Your roof will be protected for decades of rough weather or fail in the first storm. Before a contractor starts work on your home there are several things that can influence that decision.
Licensing cuts through everything else
Before you can start to start the process of selecting a roofer to obtain estimates for repair of your home’s roof, you must make sure the contractor you choose is licensed in the state where your home is located. A licensed contractor will have the necessary insurance to complete work on your home’s roof and protect you from potential damages. In addition, a licensed contractor has proven some level of competency to obtain a license to operate from a state licensing board. Lastly, a licensed contractor will operate under the rules of the state licensing board that issued their license and you will have recourse should anything go wrong with the work that they completed on your home. You can verify the licenses of roofing contractors on your state’s licensing board’s website.
Those unlicensed roofers who show up at your door following a hail storm, offering to do the work for half of what other qualified contractors would charge, are often trying to take advantage of homeowners. Work performed by an unlicensed contractor is insured. If the work is not done correctly, the homeowner is not held responsible for the damages. In addition, your homeowner’s policy may not cover claims for work performed by an unlicensed contractor.
Verify a contractor’s license through your state’s licensing agency’s website and NOT from the contractor’s business card. Licenses can expire or get suspended or revoked.
Local presence matters more than you think
Many roofers who are traveling from state to state following severe weather fronts (known as storm chasers) will set up in a town after a major storm and work to repair as many homes as possible within a week or so. They will leave town as quickly as they arrived and months later you will be trying to get in touch with the contractor to find leaks in your home. Because they travel from state to state they often change their phone numbers to avoid constant calls from past customers. You may get their voicemail and you may never hear back from them.
It’s also a good idea to check if the roofer has a local presence. That is to say, instead of a roofing company with a main office in Denver, for example, showing up in your town following a hailstorm, you want a roofer with a local presence. In other words, instead of a ‘storm chaser’ roofer, you want a contractor with a local office, local employees and a local reputation. By choosing a contractor with a real local presence, the contractor’s reputation will have been earned in the local community and thus they will give your home the respect that they would give to the roofer to fix up their own home. So for example, you would look for roofing contractors Baltimore residents recommend instead of searching for roofers from out of town in say DC or somewhere. The principle holds true no matter the size of the market where you live.
References tell stories numbers can’t
Quality roofing contractors can supply you with references from recent projects. The contractor should be able to provide you with the names and addresses of recent clients so you can visit their homes to see the work they received.
Asking for references is good, but asking for the contact information for those references and then calling them to ask specific questions is better. Questions to ask a reference would be: how was communication with the roofer throughout the whole project? Did they clean up nightly? What did the roofer do in case of unexpected problems with the job? Did they complete the job on time? Did they complete the job for the agreed on price?
Note what the reference does NOT say. If the reference seems hesitant or only offers “qualified praise,” this may indicate some underlying problem with the contractor. It is also very important to note the difference between saying a contractor “got the job done” and saying you would “hire them again tomorrow.” The first indicates that a contractor was able to complete work, but does not necessarily mean that they did an excellent job.
Written estimates reveal everything about planning
Without knowing all of the specifics regarding the details for your gutter cleaning job (type and quality of materials used to complete the work, as well as detailed breakdown of labor costs) there is no way that a competent contractor could have planned the work out to deliver the highest quality service. Estimates such as these would also have no basis for comparison with completed work of other service providers on similar jobs. In addition, after work has begun on a job (when the contractor begins bidding on change orders), you will have know idea what you are getting for your hard earned money until the change orders have been completed.
Without details in the estimate as to what your roof repair job will entail, you can be positive that change orders will be needed in order to complete the scope of work as outlined by the roofer. Even if the initial quote appears to be low, be aware that once the details are included in the estimate, the price can rapidly go up in order to make up for the initial low estimate.
Multiple Estimates from Roofing Contractors Will Help Determine Fair Price for Roofing Repairs. In order to get the fair price for the work that is needed to complete repairs to your roof, get estimates from several reputable contractors. The lowest bid is not always the best. Contractors that consistently bid below market price are cutting corners on the materials used for the work and may also be trying to complete other work at the same time. This can result in the homeowner being subjected to excessive pressure to complete the work as well as have the contractor try to add many extra charges in the change orders that are needed to complete the repairs to your roof in accordance with the terms of the original contract. Most of the extra charges that the homeowner is subjected to as a result of the change orders are not listed in the initial estimate.
Small interactions predict big performance
A good roofer will treat every customer with respect and answer all of their questions with courtesy. He will respect your time and will let you know when he plans to be at your home for an estimate and keep you advised of any changes. He will be on time for his scheduled appointments and for the start of your project. A roofer that does not treat you well in the initial stages of contact will not treat you any better when he is at your home for a few days. Choosing a good roofer for your home’s roofing project is very important. Your home is one of your biggest investments and you want to make sure it is protected for many years to come. A good roofer will be able to provide you with many years of protection from the weather.
Your inquirer is your future contractor. How any contractor treats you as an inquirer will be exactly how they treat you on your project. So a contractor who respects your time and follows through on their word is a contractor who will respect your time while your roof is under construction and follow through on their promises to you.
Choosing a reliable roofer for your home takes time and research. But it is worth it in the long run.
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