Steve Rice says he hired The Home Depot to put on a new roof even though other roofing companies were offering to do the job for less.
"They were not the cheapest, but I chose to pay a little bit more for the reputation and for a job that I thought would be well done," Rice said.
But a year after signing a roofing contract with The Home Depot for more than $30,000, he says he is still angry and anxious looking at his unfinished roof.
"Honestly the only thing they've done on time is take my money," Rice said.
He says when he's contacted the company, he's been regularly promised that they'll complete the job.
"My biggest worry is that it won't get done and hurricane season will come and we won't dodge a bullet again like we did last season," Rice said. "They've told me it's tough to get crews. They don't have the materials."
But Rice says delays haven't been his biggest frustration.
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"The worst part honestly was the actual damage that was done to my house by a crew that was sent by Home Depot," he said.
He says workers removed his existing roof without protecting it properly which led to water seeping into his roof and inside his home. While he says The Home Depot has compensated him for the damage, he still doesn't have his new roof.
Francisco Peña of Hialeah has a similar story.
"Water start falling in from the roof," Peña said.
He signed a contract with the company for more than $20,000 dollars in 2017 and he's still waiting for the project to be completed. He says he is also angry workers removed his roof without properly protecting it.
Home Depot told NBC 6 Responds the company is getting out of the roofing business not only in Florida but nationally. The company says it's discontinuing other services such as the installation of insulation, siding and gutters. Home Depot would not tell us how many customers are affected by these roofs delays and declined an on-camera interview but says a shortage of labor and products have been a problem.
According to a company statement, "Last year's storms created intense demand on roofing and labor, which is not unique to The Home Depot. This is not the type of experience any customer should expect, which is one of the reasons we are winding down our roofing installation business and focusing on programs where we can deliver the best customer experience. We sincerely apologize for the delays."
"I would not say that's normal at all," said John Chase, vice president of the Roofing Contractors Association in South Florida. Chase says a two to three-month delay is an average wait time in our area to have a tile roof installed.
After our call to Home Depot, the company offered to reimburse Peña for what he already paid on the project, or he could wait for the roof to be completed, which it promised to do soon at a discount price. Peña told us he's choosing a refund.
As for Steve Rice, a representative told us that they expect to finish his roof the first week of April.
"I'll just wait and see," Rice said.
Home Depot told NBC 6 they'll finish all roofs that they've started unless a client asks for a different option -- which they'll consider. That's what the company says happened in Peña's case.
