I signed a contract with Fortex Roofing Systems on February 10, 2026, for a complete roof…read morereplacement on my rental property in Santa Monica. The contract listed an estimated start date of March 2, 2026, and a completion date of March 13, 2026. Fortex was also responsible for obtaining the required city permit.
I hired Fortex because my insurance carrier, Mercury Insurance, had required that the roof be replaced in order to maintain coverage. I explained this to Noam at the outset and made it clear that timing was extremely important. Because of the prolonged delays in obtaining permits and starting the project, Mercury ultimately issued a non-renewal notice on my insurance policy. Despite knowing how critical this project was, Fortex did not appear to treat the matter with any urgency.
Unfortunately, the project was plagued by delays and poor communication from the beginning.
Although the contract was signed in early February, Fortex did not begin the permit process until March 9, more than three weeks after the contract was executed and after the estimated start date had already passed. The permit application process was very disorganized. I received urgent calls and text messages asking me to sign a form immediately, only to be told later that same evening that the form was incorrect and that I needed to sign a different one instead.
After that, communication became very difficult. I had to repeatedly follow up for updates. The permit was finally issued on March 18, 2026.
I was then informed that a pre-construction inspection was required before work could begin, and the earliest appointment Fortex scheduled was April 9, 2026. Given that I had already been waiting nearly two months, I was frustrated by the additional delay. When I expressed my concerns to Noam, his response was that "if you are not happy, we don't need to do your job."
Wanting to avoid further delays, I personally logged into the city's scheduling system and successfully moved the inspection up to April 6.
On April 2, Noam informed me that because one weather website showed an 18% chance of rain on April 7, Fortex wanted to postpone the project for another three weeks. When I objected, I was again told that they could cancel the contract if I was unhappy. I reluctantly agreed. It did not rain on April 7.
At that point, I could no longer deal with the repeated delays and threats to cancel the contract, so I requested to speak with a supervisor. I spoke with Avi, who took over the project. After he became involved, the project finally moved forward and the roofing work began on April 13, 2026 but only because once again, I had to take the initiative myself by obtaining an earlier inspection appointment for April 14.
Once the work started, I received an invoice that included additional charges listed only as a lump sum with no explanation. After requesting a breakdown, I learned that Fortex had added a $150 "permit handling fee" for using a third-party company to obtain the permit. The contract stated that "City Permit and Handling Fees" were not included, but it did not clearly disclose that a separate third-party permit service would be used or that customers would be charged for that service.
After I raised concerns and made clear I would not agree to pay unclear or unexplained charges, the $150 fee was eventually removed. This resolution also involved uncomfortable conversations, rather than a straightforward explanation or clarification upfront.
I was also told that the actual fee should have been $300 because the third-party company had to visit the City of Santa Monica twice, and that Fortex was doing me a "favor" by reducing the charge to $150. Given the permit issues and delays caused by Fortex's own mistakes, I did not find this explanation reasonable.
The roof was eventually completed, but even afterward members of the crew returned to access the roof without providing advance notice, which alarmed my tenants.
The finished roof appears satisfactory, but the overall experience was extremely frustrating. The project was delayed for more than two months despite the urgency of my insurance situation. Throughout the process, I experienced poor communication, repeated threats to cancel the contract when I raised legitimate concerns, and unexpected charges that were not clearly disclosed in advance. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Fortex.
