There are some building maintenance things you can put off for another day without having to worry about it, but if your home roof has problems it’s always better to deal with that sooner rather than later. Depending on the exact issue it could easily be, or become, dangerous, or threaten the fabric of the entire building. It may also cause problems like wildlife making their home inside your property, or difficulties heating your home because there are missing tiles. Plus, of course, every day that you let a roofing problem just sit there your property is going to be devalued.
Unfortunately roofs are not the cheapest part of a property to repair, especially if you are looking at a sizeable amount of work, so you need to find a roofing contractor who is local, reliable, honest, and capable of doing excellent work; as these things will make the best out of your investment in the repairs.
This may sound easy enough, but when there are so many companies out there offering roofing services it is pretty difficult to know exactly which are going to be able to do great work, at a reasonable cost, in a time frame that suits you. That’s why we have put together this handy guide to help you find a reliable local roofing contractor company, with the minimum of fuss and time wasting.
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Ask for referrals from people you know and trust
This is always a good place to start when you are looking for someone to do any work on your home or yard, but it is important that you can rely on them to be honest with you about the overall experience and the standard of work completed. Equally vital is that you check positive recommendations are made by people who have had similar work done, or live in a similar style home. Also make sure you are on the same page – this matters because it helps you avoid being told a roofing contractor company is, say, very affordable and does a good job by someone who is extremely rich and has low standards!
Testimonials are so important that you can spread the net wider and still get some great leads. Asking neighbors, or in local community groups based online across social media platforms can produce some useful leads to pursue- especially if one name keeps being mentioned over and over.
Look at trade directories and organizations
Both of these can be found online, while trade directories may also have pamphlets on display in hardware stores or DIY material outlets. The directories can be an invaluable source but always check carefully to understand exactly how a local roofing contractor company got to be included. You may find that some are merely collections of names and numbers, presented in one handy source. There’s nothing actually wrong with that, but some directories have criteria for joining, and they check up on the skills and qualifications people claim to have. There’s quite a major difference in terms of trust points between those two examples.
Membership of a relevant professional organization which roofing contractors can join, (admission being usually fee based and dependant on them being successfully vetted), is often a much stronger sign that a local roofing company is reliable and worth considering for a job.
Don’t be afraid to snoop!
Presuming by now you have got a few names to work with it’s time to check them out before making contact. Try to find out as much as you can before arranging a quote as this saves you both valuable time later. Remember, you are looking for a roofing contractor who is local and reliable, but also must be both qualified and experienced in the kind of roof you need work done on. Local workers are much better because they should understand which materials will work best with your style of roof/home and how the climate in your location could affect things.
You can do some research online, by simply typing the company name into a major search engine. That should throw up information on reviews which will be useful. (Always check several review sites to get a balanced view and avoid the risk of only coming across overly positive comments left by family and friends of the company workers.) You should also actively check out that they are licensed and insured. You could expect large, long established roofing contractor roofing contractor businesses to maintain a website, or at least a public Facebook page where this information will also be available.
Make contact with those on the shortlist
It’s only fair to wait until you are pretty sure a roofing company is a contender before you ask for quotes as it does take time out of their day and yours. A reliable and worthy roofing contractor will want to visit the property itself to assess the problem rather than rely on your description of it. Unless you are completely sure the work is extremely simple, such as replacing a couple of tiles when perhaps they would request a few photographs of the problem, no good contractor would even dream of giving you a quote for a job sight unseen. They may insist that’s possible and give you an estimate, but without actually seeing the damage and identifying the problem they can’t possibly figure out a solid plan of action, and ultimately any kind of guide to the costs.
During your initial call you can also check out such things as availability, materials, (who chooses and buys them), time frames – for the start date and the estimated time needed to complete, how and when payment is required, (it’s fine to take a deposit to cover materials but it’s also safest to have someone pay in installments, which is a good way to spread the cost. Use this time to ask for references – a reliable roofing contractor will be happy to pass those on for you to contact as you see fit.
