If walls are instrumental structures of our buildings, playing a pivotal role in enabling them to stand as tall and firm to the ground, roofs are no less than them, helping the inside of a building to be protected and secured from the external environment.
Roofs, if not taken care of, can wear with time and inflict serious damages to the possessions of a homeowner. Besides this, impeccable roof installation is also very vital. Otherwise, one might go bankrupt trying to reverse the damages caused by a faulty installed roof.
Therefore, it is imperative that you hire roofing contractors who offer top-notch services in your locality.
Various materials – concrete, metals, wood, clay, asphalt shingles, etc. are used for roofs. Each have its own features and benefits. Roofs can be of different shapes – commercial buildings and mansions usually have flat roofs, while residential houses have pitched roofs.
Each with its benefits and drawbacks.
The two types of roofs have been lingering around since ancient times. Different cultures made use of different roof types, depending on their environmental conditions and the materials they used. Most common materials used were animal hides, wood, and plant materials.
Some – Chinese and Persians – even made use of bricks and clay to cover their abodes. Greeks used marble as their roof material. The ancient buildings that have survived the fury of nature and time are a manifestation of the expertise and artistic excellency of the people in the past.
The roofs, in particular, show the capabilities of those people and how their contributions have paved the way for the current generation, who are now able to build roofs in its most advanced form.
We have come up with a detailed explanation of tips to help you find the best people to hand over your roof to.
Table of Contents
Do Your Homework
The first and foremost thing you do before hiring a contractor is to do your proper research about roofing contractors in your area and the related rules by the state you live in.
Moreover, it is always a good idea to have a meagre knowledge about the roof services offered by mainstream contractors, the types of roofs in trend and their prices. Decide what color and type of shingles you prefer.
The various types of materials of shingles have different properties. Research and see what suits you the most.
The Internet is the most reliable and easily accessible source one can use to get the required information. Moreover, you can also ask service providers about the roof types, and the ones in trend.
Always Choose a Local Roofing Contractor
One of the things to always consider is to hire local service providers, for it is them who know the roof related rules and regulations in your area. Moreover, local contractors are easily recognized by the people around you, and are thus more reliable.
With local service providers one can easily access them in case of any malfunctioning roof part.
On the other hand, contractors from other regions will create more inconvenience than you can think. They might be better craftsmen, but they will not know about the legislation in your area, which can create serious troubles for you in future.
Choose the Most Popular One in the Industry That has been Serving for a Long Time
A top-tier service provider works flawlessly to the extent that they become popular for the quality of services they offer. They are renowned and well-named, which makes finding them easy.
Working for a considerable period of time and proving oneself as the most reputable one requires high quality workmanship and dedication to work. Only good ones can survive for long years.
Fraud companies might be able to draw out money from several customers, but they will never be able to survive for a long time. Sooner or later, they will have to pay back for scamming people by losing their credibility and reputation in the market.
Therefore, it is always a better idea to look for those who have been serving in the relevant department for a long time. As they are the ones with experience and the right knowledge of dealing with the problems.
As soon as you come across such a reputable roofing contractor make sure you hold your phone and spend good time searching about their credibility.
Check Online Reviews
To know about the reviews of the general public about a certain service provider is very important. For this purpose, there are websites that allow people to share their experience with a service provider and help in the decision making of potential customers.
Reputable websites post the genuine reviews of past customers. Not only positive replies are decisive, but also the way a service provider caters to the negative comments help people make their choice.
For instance, a complaining customer will be offered to be paid another visit with no charges to compensate for the mistake. Likewise, they will try to clear any misunderstandings.
This attitude is a manifestation of how much a contractor care for their customer satisfaction.
Online Presence of the Roofing Contractor is a Must
In the current era of advancements in technology and science it is an utter waste to not utilize the myriad opportunities businesses get to prove their potential using digital marketing.
It is very important for a service provider to have an online presence to be able to reach customers and be able to share what they can bring to the table, which makes them different from others.
Websites, social media pages are just a way for service providers to connect to users, who can become their customers. Not only a website can give information about the service provider, but most websites share the reviews of their past customers.
The comments usually come with the name, picture and sometimes contact details of the past customer.
This sharing of personal data reduces the chances of the comments being manipulated, so you are sure that the comments you are reading are by real people, and not just random names of unreal people commenting good stuff about the contractor.
References are Another Good Source
You might have people in your acquaintance who have hired the Roof Replacement or installation services offered by a contractor, and are absolutely happy with the quality of their workmanship. It is here when you know who you should be trying.
In other respects, ask the service provider to give you references about their past customers, whom you can contact or pay a visit to ask about their experience with the roofers.
Some service providers will even arrange your meetings to pay a visit to their past customer, also your acquaintance’s home so you can observe their work closely. They will produce pictures to show you the details of their work.
License is Above Everything
Once you make your choice about a roofer and get satisfactory answers from its past customers, you will have to contact them directly and ask them a series of questions. They are licensed or not tops the list of your investigative questions.
A roofer should hold a license that guarantees their education and experience. Without which you will hand over the most important structure of your house to a bunch of inexperienced goofs.
This can not only prove to be heavy on the pocket, but also extremely dangerous for your safety.
A person is only capable of holding a license, if they have undergone a tough training for years, and after clearing the exam.
So, the contractor should show you their license, and in some regions, you are given the facility of verifying a service provider’s license by asking them about their license number and verifying it on the internet.
Insurance is a Priority
Roofs require a lot of vigilance and care when being installed or repaired. The fact that workers have to stand on the roof, many feet above the ground and work involves huge risks.
In this aspect, if good care isn’t taken one might even lose their life or take someone else’s. Good contractors value the safety of themselves and other people around. They are well-trained to work in a tough environment.
Pertaining to the fact that roof services involve danger, companies avail insurance policies to get them covered during accidents.
Contractors that don’t have an insurance company cover them during a mishap are untrustworthy and unreliable. It shows they don’t prioritize safety at all. Therefore, asking the contractor about their insurance policy should own a place in your questions’ list.
In other way, you will be left with a huge amount of money to pay for the medical bills of an injured roofer at your home.
Insurance also helps in making things easier when a passerby gets injured during the work by the roofers on your roof replacement.
As roofing is a very risky profession and there have been people who have lost their lives working on roofs, therefore there are insurance policies to help ease/prevent the tension/problem (respectively) between you and the roofers.
Insurance also pays the deceased worker’s family or a worker who gets disabled due to severe injury. Pertaining to the severity of the issue it is very important that you hire those that have a third party behind them, funding them during any adversity.
Pricing Should be Clear and Straight-Forward
One of the easiest baits to scam people and draw out more money from them is to keep the charges vague and ambiguous. This is used by almost all sketchy companies.
It will be easier to exert the customer after the job has been done to make them pay more than what is normally charged.
So, before you hire a roofing contractor ask them about their charges. Reputable contractors offer fixed prices after thoroughly inspecting your house’s roof.
They will propose repair and fixation charges before considering a complete replacement of your roof. On the contrary, a sketchy service provider will try to force you to get roof replacement even on minor damages to make more dollars out of the deal.
Therefore, it is always recommended to pen down every service, the charges, the date of starting the work, and the day of delivering you a finished project prior to the work.
This is a professional attitude expected by the customer and the service provider, which a reputable service provider should encourage.
Warranted Services Save You from Going Broke
Services that aren’t warranted can cost heavy. Not every work is faultless. There are always chances of some errors. No matter how small, errors can end up costing huge to the homeowner.
Minor mistakes on the part of contractors when installing roofs can lead to major problems for you. This will cause you to pay again for your roof because of the mistake you have not made. It feels as heavy and unfair as it sounds.
It is for this very reason that warranted services are offered by good roof contractors.
Ill-installed roofs can show signs after a week, a month, years, or when your city is hit by a storm or a hurricane. Therefore, it is always a smart idea to hire contractors that offer warranted services, so you can save your money in the long run.
It is unfair to hire the same roofing crew for your roof after a day or two of having it repaired or replaced. This doesn’t mean that you are only hiring them, you have to repay them for the mistake on their part.
Moreover, roofing replacements require the house to be empty. Having to rent an apartment or a hotel, and moving all your belongings is a lot of work for the residents.
To protect yourself from such inconvenience in the future, ask the service providers if they have a warranty for their services.
The time period of warranty varies with the type of service and the provider – usually a few years when newly installed.
How to Save Your Roof?
The vetting process, and deciding who to hire is very hectic. One has to invest a good amount of time to be able to pick the best ones.
But, wouldn’t it be better if we try our level best to avoid having to encounter roofers at all? Obviously except when installing roofs on a newly constructed building.
There are plenty of tips and tricks to help you enhance the lifespan of a roof.
Clean After Every Rainfall
Rainfalls are what the thirsty earth needs the most in the current age when environmental problems are surging around the globe.
Likewise, snowfall can be an indication of the arrival of the beautiful month of Christ’s birthday, with everything wearing a white cap, from the roofs to cars and streets.
The green triangle trees will be lit up with round colorful balls, lights and the glitter tinsel producing a scintillating effect around the corner of your living rooms and streets.
Snowfall is no doubt a blessing to the eyes and soul, but can have disastrous impacts on your roofs if not cleared immediately.
Long standing snow over the rooftops can destroy the shingles allowing water to leak into the underlayment. Water keeps finding its way once it reaches the underlayment from where it enters the attic and then to the ceiling.
Moisture produces a suitable ground for the molds and mildews, which will not only destroy the aesthetic appeal of your house but also produce a very foul smell. All this can be avoided cleaning your roof after regular intervals.
Clear the Area Around Your House
Storms and high winds prove to be disastrous to the roofs. The effect of intense rainfall worsens with high winds removing the upper protective layer of roofs.
High winds can even carry heavy items like the furniture or trees in the air, which upon striking roof shingles can destroy them or take them away with themselves.
Therefore, it is wise to take in any outdoor furniture before a storm, trim the loosely held branches of trees in your garden, and transport weakly anchored trees around your house. Remove any heavy junk that can prove to be of extreme danger for your house.
Schedule Regular Maintenance
Hiring a professional service after regular intervals of time can protect you from hiring roof replacement services, because things can go wrong to high extents if roofs are left unattended.
These structures are most exposed to the harsh environment of outside, and are more likely to get destroyed. So, give a quick call to a contractor after vetting them.
Professionals will inspect your roof thoroughly, fix minor issues before they turn into major problems, repair broken parts, and replace any missing bolts, nuts or shingles.
They are experts and will track down any hidden crevices or leaks that can destroy your roof’s underlayment, which in turn can ruin your items stored in the attic.
Roofing contractors might recommend a bunch of repair services that you will need to avail promptly, to upgrade your roof’s condition.
These tricks are to be followed religiously to save your money and efforts.
