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Finding and Hiring a Good Qualified Roofing Contractor
Finding and hiring a Good Qualified Contractor can be a daunting task. And to find (3) three, the recommended minimum number, to obtain proposals from can be very difficult. There are many problems when using referral lists of any kind.
- Contractor Referral or User Review websites including
Radio/TV Personality Contractor Referral Lists? These
days more and more consumers are turning to Contractor Referral
or User Review websites and Radio/TV personality Referral Lists
to find a Contractor. This might be a good place to get a
list of possible Contractors to use but these websites/lists are very
unreliable in many ways. Many are fee based and favor "Pay
to Play" where less qualified Contractors who pay more may be
pushed up their referral list. Subscribers to many of these
websites can suppress unfavorable information. Many
referral
websites/lists have their own review algorithm which do not
reflect the competence of the Contractors referred. Some
referral websites are commission based. Some might do some rudimentary superficial checking of the
Contractor's
business, or the contractors
must agree to some sort of broad vague criteria, but that's about
it. In other words beware of any Contractor Referral website.
- Online Yellow Pages? This is even
worse than the printed version of the Yellow Pages. If you
search for Roofing Contractors in your area you will only find
the Roofing Contractors that have paid additional fees to be
listed. So your field of possible Roofing Contractors is
now limited.
- Flyers left on your door or in the mail? It is a good way
for a roofing contractor to let Consumers know that they exist.
But only call them after you have thoroughly checked them
out.
- Contractors knocking on your door? They
are mining for jobs. Be careful of this type of sales
technique. They might say things like - We have found that roofs
in your area have received damage from hail. We can check your
roof at no cost to you and then help you get a new roof from
your insurance company. If you did not call them, it is best
to simply send them on their way and then only call them after
you have thoroughly checked them out. Always get proposals from
other Roofing Contractors in addition to their proposal. Then
you will have something for comparison.
- How about from an ad in the newspaper, radio, TV,
Google, or Yahoo? Same as Flyers. It is a good way
for a roofing contractor to let Consumers know that they exist.
But again, only call them after you have thoroughly checked them
out.
- Referrals from a friend or an acquaintance or
neighborhood social media?
They are a little better especially if it's from someone you
know but still leaves a lot to be desired. What can a referral
really tell you? Other than: They did a nice job. The roof
looks good. They kept the grounds clean. They were on time.
The salesmen was nice, the crews worked hard, etc. Who
knows if they really did do a good job or not installing your
new roof covering and accessories?
- What about contractors referred by material supply
yards or distributors, or even manufacturer referrals?
This might be a little better because you know at least they are
paying some of their bills or the material suppliers and
manufacturers would not be referring them. However, the major
reason the contractors are on their list is because
they do
business with them. The contractors buy their materials
from them and/or use products manufactured by them.
So of course they're going to refer them.
Again, there is no way of knowing if your new roof covering will be installed correctly. Many of the Roofing Contractors on such Referral Lists / Websites and other Websites that Match Consumers with Contractors constantly make many mistakes, oversights, and, some major. We know because we have inspected many of their roofs for City/ County Building Departments.
All Referral Lists / Websites, even ones from top Radio and TV personalities, should only be used as a source to obtain some names of companies that perform the type of work you are looking for. Just because they pay big money to be on the Referral List / Website does not mean they will do the work any better than those who are not on the Referral List / Website. This is because no one ever inspects their roof installations except for the standard local City/County Building Inspection, which in most cases is not very thorough. About the only time these referral websites might get involved is after a roofing problem has occurred. That usually is way too late.
Don't fall for Print/Radio/TV/Website advertisements offering discounts like $500.00 off roof installations. How do you know they have not just raised their price that amount and have already figured it into their total price just to subtract it out again. Always get at least three proposals on any job.
Beware of Roofing Contractor representatives who call themselves Hail Inspectors, Hail Damage Specialists, Hail Repair Specialist, Insurance Inspectors, Insurance Claim Specialists, Insurance Claim Advocates, Hail Experts, Storm Experts, etc. Most are Salesmen interested only in making the sale. Also, beware of companies who say they will handle your insurance claim and do the roof for whatever the insurance company pays them or the companies who ask you to sign an authorization for them to handle your claim. Most are simply "Storm Chasers" whether they are local Contractors or from out of town. (See our web page Hailstorms - Hail Damage.)
All Contractors make mistakes. It does not matter how small or large, or how long they have been around, or what their reputation is - they all make mistakes and more frequently than you would think.
Solution to Finding Good Qualified Contractors
This presents quite a problem if all of the above are not very good ways to find Good Qualified Contractors. Using any of these methods is okay to start with, that is to at least get the names of some Contractors who install new roof coverings, but we recommend going a step or two further to weed out the not so good Contractors and the ones that might not be the best fit for your community.
Start by sitting down and clearly write a Request For Proposal (RFP) including some Guidelines of what you want and and how you want the job to go. If the RFP/Guidelines are written well you will have a better chance of getting back apples to apples Proposals.
Then before you send out your RFP/Guidelines check the names of the Contractors that you have found to see if they are a member of one or more of the following Roofing Contractor Associations. See if they are involved and participate in the associations as a board or committee member. However don't use this as your only gauge. There also are Good Qualified Roofing Contractors that are not members of any association.
Colorado Roofing Association
www.coloradoroofing.org
Western States Roofing Contractors Association
www.wsrca.com
National Roofing Contractors Association
www.nrca.net
Check with the BBB to see if the Contractors you are looking at have any outstanding complaints and how they have handled ones they have had.
Call Local Roofing Supply Companies and ask them questions about the Contractors you are interested in using.
Call your City/County Building Department to see if they currently hold a License or if they have held Licenses in the past for roofing there and if not, call one or more Cities/Counties near your residence. A Building License for roofing may not be renewed in each City/County unless the Contractor has current work there or there is a potential for work. Using a Local Contractor is helpful to avoid some Storm Chasers who may not have the Consumers best interest in mind.
Then after doing your do diligence, send your RFP/Guidelines out to the Contractors you are thinking of using.
Try to be on site when the Contractors come by to look at the job and take note of what and how they gather information, measurements, and what questions they ask, etc. If they do not come by the job site and inspect the existing roof covering and only provide you with a Proposal using measurements taken from apps and looking at the property through online maps then cross them off your list.
There really is no point in asking Contractors for references. Obviously, they will only give you the good ones. Instead, ask each of them to provide at least one, two is better, jobs where they are currently installing a new roof covering. Then we recommend you go by and watch and ask questions if need be. You will find out a lot more than you would from references.
All that being said, the only way to greatly increase the chance of having a good
quality roof installation
is to use our
Roof Inspection Services.
Using our
Roof Inspection Services may cost you a few dollars now but will save
you
hundreds maybe thousands of dollars, headaches, and possible
litigation now and in the future.
(See our Roof Inspection
Services web page.)
We perform
Roof Inspection Services only.
We do not sell or install roofing products or represent any
roofing materials or
installation companies ~
so there is
no conflict of interest.
Visit our
Roof Inspection Services
web page
and the many other web
pages throughout this website to find
answers to your roofing questions and
solutions to your roofing problems.
Page Revised/Updated 2/27/2023