WEWOKA, Okla. - Every time it rains, paint keeps pouring off Ralph Lile's roof and into his front yard.
“Well, he painted it,” Ralph said. “He sure did.”
Ralph's referring to the handwork of Joe Gorman from Yukon.
The handyman randomly showed up at his house one day.
“He was going to spray the whole roof, a sealant,” Ralph said. “For $3,500 for a guaranteed 10 years.”
We got the handyman on the phone and asked him if the work he performed was worth $3,500.
“I mean, I was out there for possibly 3 days, 2 to 3 days,” Gorman said. “Yes, I would say it was worth $3,500. If it's still leaking though, no.”
He says he wasn't trying to pull one over on Ralph and returned to the house several times to redo his work.
Gorman admits the paint was his idea to hide rust.
He said, “Not trying to cause you any problems on it, just trying to do what you asked me to, to keep you from having to put a new roof on.”
Ralph has no savings and lives with chronic pain.
He and his roommate rely solely on their social security for income, only able to fund the roof repairs by selling Ralph's trusty pickup.
Now, it's gone with nothing to show for it.
Gorman promised to make Ralph whole again with a full refund.
He immediately drove to Wewoka and dropped $3,500 worth of money orders into Ralph's mailbox.
Ralph wants to stay in his house and we're helping him find a licensed roofer to make those long overdue roof repairs.
We’ll check back.