Any advice on hiring a roofer?

Kylere · Post by **Kylere** » May 11, 2004, 9:29 am

Specific stuff, I have already google'd it to death, but any experiences, suggestions etc would be cool.

Akaran_D · Post by **Akaran_D** » May 11, 2004, 10:00 am

Make sure he completely knocks her out.
Really spoils it when she wakes up with teeth barred midway through it.

Aside from that, I got nothin'.

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » May 11, 2004, 10:10 am

Kylere wrote:Specific stuff, I have already google'd it to death, but any experiences, suggestions etc would be cool.

Try Talking to Home Depot or Lowes, They have contracters that they work with that they back.

Neost · Post by **Neost** » May 11, 2004, 10:31 am

Cart has a good suggestion but if you don't go that route check with the yellow pages, then bounce the ones you pick against the BBB for complaints etc. etc.

When you talk to a roofing contractor ask them about things like insurance, warranty, getting things fixed if the job goes bad, etc. etc.

If they can't answer satisfactorily, move on to someone else.

aristat · Post by **aristat** » May 11, 2004, 10:59 am

make sure you take the old roofing off. 2nd and 3rd lair will cost you in the long run. But if you dont plan on living there for long time and want to save some money, go for 2nd lair.....

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » May 11, 2004, 11:59 am

I guess I don't really know how it is in other states.. But I live and work as a construction manager in Minnesota, and as a rule of thumb.. Mexicans do the best job, and charge the least.. that is my tiny bit of advice.
But yeah, the best bet is to get like 5 or 6 people to bid on the job, and talk to them all like the person above said about their policies and such. Another thing to keep in mind is this - if the bid seems way too low to be true, it probably is. A lot of inexperienced companies will forget to bid something and then come to you with extra charges and such later in the job.

So it is not best really to go with the cheapest, look at them all and go mid ground.

Fredonia Coldheart · Post by **Fredonia Coldheart** » May 11, 2004, 12:48 pm

Cartalas wrote:
Kylere wrote:Specific stuff, I have already google'd it to death, but any experiences, suggestions etc would be cool.

Try Talking to Home Depot or Lowes, They have contracters that they work with that they back.

Must be different depending upon where you live. We needed a contractor and went to both Home Depot and Lowes. Neither would provide a recommendation. They just pointed us to the bulletin board where contractors could leave their cards and told us they weren't allowed to give recommendations.

Like Neost said, once you have a few in mind, don't forget to check with the local BBB to see if any complaints have been made about them.

Kylere · Post by **Kylere** » May 11, 2004, 1:52 pm

Cool thanks all.

At this point I have 8 different requests for estimates out. Home Depot in Michigan has actual home depot people and also sub contractors that do that kind of thing for them, but their intial estimate based on side and pitch is roughly 35% higher than anyone else. I am willing to bet it is that extra level of profit desire heh.

So far I have noted that I need to make sure;

That they have workmans comp insurance, and liability insurance. That they included everything in the estimate, that everything is specified such as who gets any permits, payment schedule ( Most sites recommend 10% down, 90% when it is finished), to make sure I get a lien waver at the time of final payment (because they can decide not to pay whomever they bought materials from and you can be hosed otherwise), to make sure I have a specified penalty if they take longer to do the job than they say they will ( some poor schlub in Arizona has had half a roof for 4 months, and he paid up front)

Also:
Get 5 references, and call them

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 11, 2004, 2:17 pm

Get that guy that had 6 nails shot into his head.

Cartalas · Post by **Cartalas** » May 11, 2004, 2:54 pm

Winnow wrote:Get that guy that had 6 nails shot into his head.

ahhahhahaha

Klydon · Post by **Klydon** » May 11, 2004, 3:14 pm

Another good source of recommendation is if you are on good terms with your home insurance agent. They usually have some good contacts they can dig up and have an ongoing business relationship with.

Dexail · Post by **Dexail** » May 11, 2004, 5:45 pm

Instead of Lowes or Home Depot, try calling a larger home builder in the area and see who they use for roofing.

Definitely ask for warranty and warranty cards and a lien waiver. Before you have them start, ask them to give you a price per square foot or either a price per sheet to replace any deteriorated roof decking they might find.

Flashing at vertical surfaces (chimneys, etc), replacing vent stack boots, drip edge - clarify if this will be replaced.

Kilmoll the Sexy · Post by **Kilmoll the Sexy** » May 11, 2004, 6:18 pm

First, never have Lowes or Home Depot or anyplace like that do work of that type. I know exactly what their profit margin was for installation.....was a manager at a Lowes for a while.....and it is ridiculous.

Second, they won't recommend anyone as it can cause liability issues if that person screws up

Third, check the codes in your area before you get your quote and find out how many layers (not lairs) you are permitted to have. It is always cheaper if the can throw another layer over the old roofing. I know here that you can have 2 layers.

Check the business names on-line in the county and surrounding counties to see if they have any lawsuits from past jobs. If they screwed someone over enough to get sued you don't want them. You might be surprised how many you find with actions against them.

You might want to get a quote on materials from the Lowes and Home Depots in the area to see what kind of price that each place is coming in on labor. Some of them may well be using cheaper shingles in their quotes to you....so make sure you know exactly what price everything would be if you bought it yourself.

One other thing....if you don't plan to be in that house for more than 20 years, don't waste your money on buying 25 or 30 year shingles. But living in Michigan, you damn well better get the ice shield or your shit will back up and leak through into your house and cost you major jibbage on having the mexicans come in to drywall it again.

Truant · Post by **Truant** » May 11, 2004, 6:39 pm

I have 2 lairs. One for when it gets cold.

Shaerra · Post by **Shaerra** » May 12, 2004, 4:12 pm

Randal wrote:All right, look-you're a roofer, and some juicy government contract comes your way; you got the wife and kids and the two-story in suburbia-this is a government contract, which means all sorts of benefits. All of a sudden these left-wing militants blast you with lasers and wipe out everyone within a three-mile radius. You didn't ask for that. You have no personal politics. You're just trying to scrape out a living.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » May 13, 2004, 5:35 pm

Always check his nails.

Lor · Post by **Lor** » May 13, 2004, 5:49 pm

Many roofers and re-modeling company's will put their sign out in front of houses they are doing or have done, dont be afraid to go knock on some doors and ask the owners what they thought of the work that was done, a lot of home owners will be more than happy to tell you what they think.

VeeshanVault

Any advice on hiring a roofer?

Any advice on hiring a roofer?

Re: Any advice on hiring a roofer?

Re: Any advice on hiring a roofer?