I got a panicked call last spring from a neighbor. She had gotten three bids for roofing and every contractor had told her something different. She had gotten a bid for a full roof replacement, for repairing flashing on her existing roof, and for replacing the underlayment on her existing roof.
So what should a reputable roofing company do for you, say to you, and deliver to you? This is a very good question. I will go through this in detail in the subsequent sections below.
Step 1: The Inspection Should Be Thorough Investigation
A roofer who comes to your home to give you a quote should first investigate your roof to see what condition it is in and what problems it might have. This can help them give you a more accurate quote for any work that might need to be done. The best roofers will do a thorough investigation of your roof, and will take notes on what they find.
A reputable roofing contractor will never do a roof inspection from the driveway of your home and tell you that you need a new roof. Instead, they will come to your home, do an inspection of your roof, go on your roof to check the decking, the flashing around chimneys and vents, the gutters, etc. As part of the inspection, the roofer will ask you about any leaks or moisture that you have observed or felt inside your home. After the inspection, the roofer will present to you a written report of the findings. That report should be given to you in writing. If they only present the findings to you orally then you have no proof of what they said and you are at their mercy.
Good roofers work as if they are a team of cold case detectives. They list out problems found with your home’s roof and then trace them back to potential causes. They also can list out potential problems that those same roof related issues could cause for you on the interior of your home. A roofer would explain out each of the found problems in detail including images.
He or she would explain out any found damage to your roof in detail. He or she would also explain to you the expected results that will be received from any needed repairs that you may need done to your home’s roof. For example, a roofer may check into potential causes for any leaking that you may have noticed coming from a skylight. A roofer would search your roof for any water staining found on your ceiling below a skylight. That is just one example of the list of potential causes for any found leaking around a skylight and the potential interior issues that the aforementioned leaking could have caused. It is easier to fix a problem when it first comes up but the best roofer and his or her team can usually fix potential problems before they even occur.
Most reputable roofing contractors will provide you with a written report detailing the damage found on your roof after an inspection by their team. If for any reason a contractor doesn’t provide you with a written report of the roof damage that they found after completing an inspection of your roof, you should request that they put their findings in writing for you.
What a solid quote actually looks like
Here is a list of what a quote should include. This is where things can get a little tricky. If two quotes have prices that are way apart, it is best to compare the materials that will be used. Cheaper materials can be made up of thinner materials. Even the manufacturers of shingles put a warranty on them. But a contractor can offer a longer warranty on the shingles if he uses them and does a proper installation. This is why it is very important to check the warranty of the work. A homeowner should make sure that the warranty of the work will cover the cost of repairs for a longer period of time. Here is a list of what a homeowner should be looking for in a quote for a new roof.
A proper quote should include:
- Material costs broken out separately from labor
- The specific products being used (brand, grade, warranty tier)
- Disposal fees for the old roofing material
- A timeline with start and estimated completion dates
- What’s not covered, which is actually the most important part
The price of the roofing can vary quite a bit from contractor to contractor. This is why the Materials price should be the first thing that you look at when comparing the bids. The Materials make up the majority of the cost of the Roofing, so this is where the biggest difference is going to be. Cheap Roofing can have thinner Shingles that do not last as long as the Shingles on more expensive Roofing systems. Also, cheap Roofing contractors may provide a shorter Manufacturer’s warranty on the materials. And lastly, cheap Roofing contractors typically make less money on the Labor portion of the contract. This can cause the contractor to cut corners in many ways that will not be noticeable for 3 years. Then one night at 2 am while you are sleeping in bed, water will start dripping from the ceiling.
After that lengthy explanation, I will stop there. It’s too bad that more homeowners need to do research on finding the best roofing contractors for their home’s needs and then comparing prices between different roofers. It’s similar to purchasing a car and most people do their research on cars.
Warranties. When a contractor resells you that they can resell the manufacturer’s warranty on the shingles for you, make sure that you understand that this is separate from the workmanship warranty that the contractor is providing. Even if the manufacturer’s is covering the cost of the shingles for a long time, if the poor workmanship of the installation of those shingles is causing problems, then you are stuck paying for the contractor to fix those problems. Some contractors will tell you that they are providing a warranty that covers your shingles for 20 years, but when you read the fine print, you
| Warranty type | What it covers | Who backs it | Typical duration |
| Manufacturer warranty | Defects in the shingles or materials themselves | The material brand (e.g., GAF, Owens Corning) | 20 to 50 years |
| Workmanship warranty | Installation errors, improper technique | The roofing contractor | 1 to 10 years, varies widely |
Leakage caused by a failure of the installation of the flashing of your roof will NOT be covered under the warranty of the manufacturer of your roofing shingles. Therefore it is important to choose a roofer who has a very good track record in backing up his work. Do not confuse a manufacturer’s warranty for a roofing material (such as shingles, roofing caps, ridge capping, etc.) with a warranty for the work performed by the roofer in installing those materials. While there are some roofers who resell a manufacturer’s warranty for a roofing material as their own workmanship warranty, this is not acceptable and should be avoided at all costs.
As with any other aspect of your home, workmanship warranties are only as good as the contractor who is backing them. A 1 year warranty with the following language is not something to get excited about:
On Site: What Should It Look Like and What Should You Avoid?
Roofing work is loud. And even though that is the case with most roof replacements, you can still determine how well a home is being serviced while your crew is on your roof all day. Below are several ways to ensure that your home is receiving the best possible work.
- They protect your landscaping. Tarps or plywood sheets catch falling debris and nails.
- They don’t start without pulling permits where required. If your municipality requires one and they skip it, that’s your liability, not theirs.
- Dumpster or clean-up happens daily, not just at the end. A crew that leaves debris scattered across your yard overnight for a week is telling you something about how carefully they’re working above your head.
- Someone is available to answer your questions. You shouldn’t feel like a bother for asking what’s happening on your own house.
Most Arlington VA roofing company professionals operate in a competitive market, and therefore they must complete the work on your home in such a way that it will look good to the homeowner from start to finish. In less competitive markets, the focus of the work is typically centered on making sure that the home is fixed so that it can be sold in the near future. This is not the case in markets where there are many qualified contractors competing for the business of home owners. As a result, the contractor must complete the work on your home in such a way that it would look good even if the homeowner were to allow others to view the less than perfect work. A homeowner can ensure that the work that is to be performed on their home will be of the highest quality by selecting a contractor who focuses on the details of the work that they do.
Even details that are not required to complete the job at hand should be attended to by the contractor. This is especially true when the work that is to be performed on the home is of a visible nature, meaning that it will be visible from the outside of the home. Many home improvement projects fall into this category, including installing a new roof on a home. By choosing a qualified contractor who will pay close attention to all of the details involved in the work that they perform, you can rest assured that the work that is performed on your home will be of the highest quality and will last for many years to come.
After the job: don’t just walk away
After the initial inspection of the property (to include interior & exterior) by the roofing sales representative, an inspection and written report by a licensed contractor is required for any work to be performed. Written reports provide a thorough list of discovered defects (damage) and their recommended repairs. This report becomes your contract if you choose to have work performed. Ask for a written report and make sure all items noted are clearly described as well as repaired prior to final payment. After acceptance of the roof by the property owner(s), (final payment), schedule annual inspections (fall and spring) to check for shingle damage or wear (cracks/tear etc.), granule build-up in gutters ( indicates shingle wear as well), any softening of wood along the roof line (fascia etc.). Address any such issues found during your inspection promptly to prevent minor problems from becoming major costly repairs later. Examples of potential issues include shingle delamination (shingle separation), loss of granules (shingle wear), or evidence of roof leakage (staining etc.).
Schedule an annual (fall/spring) inspections for the roofing system. Go around the exterior of your home to look for missing shingles, large amounts of granules in the gutters, or soft spots on the roof or along the fascia and rafter ends. Your roof does not have to be maintained obsessively but it does require occasional inspections to look for problems before they occur. As with anything else in your home, problems with your roof can cause quite a bit of damage if left unattended. For example, ignoring your roof entirely and then discovering a $15,000 problem in year eight is a common mistake that could have been avoided if more attention was paid to the roof from time to time. (Think of your roof as you would a car. If you drive your car 80,000 miles without ever changing the oil, you risk causing serious damage to the engine which could result in the car not being able to be started. Similar things can happen with your roof.)
Don’t ignore your roof and wait until you have a $15,000 problem in year 8 after you paid $10,000 to have it redone 3 years prior. Protect your greatest asset by being able to easily inspect it and by going out to look for problems on simple visual inspections in the fall and in the spring. A simple walk around your home can reveal many simple problems before they become big expensive repairs. And when you do have to hire a contractor to repair or replace your roof, make sure to hire a professional that knows what he is doing, will protect your home with the best materials and will provide you with a proper warranty. He should also do a great job.
