What you need to ask the roofing contractor before hiring one
The roof is an important aspect of your house. It not only protects you and your family from the natural elements but it also gives your home a good visual appeal. That’s why you need to engage a professional for all your roofing works. But how exactly do you tell a good roofing contractor from a bad one? Well, that can be a challenge, especially for first time home builders.
But don’t worry about it because we have simplified the job for you by compiling 5 important questions you need to ask a roofing contractor before hiring them.
Ask them if they are licensed
Before you hire a roofing contractor, ask them if they are licensed to do roofing works. Getting to know whether a roofing contractor is licensed is important for two main reasons. Firstly, you are assured that their work will be up to standard. Roofing licenses are only given to skilled people with provable experience in the industry. Secondly, a licensed roofing contractor has insurance, which means they can take care of any damages that may arise in the course of the roofing job. You don’t want to risk your roof job with a person who might disappear in case the job goes wrong, leaving you with hefty roof repair and installation bills.
Ask them about their customer service
Roofing contractors can be frustrating especially if you find yourself dealing with a company that has poor customer service skills. That’s why you need to ascertain that the company you are looking to deal with has a strong customer care department. Ask them questions on things like how long it takes for them to respond to customer queries in case there is a problem. You may also check out their online reputation on this aspect. This way, you can deal with a company that won’t frustrate you in case you need to follow up on their roofing works.
Ask about the length of time that they have been in the business
Roofing is just like any other profession whereby, the higher the level of experience; the better the quality of work you can expect. That’s why you should ask a contractor about their experience. To increase the chances of a good roof job, go for a roofing contractor who has been in the industry for a couple of years. This way, you are assured that they will do a good job since they have done it multiple times before. An experienced roofing contract would also not risk a reputation that has taken time to build, by doing a shoddy job.
Ask for their work plans from previous jobs
By asking for previous work plans, you will be looking to gauge their attention to detail, which can be a good indicator to the quality of their work. If they have detailed work plans that include all key aspects of costing as well as timelines for completing different aspects of roofing jobs, then you can rest easy that they will replicate the same on your contract. A contractor with poorly crafted work plans is a no go zone. They may end up with complications such as poor workmanship and budget overlaps.
Will you subcontract my roof job?
Before you engage a roofing contractor, ask them if they will be doing the job themselves or subcontracting it to another company. That’s because, you need to understand the level of competence of the people who will be doing your roof. If they are subcontracting, then request to meet up with the people who will be doing the job, and ask them the above questions to determine whether they are competent or not.
If you need to fix only a small part of your roof then grab a roofing nailer and some shingles and follow our tutorial on how to fix a leaky roof.
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You made an interesting point when you talked about how it is important to find a roofing company that has been operating for a couple of years at least. In addition to that, it might be a good idea to ask them which supplier they work with. Knowing which supplier a roofing company works with can help you know what quality of materials they use.
I like your idea to ask if they’re licensed. My cousin needs a flat roof installed for his building. I’ll share these methods he can use to find a good roofer.
I like your suggestion to ask how long it takes potential roofers to respond to customer queries. My uncle needs to have the roofing of his warehouse building by the highway repaired ASAP. I’ll share this info so he’s prepared to interview potential commercial roofers to hire for the needed repairs.
I like how you mentioned that a roof both provides protection from outside elements and give your home an aesthetic appeal. My wife and I are thinking of hiring a roofing repair specialist because we noticed a leak last week after a storm when we went to grab some boxes in the attic. I think it’s a good idea for us to consider hiring a reputable professional that can help us repair the top of our house so that we can be better protected from more inclement weather.
Sunrooms are often relaxing and aesthetically pleasing, but because they rely on a lot of windows to let in sunlight, they are susceptible to leaking. I am looking for a contractor to fix the leakage of my roof. Thanks for sharing the handy tips. I hope now I can handle the guys easily.
It really is best to hire a licensed & insured roofing contractor. That way you are protected if anything happens.
I like that you suggested hiring a roofing contractor that’s licensed because they are skilled and experienced to do the job right. We’ll be sure to do this to find the best roofing contractor that can replace our old roof. Due to the old age of our roof, it has a lot of missing shingles that are allowing the water to leak in our house. We want our new roof to be installed properly.
I like that you suggested hiring a roofing contractor that has been in business for a couple of years because they can provide a better quality of work. We’re planning to hire a roofing contractor that can install a new roof for us. Our place was hit by a storm that caused our roof to have missing and damaged shingles. We don’t want our roof to cause the water to leak in our house. Thanks for sharing this.
That’s a good idea to make sure that you get a contractor that has been in business for at least a few years. That way you could have more confidence that they do good work since they would have some good experience. That way they would have a lot of customers that you could get a referral from so that you could know that they did good work for their past customers.
Your suggestion to ask a roofing contractor if they are licensed before I hire them to fix my roof is sensible. I believe I should ask them about their customer service so I’ll know how they’ll treat me as a client. If they have a higher level of experience in their business, I’ll surely hire them to repair my roof.
I really appreciate your tip to ask about how long it takes a company to answer any customer service queries. My wife and I have been thinking of getting a new roof, but I know that my wife really values working with someone who will answer her questions. I will be sure to ask any potential roofing contractors about customer queries!
Thanks for explaining that you can know if a roofer is up to standard by finding out if they are licensed. My dad is looking to develop his local business and wants to purchase an abandoned industrial building. If he does buy the property, I’ll let him know that he should hire a licensed roofer to take care of repairing the roof.
My shingles are beginning to fray, so I’ve been looking for a great roofer in my area. Thanks for mentioning that I should ask the roofer you want to hire is licensed, as this will show how skilled they are and means they have insurance. Another great tip I’ve heard is to look up their company on the BBB, as this can help you see the reviews of the company and if they have had any legal action taken against them. Thanks for all the great tips on how to hire an excellent roofer in my area.
I like the idea of asking the contractor for their work plans from previous jobs. This seems like a great way to see the potential for your roof. My husband and I are needing to get our roof redone and need to find the best contractor. Hopefully, we can find someone in our area.
We’re in need of some new home roofing and I definitely don’t want to try and do it myself. I think that having an established contractor like you talked about would be really beneficial to us. I’m hoping I can find a good local home roofing contractor and that we can get some quality services done! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for advising that we ask the roofing contractor we are considering about their customer service skills to make sure they are very strong. My husband and I want to replace the material on our roof, so we are wondering how to find the best company to help us. We will be sure to find a roofing company with fantastic customer service skills.
Thank you for all these fantastic tips to finding a roofing contractor! One thing that really stood out to me is that you say to find out if they have experience with your type of roof! It would also be nice to see if they have been in your area long enough to find out what materials work best for the weather.
I do like how you mentioned that it would be wise to get a roofing contractor with experience as you can expect better quality work from them the longer they are in the industry. That is an advice I will be sure to keep in mind as it would surely aid my roofing needs. Hopefully, we could get a reliable and experienced roofing contractor to fix our home’s roof as soon as possible. The drafts are getting stronger and stronger as the days past. Thanks!
Hi Catherine,
the best option would be insulated roof panels!
Roof sheets don’t need maintenance for the first 20-30 years, depending on the type of the material! After that, if you see the paint falling off and if you see rust on them, you need to sand off old paint and rust and paint them again!
There is no exact time schedule for painting because it all depends on the type of roofing material and the type of paint you’re using!
One of my question “is there any new products launched for car shed roofing” ? How to maintain a roof sheets? How long a Coating to be done and what is the gap time for coating again?
I found out that I need to have my roof redone and I need to find a good contractor to help me out. That is a great idea to ask if the contractor is licensed before I hire them. I would like it if I was covered if any damages were to happen while they were working.