Life is all about knowing which questions to ask – and which answers you want to hear in response.
For example, if your adult daughter tells you she has fallen in love with a wonderful man, and they’re getting married, one of your first questions will be to ask what he does for a living. If she says he’s something glamorous and honorable, such as a roofer, then you can rest assured that she’s found the right guy.
But what about when you’re hiring a roofer to work on your house or commercial property? Which questions can you ask to determine whether the contractor is legitimate, reliable, and qualified to work on the most important roof in the world: your roof? Don’t worry. You don’t have to interrogate anyone. You just have to lob a few fair and friendly questions to tell if you’ve found the right guy.
- Where is your business headquartered? The best roofing experts are local. They have the most incentive to keep their clients happy: they want success in their backyard, and hope to earn repeat business.
- How long have you been in business? If a business was recently founded by a career roofer with lots of good experience under their belt, then it’s still a contender.
- Do you have references? A good roofer’s previous clients will vouch for him. You can also do a drive-by viewing of a roof they recently worked on to get a sense of the quality of their end results. (It’s worth checking the roofer’s online reviews and BBB rating as well.)
- Who will be working on my roof? If the roofer and his own employees will take care of the project, great! Roofers who manage teams led by subcontractors are also effective at their job. Treat lightly if the roofer doesn’t give a straight answer. They should be proud to name their team members.
- What are your credentials? Good roofers are often multiply certified by their industry’s influential companies and organizations. For example, our humble outfit is a HAAG Certified Roof Inspector, a Certified Vinyl Siding Installer with the Vinyl Siding Institute, and a Lead-Free Certified Firm with the Environmental Protection Agency.
- How long will the project take? An honest roofer won’t guarantee an exact timeline until they have inspected your roof. But once they have, they should confidently offer an estimate of the days or weeks your project would require for completion. (Ask when they can start, too.)
- Are you licensed, bonded and insured? It’s always good to know your roofer is legal, competent, and backed by guarantees of protection to your personal finances. You truly don’t want a worker’s comp claim filed against you.
- Will you pull any permits the project requires? The only acceptable answer to this question is affirmative.
- What steps do you take to ensure safety? A good roofer takes all due care to keep himself and his guys out of the emergency room. He should eagerly dive into this question. And remember: your family and your home are also important. Ask the roofer how he intends to keep these things safe as well.
- How will you complete the project? This is a vague question, because there are many elements to it depending on the exact nature of your roofing needs. Maybe it’s just a few shingles. Maybe it’s a total replacement. Here are some questions you can ask to get a sense of just how well a roofer knows what he’s doing.
- Which manufacturer’s products will you install?
- Are you certain you’ll have access to the materials you need to complete the project?
- How much will the materials cost?
- Which warranties do your materials come with?
- What are the warranties on your workmanship?
- How will you protect my gutters, driveway, landscaping, etc.?
- How will you dispose of old materials?
- Will there be a porta-john on site?
- What will you do if there is stormy weather?
- Where will you access the roof?
- Who will be my primary point of contact for the duration of the project?
- When may I expect to see a contract for the project?
- Can anything cause the final cost of the project to change?
- How do you handle payment?
Don’t feel shy about asking a roofer anything you’d like to know about their business, as well as the work they would do at your property if you hired them. Your home is your greatest investment, and it deserves preservation by contractors you have deemed to be trustworthy and competent.
If you live in the greater St Cloud, Little Falls, Alexandria or Brainerd, MN area, then we welcome you to ask the Exterior Pro team anything you’d like to know about roofing. Contact us today to get started!