Answers · Hiring a roofer
What should I ask a roofer before hiring them?
The short answer
Ask who is physically doing the work, what happens if the deck is rotten when the old roof comes off, what the workmanship warranty says and for how long, who pulls the permit, and how they protect the property. The answers to those five tell you more than the price does.
The questions
- Where is your business based, and how long have you been trading here?
- What is your license or registration number in this state or province?
- Can your insurer send me a certificate showing liability and workers compensation?
- Are your crews employees or subcontractors, and who supervises the job day to day?
- What is your workmanship warranty, in writing, for how long, and what does it exclude?
- What happens if you find rotten decking? How is it priced, and do I approve it before you proceed?
- Who pulls the permit and books the inspections?
- What underlayment, ice and water membrane, drip edge and ventilation are in the quote? Ask for these by name.
- How do you protect landscaping, driveways and gutters, and how is cleanup handled, including nails?
- What is the payment schedule, and what deposit do you need?
- How many days will the roof be open, and what happens if it rains mid-job?
- Can I see two or three jobs you have done locally in the last year?
Also asked
- How many quotes should I get?
- Three is the usual advice and the useful part is not the number, it is comparing the scope line by line. Two quotes for the same roof can differ by a large margin because one includes deck replacement allowance, new flashing, ice and water membrane and ventilation work, and the other does not.
General information about roofs and about hiring, not advice about your building. Roofing contractor licensing, permits, insurance practice and deductible rules are set state by state and province by province across the United States and Canada, so your own authority is the current answer.