OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — A local roofing company is offering free emergency repairs to West Michigan homeowners throughout the statewide stay-at-home order.
"Home improvement kind of takes a back burner during these trying times," said Dan Hendricks, owner of The Roof Dr. in Allendale. "People are spending more on food than they ever have. We wanted to take that out of the equation."
Two days after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's "Stay Home, Stay Safe," went into effect, Hendricks launched the free repairs initiative. His team has fixed dozens of roofs in under a week.
"We're doing contact-free inspections and repairs," Hendricks said. "So, it's not necessary to be home. We can do it all through FaceTime or Zoom, over the phone and email."
The governor's order is set to expire on April 14. If the deadline is extended due to the novel coronavirus, Hendricks said his company will continue with free repairs.
"We've noticed a lot of neighborhood homes with missing shingles, and that can develop leaks in the home." he said. "We are in a position to prevent that, and we want to help as many people as possible."
This lightens the load while people are stressed and nervous, said Bart Merkle, who lives in Allendale Township.
"When you have a problem with your home, that's stressful and added to everything else," Merkle said. "To have that taken off your plate is pretty nice."
Hendricks hopes other roofers and contractors will join him.
"What I've seen since we launched this is other contractors follow suit and start to offer free repairs as well," he said. "That makes us proud."
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