A roof replacement is a significant investment. It can affect your home insurance rates and the speed with which you sell your home. A good roof can protect your home during a storm and keep water out of your house.
If you are looking for roof services, take time to research and find the right company for your needs. Follow this guide to find the best roofing company in your area.
Get it inspected first.
Instead of calling contractors immediately, consider scheduling a roof inspection to understand the amount of damage you have. An objective home inspector shouldn’t try to sell you anything. Their goal is to take photos and help you understand the condition of the roof.
You should be able to get an inspection for about $100 and maybe even less if you just need the roof looked at. Your home insurance company might also request the inspection to evaluate the extent of any storm damage before they cover the cost of the repair. Either way, the inspection should give you an idea of the scale of the project and even an estimator for the price.
Check multiple review sites.
As you start to look for a roofing contractor, check multiple review sites on the web. Google reviews, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Trustpilot, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) are also sites that post reviews from customers. You can check these pages to see which contractors are highly rated and which ones have left homeowners frustrated.
Checking multiple sites will help you find multiple contractors to evaluate. It will also help you see if a roofer pushed up their ratings on one review site (like Google) while ignoring negative reviews on Yelp or the BBB.
Ask questions during the home visit.
If you find a roofer to invite to your home to see the property, make sure you are prepared for the appointment. Create a list of questions beforehand related to the roof repair. For example, you can ask if it is possible to install green roof solutions like solar tiles. You can ask about the removal of any debris they create—and who will remove it. You can even see if they can install gutters alongside your new roof.
You want to hire a contractor who is willing to listen to your concerns and answer your questions. If they don’t have time to listen to you, then you don’t have time to hire them.
Research their qualifications.
Even if you found a specialist to complete your roofing project, take steps to make sure they are qualified for the job. Look up their license to make sure it is still valid. Make sure they don’t have any pending lawsuits or criminal charges against them.
Just because someone has years of experience in the roofing industry doesn’t mean they can legally install your new roof or fix your old roof anymore.
Request a timeframe.
It’s not uncommon for roof projects to go a few weeks longer than planned, but you may need to get a project done in order to file an insurance claim on time. Ask your contractor for a timeframe for replacing your old roof and see if you can get something in writing.
If you live in an area with seasonal weather patterns (like a wet summer or snowy winter) then your roof, gutters, and insulation projects need to be complete before the weather makes installation impossible.
When you take time to find a qualified roof repair specialist, you are investing in your home. You want to hire someone who will do a great job for a fair price without leaving debris behind. If that means pushing back the project for a few weeks until you find the right person, then it is worth the wait.
