When selecting a roofing contractor a good place to start is by asking someone at your local building supply who they would recommend for the job you have in mind based upon the type of work needing to be done and the area in which the work will be completed. Local building supply stores are an excellent source because they see these people purchasing supplies from them on a regular basis. Other good sources for referrals are local manufacturing companies and your neighbors that have had similar work done to their home.
Ok so you’ve got a few contractors referred to you, how do you choose the best one to use?
- Have they done in work in your neighborhood?
- Have they done similar work to what you’re looking to get done?
- Can they provide quality references and photos of past work?
- Are they licensed?
Don’t be afraid to see some of their past projects in photos or in person if possible and ask to speak to two of their past clients in order to gain a full scope of perspective. It’s important not just to speak to recent customers but those that they have serviced years ago to ensure that their work is able to be praised even years later. Once you’ve done all of this there are still a few things to consider.
- Are they a good fir for you personality and style wise? It is important to nail a good first impression and your roofer should be able to bring the image in your mind to life for your home. It’s also important to pick someone you will get along with well because chances are they will be spending a fair amount of time at your home over the course of the project.
- Are they a good communicator? It is important to select a contractor that is responsive through each phase of your roofing project and someone that is open and honest with you. You want to select someone who is going to give you a project timeline and that is communicating with you each step of the way.
- Do they have recent and good references? I know this has been mentioned several times already but it is of the utmost importance to have not only good references from years past but also recent ones as well. You may find someone with great work from five years ago but things may have changed since so make sure to get a good scope of references.
Get multiple estimates for your project: 3-5 is usually sufficient.
Your roofing contractor will team alongside you and decide the following 5 elements with you.
- Final Scope of Work
- Materials
- Timeline
- Best form of communication for you and how often they should be checking in
- Budget of overall project and payment schedule(make sure to get everything in writing)