Roofing work is a big deal. Unless it is done to a high degree of quality, it can leave your home or business vulnerable. You simply have to have a good roof over your head, which means you need to find the right roofing contractor to do the work. How do you know you’ve found a good one? What are the signs? There are a lot of things to check, but for the most part, you can determine if you’ve find a good roofing contractor by asking these three questions:
- Do they have credentials?
- Do they have good references?
- How does it feel when you talk to them directly?
If you approach your search with these questions in mind, you can find a great contractor. Keep reading to learn more about what to look for when searching for the right roofing contractor.
Check Their Credentials
There are a few things every contractor absolutely must have before you agree to do business with them. Namely, insured for the work you need done. Insurance needs to cover damages to your home and workman’s compensation for anyone injured on the job. If they don’t carry appropriate insurance, an accident could leave you on the hook instead.
Aside from those bare minimum requirements, you want to look at some other signs that the contractor is ready to take your job. How many roofers are actually available for the job? What are the crew sizes? How many years of experience do they have? What are their specialties?
Specialties are particularly important. A roofer might only work with shingles or a handful of materials. Or they might be versed in tons of different types of roofs. Depending on the work you want completed, you might need some carpentry and plumbing as part of the job. Are they certified? If not, do they have carpenters or plumbers they can bring in to do the job? Is that included in the quote?
You also want to look at the particulars of how they operate. What kind of warranties and guarantees do they offer? If something goes wrong, how do they process the issue? Do they carry out warranty work themselves, or is it outsourced? Do they cover the cost, or are you reimbursed?
Answering all these questions is the first step in vetting a contractor. If any of it doesn’t satisfy you, move on to the next roofers and see if they feel better.
Check Their References and Reviews
Assuming a contractor has certifications and insurance and operates in a way that works for you, you want to know how good they are to work with. This is about more than their base competence in doing roofing work. You want to know about their punctuality, ability to stick to a plan, friendliness, safety, and general professionalism. To gauge all of this, you need recommendations.
Obviously, the best recommendations come from people you trust. Friends and family have roofs too, and they might have had a great experience and can make a recommendation to you. In addition, you should ask the roofer for references from past happy clients. A good roofer should have at least a few references that they can supply you.
You can complement these various recommendations with the usual research. Read reviews and see how people feel about your prospective contractor. Check their Better Business Bureau rating, and see if they have rewards from sources you trust. Put all of this together, and you’ll be vetting your contractors pretty thoroughly.
Have a Conversation
Assuming your contractor checks out on the fundamental level, you still have to compare different qualified, competent contractors. You’ll have more than one good roofer available to you, so you’re going to have to make a decision. You absolutely should consider price points as one of your determining factors, but there are other issues that matter too.
Have a conversation with the prospective contractor(s). How do they approach that conversation? This will tell you everything you need to know. Do they seem a little too busy for you? Do they bulldoze you and come from a “my way or the highway” position? Do they take the time to explain how your ideas translate into practical roofing so you can best weigh your options? Can they offer you more than one option?
When you talk to them, you get the best feel for who they are and how they work. That’s your final comparison, and generally, your best bet is to go with a contractor who can earn your trust. When you’re ready to have conversations about your DFW property’s roof, contact Alpine Roofing Construction. You can see our credentials on our website, and we’re happy to have a conversation with you about your roof. We’ll get to know you and the project so we can make meaningful recommendations, and we’ll work tirelessly to do the best job possible on your roof.