Before hiring a Colorado Springs roofing contractor to replace the roof on your home, ask them these 5 questions to make sure you protect one of your largest investments:
What is your contractor's license number?
Make sure they have a contractor's license to perform roof replacements. If they are not licensed, they will not be able to pull a permit and get inspections on your roof. This will put a lot of liability on you as a home owner and your insurance may not help pay for your roof or offer you discounts on your premium in the future if the work was not filtered through the building department.
Can I have a copy of your general liability and worker's compensation insurance certificates?
In construction, if it can go wrong, it will. Murphy's Law is an unfortunate common denominator and can make or break a contractor who does not have the right insurance in place. Make sure they have at least $1,000,000 in general liability and that their worker's compensation covers roofing.
What is included in the scope of work?
You'll want to get a complete list of what is included in the scope of work they are going to perform. Are they replacing flashing? Are they replacing pipe jack flashing? Are they installing new drip edge? Are they removing the existing layers of shingles or going over the top? (this is not allowed much any more). What type of dimensional shingles are you going to be installing? What class of shingles are you going to be installing? Ask them to provide a complete list of what they will be doing on your roof. Don't let them cut corners. Especially if your insurance is going to be paying for it, they need to do it.
How does the billing work?
Questions like: How much do you need upfront? When will I receive the final bill? Who handles the negotiations with the insurance, me or you? How long does it usually take for insurance to pay for work after it's done? Make sure you are both on the same page before any contracts are signed or work is started.
Do you have an references I can call?
If a contractor hesitates to provide references after you ask for them, I'd hesitate hiring them. Every contractor has made mistakes at some point or another and has customers who hate their guts - it just comes with the business. But it's how they respond AFTER they have dropped the ball that shows their true character. A Colorado Springs roofing contractor worth his salt will have done everything within his power to make right any wrongs and protect his company's reputation. Therefore, there should be no hesitation in providing a list of 5 to 6 references of customers he has worked for and who will vouch for his work.
Those are the 5 questions every customer should ask their roofing contractor before moving forward with any work. Are you ready to see what Homefix can do for you?
