The building and construction industry is saturated by contractors at all levels of competency. It leaves a problem for homeowners who need to have their roofs fixed. Great roofers all have certain qualities in common, though. These are the major qualities to look for in a roofer.
Insurance
Insurance is the first big thing to look for. At face level, it protects you against liability for any accidents. An uninsured roofer who suffers an accident or damages third-party property can sue the client. Under current laws, responsibility for the incident passes down to the home owner. And if you don’t have insurance either every expense comes directly from your pocket.
Ask to see certificates proving they have liability insurance in place. It’s not only important for protecting you. It also shows they care about their work and have been attentive enough to address all possible pitfalls. It’s what professional roofing companies like http://www.roofer911.com/ do.
Established and Secure
The worst nightmare for a client is to put down a deposit and have the roofer suddenly disappear from the face of the earth. This nearly always happens with roofers who don’t have permanent places of business. Without any reliable contact details, other than a cell phone number, all they have to do is turn the phone off and you’ve lost touch with them and your money.
Whilst this shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a condemnation of all contractors without permanent locations, it’s generally safer for customers to opt for roofers with a permanent location.
Ask to see a tax identification code, proof of address, and a phone number; preferably not a cell phone number.
Warranties
A warranty is a guarantee of quality. If your roof fell in after eight months and you had a 12 month warranty, the roofer would have to fix your roof for free. Roofers who have warranties are confident in their work. Why would you trust someone who isn’t willing to provide a concrete guarantee?
Most roofing problems appear within the initial 12 months after installation. Make sure they offer at least a 12-month warranty to protect yourself.
Permits
To perform the work, you might need to hold some sort of permit. These can include permits to add roofs of a certain size and removal of old building materials. For a homeowner without any direct experience in the industry, it’s safer and cheaper to hire a builder who holds these permits.
Ask to see proof of these permits before putting down a deposit and beginning work.
There have been scenarios where work has had to halt because of no permits. Some homeowners have even lost thousands of dollars because they’ve had to remove a roof they didn’t have a permit to build.
References
Get in touch with some of the contractor’s previous customers to find out how good they really are. Any contractor can tout about how good they are, but you can only get an honest opinion from an independent and unbiased party.
It’s simple to find an opinion. Just use Google and you should find reviews of your local contractor. Stay away from those who don’t have stellar reviews.
