Doing A Background Check On Your Roofer

No Responses to “Doing A Background Check On Your Roofer”

1. By Windstar on Jul 5, 2010

   How about a Roofing/Building Material wholesale company? Outside sales position? His experience would really be beneficial to his customers. Or a technical support or trainer for a roofing manufacturer try the Metal & Asphalt Shingle manufacturers, if he was in the business he hopefully should have some contacts to reach out to. My best advice would be to network within the industry, and to be patient. Something should come along; but not without his local "industry" knowing he is out there and looking for an opportunity.

2. By ttgl10 on Jul 5, 2010

   In the world of remodeling, home improvement, or residential construction contracting; "great" and "cheap" do not usually go together.

   A legitimate business needs to make a profit to stay in business. In order to stay in business over the long haul, the business must pay taxes, carry liability and worker's compensation insurance, and pay other normal operating expenses. This usually means that their prices are somewhat higher than the guy who works out of the back of his truck for cash.

   Unfortunately, many homeowners make their buying decisions based on the cheapest price. They are often burned when an uninsured workman is hurt on their job and the only way to recover damages is to sue the homeowner. They are also frustrated when they can't find the contractor a year or two later for a warranty claim. In some cased, they are forced to pay for materials twice when a supplier files a lein against the homeowner's property because the "contractor" failed to pay for the material.

   Contractor complaints like these will be among the top three types of complaints received by your state's Attorney General's Office (usually the division of Consumer Affairs). The only way you can assure that these problems do not befall you is to deal with reputable contractors.

   My advice is to decide what brand and color shingles you want on your house before you contact roffing contractors for a price. This ensures that each is bidding based on the same criteria. At a minimum, I recommend screening contractors using the following criteria:

   1) Make sure the contractor has been in business for at least ten years. This demonstrates in a very real way that the contractor is on the up and up.

   2) Ask for, and check out references in your area. Previous customers will usually be very glad to tell you their experience with a contractor.

   3) Insist that a contractor furnishes you with a Certificate of Insurance proving that they are covered by general liability and Worker's Compensation Insurance. The Certificate must be mailed to you by the contractor's insurance carrier because it is just too easy for a clever contractor to phoney up a copy.

   4) Make sure that any warranty on workmanship is in writing. They will usually provide a separate manufacturer's warranty on materials.

   5) Make sure that all of the details of the job are spelled out in writing in the contract.

   6) Do not give a contractor more than a 10% downpayment when you sign the contract. Contractors who ask for more money "so they can buy materials" should send up an alarm that you shouldn't ignore. You can bet that a contractor who demands a large downpayment has no working capital and will soon be out of business. Do not pay the contractor the balance owed until the entire job is done to your satisfaction. Once they are paid in full, you lose all leverage in getting them back to finish up the job.

   Keep in mind that this is a highly competitive business and a contractor who charges very high prices will not be in business very long. The prices from legitimate contractors will usually be very close if they are all bidding on exactly the same work.

   I hope this information helps you make your decision.

   Good luck with your roofing project.

3. By adam0149 on Jul 5, 2010

   Yes. Go to http://www.cslb.ca.gov/

4. By Edita S. on Jul 5, 2010

   Is this a trick question?
   Or is it that you are just really bad at math?

5. By Blogger on Jul 5, 2010

   Man I wish that it was my house getting the deck!

   SunriseSunsetgal

6. By Wordpress on Jul 5, 2010

   It did turn out great. Thank you sunrise

7. By cbmtrx on Jul 6, 2010

   i would not hire this contractor, could end up costing you more money in the long run

8. By Independent_guy on Jul 7, 2010

   I would say it seems high, but then I think everything is high and do it myself. In Ontario, a properly aligned roof would get a lot more sun on the south side and probably a lot more wind and cold on the north side and so it might be reasonable to only replace half. I am assuming that by half you mean one side from the peak down, not the lower half or upper half all the way around. Get some other bids and see. I would expect that half a roof would cost somewhat more than half the cost of the whole roof – no matter how much you take down and put up, you still have to bring trucks and equipment out and get set up and haul away.

9. By Chugga on Jul 7, 2010

10. By PrachiDesai36 on Jul 8, 2010

    I found that asking my neighbors and friends who had roofing done to be the most reliable way!

    Make sure they are insured. Small, one or two man companies often have the lowest prices but also are risky. Some of those might be excellent, but many don't know what they're doing because they do lots of things not just roofing, and they don't have as much equipment.

    My next door neighbor liked his company, but he recommended not paying the entire amount up front. You can often get a deal by doing so, but he said you don't know for sure what you're getting until you've had a good rain. Even good companies occassionally need to fix their work. There was one spot they needed to fix and because he paid everything up front, the company was not in a hurry to come and fix that part.

    I have also found that i can get great advice on which people to use for anything – roofing, plumbing, electrical, etc. – that the people at my local hardware store know who's really good and who isn't because they hear it all from their customers. But then, i'm in a small town and it's an independent hardware store. The people at the church also knew who was good and who wasn't because they had four buildings and had used lots of local contractors until they found ones that were great and they'd go back to them again and again, so you might try asking your church secretary for a recommendation, too.