Then you will need to redo the whole roof to match.

I asked, and they confirmed that roof, shingles, and everything cosmetic would be charged separately. The $15k is JUST for the trusses.

Here's a pic from the day it happened:

You can see the obviously broken truss, that would be the first one. There are 2 more beyond that one that are broken, then a fourth one that's cracked but not broken.

From the verbal discussion with the contractor (not written so I can't confirm), I understood that the plan was to simply remove the plywood, put in new trusses, then remove the old trusses, then put in new plywood. No crane or temporary support was mentioned, and a crane would likely be possible anyway.

Yup. I contacted mine the next morning, and the guy that dropped the tree contacted his the following Monday. Mine is paying for everything and then subrogating to his.

I'm using the contractor recommended (but not required) by my insurance. I'm not thrilled that it took 2 1/2 months to get an estimate, though, and less than half of the job is even quoted.

I'm also concerned that they subcontracted to two guys to apply extra insulation to the hole, which used 2 insulation boards (less than $100 /each) and took about 2 hours... and the charge was $1200! That's like $500 /hour.

So when I saw $15k for an 8-10 hour job, it made me second guess their rate.

I found the engineer's report, this is the work that the contractor quoted for $15k:

Yes, the insurance company required an engineer to come out and give a report. The majority of it was simple and as expected, but this part is all that was relevant to the trusses.

As far as I can tell, the recommendation isn't to replace the entire truss, just the three top chords. And then replace the metal gussets with hand-cut plywood.

I think you need to keep calling contractors. You need more bids and a really clear understanding of what the work entails, how long it will take, and some comparison bids. I would be disinclined to go with the insurance company's contractor, but would consider it with references, good reviews, and comparison bids. It is really important to have the roof re-done correctly (obviously), so I would contact reputable roofers as well.

As a rule of thumb, I always get at least 3 quotes on jobs and then pick whomever has the best quote for the job, with good references. But I live in a rural area, and I haven't had much luck finding someone to give a second quote! The contractor recommended by the insurance company isn't even local, they're from a neighboring county.

That's why I suspect that they're milking the insurance company, they know there's no real competition.

If they were replacing the entire truss then it would be different! But the engineer's report makes it sound a lot more simple than that: literally just removing a board, nailing in a new board with plywood to hold it in place, then moving on to the next board.

If insurance covers everything, why do you care how much it costs?

In my area, if there's a chance to get a repair paid by insurance, home repair companies flock. They'll even contact the insurance company and handle everything for you. You just pay a deductible. And anything involving a roof is very expensive.

If insurance covers everything, why do you care how much it costs?

Large scale, the insurance fraud you suggested (jacking up rates for insurance companies) is the reason we all pay much higher insurance rates. So it affects all of us.

Middle scale, my insurance will subrogate to the tree removal company's insurance. Even though mine paid, there's a chance that his will be less amenable. And if my insurance isn't fully compensated then my rates go up.

Smaller scale, my insurance company sends me a check for the job and it's up to me to divvy it out accordingly. So paying $15k to someone for a job that's normally $10k (for example) is still $5k out of my pocket.

Gussets as engineer showed are typical truss repairs. Section of roof will likely need some plywood, roofing, insulation, possibly some drywall removed for access. Removing the tree?

Your bid is a mostly labor cost. Guessing 5-10K plus maybe some crane time if the tree is included. Clean up? 1-2 more bids should give you a better idea. If you piece it out you have to define the scope of each.

Disregard all online estimates by companies who get compensated by your clicking.

Did they move you out of house?

Thanks for the reply and advice!

I had the tree removed around October 1 (different company, already paid), and the contractor covered the hole with insulation board and a tarp. I covered the hole in the ceiling myself with cardboard, to keep birds and bugs out :-/

This particular quote is JUST for the truss repair, not the roof, interior, or the soffits. The quote doesn't have any of that, they said they'd quote it later and were trying to hurry for this quote (I know, over 2 months later is "hurrying"). I'm guessing that it includes clean-up, too, but that wasn't explicitly stated when I asked for clarification.

The house is still habitable. It's not as warm as I'd like because of the opening, and my electric bill last month was 50% higher than the previous year! But I don't have much of a choice, really.

It is not insurance fraud to not beat the bushes in order to have a futile attempt at getting additional contractors to provide a bid. If the contractor you found is very competent and the insurance company is satisfied with the bid then move on. If the insurance company isn't willing to cover the bid, then the onus is on them to explain why not and find an acceptable contractor.

The only impact the subrogation will have is that it may impact your being reimbursed for your deductible. I had an upstairs owner flood out a lot of units and because he didn't have sufficient insurance coverage for all of the damage, my insurance company was not able to subrogate a sufficient amount to reimburse me for the deductible.

It is extremely unlikely that your rates will go up because of a relatively minor claim that was completely the fault of a third party. Typically rates rise when there are repeated claims for the same issue - i.e. repeated flooding from old pipes. The total amount of your claim - in the scheme of things is relatively low and is a one time freakish occurrence.

If the contractor you found is very competent and the insurance company is satisfied with the bid then move on.

I can't honestly say that they're "very competent", though. The one job they did do (covering the hole) was subcontracted and the rate was jacked up SUPER high (looking like $500 /hour). Then it took them over 2 months to give me a quote, which doesn't include more than half of the job.

Either way, that's why I asked if this is a normal rate for such a job. I'm getting mixed information in this thread (some saying that it seems fair if it includes things that it doesn't, like interior work and bringing in a crane), so I honestly still don't know if it's a reasonable quote.

I'm also not sure what the GC brings to the table, if they subcontract everything out. Why do I need them instead of just hiring a subcontractor myself?

The only impact the subrogation will have is that it may impact your being reimbursed for your deductible.

That's still a potential $2500 out of pocket :-O

It is extremely unlikely that your rates will go up because of a relatively minor claim that was completely the fault of a third party.

Good to know! That's a bit of a relief, really.