Top 10 Questions to Ask a Roofing Contractor Before Hiring

If you’ve ever had to hire a roofing contractor to repair or replace your roof, you know it can be difficult to make a choice on who to hire. With all of the different options available, along with numerous reviews, just how do you know which roofing company or contractor to go with?

You know that you need someone who is reliable and has a great track record, but also someone who won’t break the bank. Just where do find this needle in a haystack of a roofing company, and what sort of things should you look for when considering a contractor to hire?

To help narrow down your search, here are the top 10 questions to ask a roofing contractor before making a hire.

1. Is your company a licensed roofing contractor?

This one may seem like a no-brainier, but it’s easily among the most important questions you can ask. While any professional roofing company in San Antonio should be licensed and insured, on rare occasion, you may find that they are not.

In this instance, you should eliminate that contractor from your potential list of hires. You want to work with a roofing contractor who is in compliance and up to date on their license to ensure there are legal protections in place should something go wrong.

2. Are you a local business?

This question may not be as important to every homeowner, but working with a local business often lends itself to a more personal customer experience. You know that company is close to where you live and is available to offer the customer service you need.

With larger regional or national companies, you may still get a great roofing product, but you can expect service to be less personal as they have many more customers to to tend to. With a local, family-owned business, you generally get a more caring approach with greater attention to detail.

In addition to whether the company is local is not, you may also want to ask how long they have been in business to get an idea of their level of experience.

3. Will roofing subcontractors be installing my roof?

Many times roofing companies will hire subcontractors to perform the labor of a roof repair or replacement. While there is nothing wrong with this, they should be transparent with you up front on who exactly will be performing the work on your roof.

This important for two reasons:

1. You want to be sure that you and the subcontractors are protected by workman’s comp and have liability insurance in the event of an injury.
2. You want ensure you’re protected in the event sub-contractors aren’t compensated by the roofing contractor with a lien waiver.

If in doubt about any of these, it’s best to just ask so you know for sure.

4. Does your company offer workman’s comp?

Following question 3, this leads us to our next top question. Do they offer workman’s comp insurance to employees. Though this is not required by law for roofing contractors to offer, it’s still a good idea to know if they do.

The reason is that if they do not and an employee gets hurt on the job, it’s possible that you, the homeowner, could be liable for medical expenses.

And nobody wants that. So just be sure.

5. How about liability insurance?

Whereas workman’s comp protects the actual roofers working on your home, liability insurance protects your property. You’ll want to ask the roofing contractor if they carry some sort of a general liability insurance policy.

If they do, perfect. You’re covered in case any damage is accidentally inflicted on your home.

If not, then once again, the homeowner could be responsible for any repairs to the home caused by someone else.

6. Do you provide written estimates?

Aside from your roofing estimator telling you what they think a repair will cost, ask if they can provide a detailed estimate for you in writing. This is the best way to ensure that there are no surprises related to cost.

By the time they provide you with an estimate, a proper assessment should have been completed on your home to determine the work involved. Once your roofing contractor knows this, they should be able to provide you with a breakdown of the total cost for materials and labor involved.

In addition, ask if they provide free, no-obligation estimates.

7. Do you remove old roofs before replacing?

Sometimes roofing contractors will suggest reshingling over an old roof. While this can cut down on the labor needed to replace a roof, this will almost always cause problems down the road.

The reason is that when you reshingle over an existing roof, you could potentially be installing a roof over damaged areas underneath the surface. Without removal of the old roof, you have no way of knowing if damage exists beneath the old roof that needs to be repaired first.

So if you are going to need complete roof replacement, it’s recommended that your roofing contractor first remove the old roof.

8. What steps do you take to protect my property when working?

Often, roofing jobs require a lot of equipment and material to complete work. Consequently, you have many items close to your home that could potentially damage property if not handled properly or with care.

You want to be sure that whomever you hire is going to have steps in place to properly handle equipment as to not cause damage to any other parts of your home such as windows or gutters.

It’s always a good idea to express your concern for the safety and care of your home when work is being performed. So be sure to ask how they ensure your home is kept safe during an installation or repair.

9. Who can I speak to if I have questions?

It’s not uncommon to have questions along the way with a roof repair or replacement. Sometimes a job can take as little as a day or up to week in some cases.

Ask your roofing company for the name and number of someone you can speak to in order to answer any questions you have.

The last thing you want is to have roofing material all over your property with uncertainty on when you can expect to hear back from “a contact” or when a job will be completed.

10. What sort of warranty does your roofing company offer?

Lastly, but certainly not least is the warranty that is offered on your roof. If a roofing contractor does not offer any sort of warranty, that is huge red flag and you should immediately walk away.

Warranties are important because they guarantee that work performed on your roof is protected for a length of time. Without it, you can’t guarantee that any damages (big or small) down the road are covered.

A Roofing Company in San Antonio you can depend on

At Norwest Roofing, you can rest assured that we deliver on all of the exceptions that you would expect from a reliable roofing company. We are a local family owned roofing company in San Antonio and have offered professional roofing services for over 20 years since 1995.

We offer workmanship warranties for all roof repairs and 10-year workmanship warranties for all roof replacements.

If you are in need of a roof repair or roof replacement, we offer free estimates, so contact us today.