randy is now an arrogant, stuck-​up (my way or highway type), senior citizen who’s just upset at the world, and does not care about or respect consumers. I can relate with Elizabeth’s review on 12÷20÷201) and would also want to warn all consumers to not engage Durafoam, else your experience will soon become like Elizabeth’s, mine and countless others…
Regarding other five star reviews, most of them talk about FOAM, and that I agree that it provides best insulation etc… However, do it from other roofing companies, not Durafoam.

I have one of those flat roof houses with mahogany interiors and big wall windows (like an Eichler with a crawl space). In 2005, I got a DuraFoam roof to replace a tar and gravel roof. Immediately I noticed a massive improvement in insulation and all the leaks were fixed. I also had a skylight added before the foaming and that sealed in perfectly. After the foaming, the roof was painted white to protect the surface of the foam and give it durability. It will need a second coat of paint in five years (coming up now) and that will cost $ 2−3K (10−13% original cost). Only complaint I have is that the roof over the garage and room addition is perfectly flat and the foam was applied with a huge low spot in the center so I get a «pool» on my roof after a rain. I have let the company know as I am concerned with the weight of the «pool» on the foam roof. They checked it out 9 months AFTER I notified them and I am waiting for a reapplication at the low spots. The water pooling doesnt appear to be hurting anything but I am afraid of what the weight will do to my foam roof as the pool persists through the rainy season. I will provide an update after they finalize the roof. 22 Aug 09 Update: Dura Foam came out, cleaned the roof, added more foam to change the bias towards the drains. They also coated the foam addition with protective paint. Looks like this should prevent water from pooling. 15 Feb 2013 update: I did my recoat (after 8 years). This is a preventive maintenance that should help the roof last another 20 years. The recoat involved washing, drying, resealing and applying a thick new coat of elastomeric. The job was done fast (in one day) but did cost over 4K. I guess inflation has struck again. But I should be good til 2033. I plan to be around for the next re-​coat.

This company asks its customers to go to their website to submit requests but their online request form is defected because when I answered «green» to the security question of «what color is grass», it kept coming back to say that my answer was wrong. I finally figured that putting «GREEN» is the correct answer and «green» is the wrong answer. I also called them twice to report the problem and they kept saying it has no problem when they were using it.
This is not the only issue with the company. I recently requested a free estimate on a roof that I thought it was a foam roof because it looks like one. After inspection, they told me that the roof is not a foam roof and asked me to pay for the service despite the fact that they never performed a service on the roof besides letting me know that it was not a foam roof. I logged on to their online request form and found that they provided same form for both service and free estimate. However, this fact does not give them the right to charge people for «service» that was never performed under the name of «free estimate».

When I have concern about the leaks around my skylight, I called the office and talked to Adam, the owner’s son. He promised to call me back the next day to advise me what needs to be done about my skylight. Adam did not break his promise. He called me the next day and immediately told me that my skylight needs to be raised to see if the problem of the leaks can be fixed. He also said the service would be no charge as a customer service gesture and about a couple of hours later, his team came to my house to do the work. I am so grateful for his help. Louis, Adam’s employee, is also courteous and helpful. He did a great job on my skylight. Many thanks to Dura-​Foam. I have no regret to have a foam roof with this company.

Wonderful experience working with Randy and his team. The crew did a great job removing and replacing all the termite eaten and rotted wood roof boards. They were neat and clean, protecting everything under plastic. I have a roof I don’t have to worry about now. No leaks no termites no dryrot. randy and crew were great to work with.

We used them to install a foam roof over an existing tar and gravel roof. The finished job looks good and saves a significant amount of energy. I thought they left my skylights a mess so they came out and cleaned them. Turns out, they did not cause the mess which was caused by my painter. I appreciate their dedication to customer service even when it is not their problem.

This company is extremely unprofessional and their technicians (if you can call them that) do not know what they are doing. Last year my Durafoam roof started leaking in three areas of my house. I called the company to have someone come out and repair the leaks. After doing the repair work, they charged me and assured me everything was fixed. The next time it rained, my roof leaked in the same exact spots. I called them to come out and do the repair work again and they said they needed a credit card so that they could charge it after the repair work. I told them no way as the leaks were in the same place. They finally agreed to send someone out after I asked to speak to the owner. The guy who came out supposedly fixed my roof for sure and did not charge me. The next time it rained, my roof leaked again in the same exact spots so once again I called the office and complained so they said they would send someone out. Two guys came out and worked on repairing my roof and assured me that this time, my roof was for sure repaired because they sealed all the leaks. As I am writing this, it is raining and I am listening to the leaks from my roof hitting the buckets on my floor. The leaks are extensive and I have decided that three times is sufficient. To add insult to injury, the day my roof started leaking again, I received a bill from them in the mail for the last time they came to my home to supposedly repair my roof. At that time, I assumed they were not charging me as they said nothing about a charge nor did I sign any type of service invoice. Based on my experience of this company not only will I never do business with this them again but I intend to request a full refund and will sue them if they do not comply.

I had to wait weeks just to get an estimate. I would understand if it were during the rainy season, but it was in the middle of the summer.
Then I would take off work to be there, and they would give me time ranges that they would be there and didn’t show up. Once they came early and left a note and left before I got there. They were supposed to let me know when they were coming and once they would just go and leave because I wasn’t there. Or they would leave because they had another appointment and would have to come back another time.
The young woman who answers the phone was extremely rude. I’m not a fan of this company.

My grandparents had DuraFoam put the roof on many years ago. They have paid DuraFoam every couple of years to do repairs (that I have subsequently found out other foam roofers do for free as a matter of service.) I bought the home in 2002.
The roof has always been pretty ugly, there’s significant damage to downspouts and the facia board. I call several foam roofers and they all say the roof was not done right to begin with. I speak with the owner of DuraFoam and we discuss some things that he knew were not done right and some repairs that should have been recommended to my grandmother while she was the owner. I asked him why his team didn’t tell my grandmother there were problems. His response, «If she didn’t complain, we weren’t going to say anything.»
The bid that he sent was more expensive than several other foam roofers and his attidude, well, read above. You will have long term problems if you hire this firm. I highly recommend you continue looking.

I inherited a foam room on my four unit building in San Francisco. I called three sevens… and got a $ 10,000 estimate to repair and re-​coat. Dura Foam came out and for several hundred dollars repaired my skylight leaks that were caused by a poor original installation. Unfortunately, they concluded the previous job was so uneven that they wouldn’t be able to re-​coat. How often does a contractor turn down work? Very responsive, cost effective, and above all, high integrity.

If you have an older home like an Eichler in the Bay Area with tar and gravel roof, foam roof is the most cost effective way to replace flat or mostly flat roofs.
We replaced the tar and gravel in 2005 with Dura-​Foam and the new foam roof has worked out great! The roof is much better insulation than tar & gravel. Keeps the house (much) cooler in the summer and prevents leaks (which we had *lots*) during the raining season