Strangers repair elderly man's roof after neighbor's FB plea

For months, David Perez watched his 75-year-old neighbor Richard Dubiel climb up and down a ladder to work on his old roof.

At his age, Perez didn't think it was a good idea; he couldn't decide whether or not he should get involved.

After observing the elderly man work on his roof for days in the hot California sun, he decided it was finally time to call in reinforcements.

So, he wrote a Facebook post, reaching out to anyone with roofing experience to help reshingle the roof.

"I feel sorry for him but I have no roofing skills," the Freemont resident wrote. "I would like to see if anyone can donate their time to help him finish."

Within days, hundreds of people replied and more than 1,000 people shared the post.

"You're a great neighbor!" one user commented. "I wish I was nearby to help."

"That is so sweet of you!" another replied.

Although Perez had only seen the man in passing, he told CBS News, "It was still something I felt that I needed -- or somebody needed -- to do something about."

Apparently, a lot of people agreed.

On Saturday, with Dubiel's permission, around 15 to 20 strangers showed up to work on the roof and several stopped by to donate food and water.

"The whole thing just exceeded my expectations," Perez said, explaining that he couldn't sleep the night before as he went through different scenarios in his head. "I was amazed by the response."

The complete reroofing job took about 4.5 hours, and Dubiel was there for every shingle.

"From my understanding, he's a very hands-on person," Perez said. "He was taken back having to observe and not having to work."

At first, Dubiel was hesitant to accept the help. In the end, he was glad he did.

"He was very gracious and thankful for everybody showing up," Perez said. "He was a little stunned to see the response that people would come and help a stranger for free."