9 Questions to Ask an Ann Arbor Roof Installation Company Before Hiring Them
When you hire a company to provide you with a service, you expect them to deliver the best results possible. One of the ways to ensure you get high quality service is to ask some important questions before hiring the company. If you are currently on the hunt for an excellent roof installation company, make sure you first ask these 9 important questions before letting them install your new roof.
Are You Properly Licensed and Insured? This is easily one of the most obvious questions a person should ask a roofing installation company before hiring them, but it is worth bringing up because it is also one of the most important questions. You don’t even want to begin to entertain the legal nightmare you could end up facing if you hire roofers who aren’t licensed and properly insured. Before asking the roofing installation company any other questions first ask if they are licensed and ask to see proof. After confirming the roofing company is properly licensed, ask for proof of insurance. A roofing installation company that specializes in relatively dangerous work should have general liability insurance and worker’s comp insurance. Once upon a time, a roofing company with three or fewer employees didn’t need worker’s comp insurance. However, companies are now required by law to have this type of insurance. In the case of an accident on the job where one of the employees gets injured, the worker’s comp insurance will handle it. If you hire a roofing company that skimps out on worker’s comp insurance and one of their employees gets hurt, you could end up being the one to foot the medical bill. Additionally, any contracting company or business in general should happily show you a certificate of general liability insurance. Being properly insured means that not only is the roofing company protected, but you, the client, will be legally protected too.
Are You Going to be Pulling up my Old Roof? Don’t fall for the roofing company that tells you they’ll just put a new roof on top of the old roof to “save time and money”. If the contractors don’t bother to remove the old roof, you’ll never know what might be underneath it. A roofing company needs to pull up the old roof to check for rotting wood and other damage that could cause extensive and extremely costly problems later on.
How Will You Deal With Debris From The Roof? You want to hire roofing contractors who will show up to the job site with all the proper materials, tools, and equipment; and that includes a container to hold all the debris from the old roof. The clients should not be expected to provide this item. It should always be the responsibility of the roofing company to come with a container to hold the old shingles. Additionally, you definitely should not have to deal with debris and old shingles just scattered around your property and left there after the job has been completed. Make sure the company plans to come with a container so you don’t get stuck with the task of finding one yourself.
OK, so You’re Bringing a Container…But Where Will You Put it? The answer that you want to hear is, “it depends on the property”. If, for example, the roofing company is tearing up the old roof of your home garage and your driveway is asphalt, you don’t want a giant container to be sitting on the asphalt material. Why? Because in most cases, asphalt cannot handle the pressure of a heavy container and this can lead to cracking in the driveway. In instances when the container can’t be placed on the driveway, you want confidence that the roofing contractors can assess your property and come up with an alternative area to place the container.
What’s Your Plan For a Rainy Day? We all know that the weather isn’t sunshine and rainbows 24/7. Although it would be ideal to have nothing but clear, blue skies from start to finish on a roofing job, that is commonly not the case. Before you hire a roofing contractor, ask them what their plan for inclement weather is. It’s almost inevitable that it will happen, so what are they going to do when it does? You want to hire a roofing company that will cover an unfinished roofing project with tarps or plastic covers when the rain comes.
The roof needs to be protected not only for the roof’s sake, but for the interior of your home. Not having the proper protection for an unfinished roof means leaving your home or property susceptible to seriously costly damage from the rain. Additionally, you also want to ask the contractors what the plan is for bad weather that persists for several days. Are they just going to leave the tarps on and come back days later whenever the weather lets up? Or will they periodically check in on the roof to make sure the coverings are adequately protecting the roof and that the wind hasn’t blown everything away? These are questions you want to ask a roofing company before hiring them, not during the rainstorm.
How do You Plan to Keep the Surrounding Area of The Roof Protected? Although the primary objective of a roof installation is to get rid of the old roof and put on a new one, there are a couple other things you and the roofing company want to keep in mind; like how the area around the roofing project will be protected. In the process of putting on a new roof, you don’t want to risk the safety of your property surrounding the roof. Ask the roofing company how they will protect your landscape so that debris and old shingles don’t ruin shrubbery, plants, and other areas of your property. As we mentioned earlier, it is important that the roofing company comes to the job with a container to hold all of the debris. But you also want to be briefed on the other protective measures the contractors will take to preserve your home. Don’t be afraid to ask detailed questions. Where will ladders be placed? How will gutters be protected? What happens if you accidentally damage something like a plant or gutter? Will you pay for this or will I be expected to? Get all of these questions out of the way before you hire the contractors.
Who Will be my Main Contact Person? Before hiring a roofing company, you always want to make sure there is someone on the job site that you will be able to communicate with whether that is to stay updated on the progress of the job or to know who to speak to if something goes wrong. The last thing you want to do is be given a phone number to someone in an office who never answers your calls and you have no one else to speak to directly. Get the name and number of the person who will be responsible for staying in touch with you and make sure it is someone who will be on site during the project.
If There is Rotting Wood Underneath the Old Roof, What Will it Cost Me to Fix it? Especially for older roofs, there is a good chance the plywood underneath it could be soft or completely rotten when the shingles are lifted up. And if they are, you’ll definitely want to get the wood replaced before having a new roof put down. Ask the roofing contractor how much this will cost you. Generally, one sheet of plywood should cost one dollar. Don’t fall for a roofing company that tries to charge you an arm and a leg for wood repairs because plywood is usually quite inexpensive.
Will You Put Everything in Writing (Including a Price Quote)? No matter how friendly you might get with someone, if you are going to do business with them, it is always best to get everything in writing. If all looks good and you plan to hire the roofing company, ask them to first provide you with a written estimate of the job. You don’t want to be quoted something, hire the company, and then discover the job was three times what they originally quoted you. Get a written estimate that you and the company agree upon so that you know what you are paying when the job ends. In addition to a written estimate, you also want to ask the company if they will have a written agreement that provides all details related to the job. If you are not confident about legal agreements, pass the contract along to your lawyer so you can know whether or not to move forward.
Looking for more advice on how to find the right roof installation company for your roofing needs? Don’t hesitate to contact us today with any questions or concerns you might have. You can also visit our website to learn about the services we offer and keep reading our other blog posts for more free resources.
