If you have suffered wind or hail damage to your home or business you are going to need a roofing contractor. There are a lot of them! Some of them are good some of them are terrible. The purpose of this post is to help you know what to ask, what to look for, and how to find the best roofing contractor.
Over the years I have inspected around 10,000 roofs. I have never once found a roof that did not have some type of installation error on it. I have seen some that I am still amazed that they shed water. To find the best roofing company you are going to need to have some understanding of the roofing process.
First, we need to determine what is wrong with your roof. If your roof is just old and worn out due to wear and tear you will probably be paying for this out of your own pocket. If the roof needs to be replaced due to hail damage, or if it has missing shingles from wind damage. Your roof might be paid for by your insurance company. That leads us to question # 1, Are they able to determine storm damage? When was the last major storm in the area? If they do this a lot they will know when the major storms were.
Second, if they are familiar with insurance claims. They should know how insurance companies operate. That does not mean that they should file your claim for you! If they offer to do this they are breaking the law. Only you or your public adjuster can file a claim on your behalf. Roofers have a tendency to think they are adjusters or can negotiate your claim with your insurance company for you. Again, this is against the law unless they are a public adjuster. Question #2 Are you a public adjuster? If not do you work with a public adjuster? If they say no, they are not insurance claim experts and you should move on. This is because if the claim goes sideways they have no way to help you, and in fact may have hurt your claim.
Third, You should test the roofing companies their knowledge about OSHA. How are they going to keep you and them safe during construction? I have found that if the contractors are safety conscious, they are also clean and precise. While it is not a direct correlation it certainly is a good indicator that they take pride in their work and will be just as meticulous on your roof. Question #3 What are some of the osha safety procedures that you follow? This should include but not limited to. A.Provide temporary bathroom and handwashing facilities B. A worker to keep the job site clean at all times. C. A ground supervisor for the job at all times to monitor safety conditions, and to make adjustments to the job as needed. D. A leading-edge supervisor to make sure no one falls. E. Rope and harness for anyone working above ground
Fourth, They should have a firm understanding of the building codes and the manufactures guidelines. Most roofing manufactures provide certifications for contractors that understand and know their products are supposed to be installed. Question #4 What certifications do you hold? Please provide me a copy of those certificates. You could also ask them questions about the applicable codes. Such as ice and water shield requirements, replacing roof accessories, or flashings.
Fifth, if you have hail damage to the roof you likely have hail damage to your gutters, doors, windows, and siding. You are going to want a general contractor to oversee the project to make sure all the trades are performed correctly. A public adjuster would be able to help with the inspection of all of these areas. We would hate for you to miss out on the recovery of those items as well. Question #5 Are you a general contractor? Please provide me a copy of your license.
Seventh, a reputable contractor will have positive reviews. This might be in the form of online reviews ( make sure they don't sound fake) they will also have other customers willing to tell you their experience. Question #6 Can you please provide me a list of referrals or jobs that you have recently completed.
Seventh, if they are a good contractor they will pull a building permit. Some contractors will try to fly under the radar and not pull a permit. Make sure that they show you the building permit before they start work. This will also mean that the city will come out and do an inspection of the roof to make sure they did it right. The city building inspector may or may not help too much but it is still a good idea to make sure he gets on the roof and takes a look. Question #7 Show me the building permit
It is safe to say if your contractor meets all of these requirements you are going to have a quality experience and an awesome work product when they are done.
For more tips and tricks on how to get your insurance claim properly settled visit our main page. www.claimrangers.com