Even if you own your home and have lived in it for years, likely, you haven’t spent a great deal of time thinking about the roof of your home. However, since the roof protects the inner part of your home from the outside elements, the condition of your roof has significant effects on the safety and well-being of everyone in your family. As such, it’s important to choose your local roofing contractor carefully when you need to replace or repair your roof. Here are some steps you can take to make sure that you always hire a good contractor.
Check References
When looking for roofers, it’s important to check their references. References will tell you how professional the company is and how long they’ve been in business. If a company doesn’t have any references, it could be because they haven’t been in business for very long or because they do shoddy work. A good way to do this without calling every reference number on their website is by asking them if they are satisfied with the quality of service that the company has provided. For example, on a scale of 1–5 (with 5 being the best), how would you rate your experience with our services? Make sure to also ask if there were any problems with payment, scheduling, or quality of work.
Understanding the Total Cost
The roof is an integral part of your home and ensuring that you have the right roofer handling it from start to finish should be priority number one. Understand the total cost upfront by looking at what will be included in the price, what can be added on for more money, and how much it might cost if there are any problems down the line. Also, make sure they offer some type of warranty or guarantee. Some companies will charge extra for this, but it’s worth it if something goes wrong. For example, if someone falls off your roof because of faulty equipment, who pays for their medical bills?
Don’t Let Them Cut Corners
For many homeowners, hiring a professional local roofing contractor is often an afterthought. But, with so many companies out there and sometimes seemingly identical prices, it can be difficult to know which company is best for you. If you’re looking for quality at an affordable price, make sure your potential contractor doesn’t cut corners to keep costs down. It’s not worth the risk of finding out that the installation was done improperly or incorrectly. The last thing you want is to find yourself living in a leaky home or one that is structurally compromised due to shoddy workmanship!
Always Get a Written Estimate
Hiring a roofer is not something that should be taken lightly. Make sure that you always get at least two written estimates and request photos of completed jobs. Find out how long the company has been in business, what their customer ratings are like, and even ask them for references. If they have any reviews on social media sites, take note of those as well. Ultimately, there’s no easy way to know whether or not you’re hiring a quality contractor without asking around or doing your research. Just because they have an ad up doesn’t mean that they’ll do an excellent job on your home!
Compare Several Options First
When you need professional roof repair or installation, you must know what questions to ask so that you can find the right local contractor for your home. Many homeowners who hire these contractors without taking time to learn about what type of work they do and if they offer warranties, end up regretting their decision. This is why you must educate yourself before hiring any local roofing contractor. There are many things to consider, such as their experience, how long they’ve been in business, how many projects they’ve completed, whether or not there are customer reviews available online, and more.
Ask for Proof of Insurance Coverage
Any roofer worth their salt will have insurance in place. Roofers must have worker’s compensation, general liability, and property damage coverage in the event of an accident on their property. Larger roofing companies will offer full coverage (both workers’ comp and liability) protection at no extra cost. Local contractors should be covered with $1 million of liability insurance per incident or $2 million per year. The contractor should provide proof of this coverage before they start work.
