Justin, one of the owner's of RC Energy Solutions was our point of contact from the initial estimate all the way through to completion of the solar panels actually getting turned on. From the minute we met Justin, we felt very comfortable working with him. Justin's expertise in the industry was apparent during our estimate and he immediately struck us as being straight forward and genuine. No gimmicks, no upsells. Justin is very easy going, easy to work with, and was especially accommodating (for super type A clients like myself). We always prefer to support local and small businesses, like RC Energy Solutions, and we couldn't be happier that we did in this situation. There is certainly something to be said about the owner of a small business coming out and doing the estimates himself and being your main point of contact throughout the entire job. No sales guy, no project manager (which would have been fine too), but the actual OWNER.
Our roof replacement got off to a little bit of a rocky start considering that we had newly discovered water leaks during the height of rain season and were very concerned about them getting worse while waiting for our project to start. Justin was quick to address our concerns though and got on the roof and tarped it himself the same day that we went under contract. Not even a couple days later we were calling Justin again because strong winds had blown the tarp all out of place and one of the leaks looked like it may have gotten worse as a result. Again, Justin came out as soon as he could that same day and readjusted/secured the tarp. It was this kind of urgency and accommodation from Justin that certainly made us feel like valued clients from the get go. Every time we called/texted Justin with a question or concern throughout our project entirety, he always responded that same day and in a very timely manner, which was greatly appreciated. In addition to Justin, his business partner and labor crew were all wonderful to work with as well. The labor crew was respectful of our property at all times, accommodating of our toddler daughter's oh so precious naptime the 2 days that she wasn't at daycare, and they were all extremely hardworking and skilled in their trade. These are the many reasons we have no regrets hiring RC Energy Solutions for this costly and at the time very unexpected project.
Our project timeline:
January 15 2021 we went under contract with RC Energy Solutions
March 19 2021 roof placement started
March 26 2021 roof replacement completed
March 29 2021 solar install started
March 30 2021 solar install completed and solar permitted
April 20 2021 solar application finally approved by SDGE/NEM and turned on
A couple other general things I wanted to share for other Yelpers to be aware of, especially if it's your first time replacing your entire roof and first time getting solar installed/turned on, as it was ours:
- We met with about 6 companies total. They all offered very similar products/services because replacing a roof is a fairly straightforward process without much opportunity for variation. While there are a few more options with solar as far as panels, inverters, etc., it is still a pretty straightforward process without much variation. These factors made it very easy, throughout the estimate process, to figure out which companies were trying to upsell products/prices where they could. So do your homework and you will recognize why RC Energy Solutions is truly the best company to hire for both roof replacement and solar install.
- While we were warned that we were likely going to need a pretty moderate amount of wood replacement, as part of getting our new roof, we really had no idea exactly how much wood was going to need to be replaced. As a result, we ended up coming out of pocket $5,000 more than we had really anticipated. So that part was definitely a bummer. While we understand that no company could estimate exactly how much wood needed to be replaced without taking off the existing roof first, it would have been helpful to have been given a ballpark estimate for the potential cost of wood replacement. For example, wood replacement estimate: low end $3,000 and high end $10,000. Especially if you're taking out a loan to finance your project, obviously the difference of a few grand really matters.
- If you suddenly realize that you need a new roof like um yesterday AND it's during the height of rain season, then just be prepared to sit back and wait nervously with a tarped roof. Due to the nature of the business, roof/solar install is just not a speedy process. We were told anywhere from 2-4 months from the day we went under contract as estimated start dates from most companies. RC Energy Solutions told us about 6 weeks out for an initial start date, but due to being right in the middle of rain season, our project as well as others before ours were understandably delayed as a result.
Overall, we are very satisfied with our experience! read more