Picking a Reputable Roofer 

Throughout my career as a project manager, I have come across many common questions online through various platforms that I am involved with.  One that doesn't come up often enough is how to pick a good roofer.  I get it, it's less than 12 hours since hail pummeled your house, you have a parade of roofers driving down your street, beating on doors, throwing flyers all over the place...it's quite an overwhelming experience.  It may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be.  So, how do you find a good roofer?  

Look Them Up!

So, you have a pile of flyers and you don't know where to start.  The first thing to do is start looking them up.  They should have an some sort of online presence.  Do they have a website?  Do they have a local office?  How about a google or Facebook page?  You are looking for a somewhat complete picture here.  In this day and age, I judge professional businesses harshly if they don't have a functional website.  

Check for Insurance

It's is imperative that your contract carry current insurance.  You are looking for general liability and worker's compensation.  I carry this document around with me in digital and paper form, and I provide it with every estimate I give out.  In some instances, I can even have a customer endorsed on our insurance.  Your contractor or project manager should be able to make this happen pretty easily.  If they cannot produce a current insurance document, I would weed them out on the spot.  The last thing you need is a mishap on the job that ends up costing you.

How are the reviews?

Reviews are a bit tricky.  You want to make sure your contractor the company you are researching has reviews.  Specifcally, you are looking for not only good reviews, but bad reviews.  What were the bad reviews?  Were they legitimate?  Were they addressed?  Did the owner or the company respond to the bad reviews, or just let them sit with no feedback?  This is important.  The information contained in reviews and feedback gives you a complete picture of the contractor's committment to customer satisfaction.  Roofing has many moving parts, and sometimes things do not go perfectly smooth.  The mark of a good company is not one that has a spotless records, anyone can handle that.  The mark of a good company is what that deals with issues head on and makes sure a customer is made whole and the issue is addressed.

What are their certifications?

Any roofing company can install shingles.  Whether or not they are installed properly is another question.  Most manufacturers have requirements for the way they want their products installed.  To that end, they will often offer extended warranties for top level companies who are certified.  For Infinity Roofing, we are GAF MasterElite certified, Owens Corning Platinum rated, and 5 Star ShingleMaster certified for Certainteed.  Very few roofing companies carry all three of these.  Almost every roofing company should carry at least one of the top levels for a particular brand of shingle.  This harkens back to committment to quality.  With certified installations, you are eligible for better warranties that are manufacturer backed, and that's a good thing.

Does all of the paperwork match?

After that storm rolls through and you are standing in your yard with shingles laying all around you and four roofers knocking on your door, another thing you can do is simply check out the paperwork.  Are the numbers local?  Do all of the phone numbers and addresses match between business cards, contracts, agreements, brochures?  Do they have brochures at all?  A reputable company will have all of this and if they are serious about working, it will all be there on the spot and ready to go.

Does the number on the business card work?

Call the number on the business card.  Call all of the numbers on it.  Does it go to what sounds like a professional answering the phone?  Did the project manager answer?  If not, did the voicemail message state the person's name and company?  If not, it may be a red flag.

Putting it all together

All of the items above should be looked at objectively.  The point of all of this is to establish a full picture of the company that is going to be ripping off your roof and installing new shingles.  They may be conversing with your insurance company, providing estimates, speaking to your spouses, so make sure you know who you are dealing with.  To make this a bit easier in a summarized format, I have provided our "How to pick a contractor" page.  It offers a checklist to compare us, an established, certified, legitimate company with others that may come along.  I hope that you find it useful.

Tips for YOUR consideration: Your Contractor Should...

• Be an established company with a minimum of 10 year track record.  Has a verifiable business address, phone number, and license information.
• Have verifiable insurance certificated for both general liability and workers compensation
• NEVER ask for first payment until roof is completed
• Be able to provide credit reference for supplier (very important)
• Have a licensing for the city/county of the area of your property
• Be able to provide listing information for BBB
• Can provide hundreds of local references
• Provide a written, detailed proposal
• Coherent company policy on insurance deductibles is presented and followed
• Are they a certified and backed contractor by the manufacturer? (Master Elite and Platinum Preferred)
• Had the contractor been recognized by other media sources?
• Does the contractor pull permits and final inspections included in the project?
• Are they a member of your state's Roofing association?
• The National Roofing Contractor Association member?

 I Just Got Hit by Wind/Hail!

What do I do?

With the early start to hail season for 2024, now is a great time to address a very common question that I see every single year.  So, with that in mind, I thought it useful to put together a quick outline of how to proceed.  After that, I will expand on each piece with caveats and sundries that can guide you through the decision making process.

Here it is.  If you don't want to read anything else, follow these steps and you'll already be ahead of the game.  

Quick Rundown of what to do

1. Call a reputable roofer to inspect your roof
2. Examine his photos should he inform you of significant damage
3. Call your insurance company and make a claim
4. Give your roofer the time and date of the adjuster meeting so he can be present
5. Wait for the insurance scope of work
6. Give the scope of work to your trusted roofer so he can begin restoring your property

So, without any delay, let's get into each of these now.

Call a reputable roofer to inspect your roof

This is typically the first step.  However, like everything in life, there are certain instances where you can probably skip this step and save your roofer and yourself time that may end up delaying your claim and project.  First, if you were at home and you watched golf ball sized hail or larger fall out of the sky into your yard, there is debris everywhere, then you can probably skip calling your roofer first.  In this instance, you can go ahead, and go directly to step 3.  

If, however, the hail was smaller, or you are just unsure, then you need to go ahead and schedule an inspection with your roofer.  He is going to be able to give you the best advice on what damage you actually have if any.  If I am the trusted roofer, I am going to have photos of everything and we will discuss the process and the odds, in my experience, of your roof being replaced by insurance.  Be aware that no roofer, even myself with years of experience, can possibley gaurantee how your carrier will decide to go with the roof.  My job is to give you the facts.

But, Jason, how do I FIND a reputable roofer?  Well, I'm glad you asked, because there is a topic here about exactly that.  Read it.  Follow it.  Do what it says and save yourself a lot of headache with storm chasers.

Picking a Reputable Roofer

Examine his photos should he inform you of significant damage

This, in my opinion, is important.  For me, I like my customers to trust what I'm telling them.  There are a lot of bad roofers, and my ability to Facetime or show real damage from their own roof is important.  It's how I build trust.  I don't want people to be scared into making a claim or feel forced.  I want to be able to show them that "There is real damage here, and this is what it looks like and what your adjuster will want to see."

Call your insurance company and make a claim

This seems pretty straightforward, but not everyone has done it.  It's not common for folks to make a lot of roof claims over their lifetime.  You will need to find the 800 number on your insurance policy or the claims department and give them a ring.  They are going to ask you several important questions. These questions may include:

"What kind of damage is there to the roof?  Hail, wind, other?"

"If your house one story or two story?"

"Do you have any leaks?"

"Is there any additional damage" (this includes gutters, windows, window beading, condenser fan dents, etc)

"What day and time did this occur?"

What your claims rep or assistant is trying to do is establish a storm date, determine if the adjuster needs a tall ladder, and whether he needs to go inside to look at leaks or additional damage.  They are not trying to catch you in any sort of lie or trick you.  It is perfectly acceptable to say that you don't know.  If you have gone through step 1, then you will know how to answer most of these questions.

Also, your roofer CAN help make the claim.  I've done it hundreds of times.  Some carriers allow me to do it with no interaction from a homeowner, but most require a three way call for the homeowner to confirm that I have permission to make the claim on their behalf.  This is for security purposes.

Give your roofer the time and date of the adjuster meeting so he can be present

This is a crucial step in my opinion.  If you have marginal damage, or you draw an irritable adjuster, the presence of your roofer to advocate for you can be a game changer.  I have had more than a few roofs approved simply because I was there and cared enough to show up for my customer.  Aside from esoteric reasons, there are also many instances where I was able to point out something that an adjuster did not see.  It may sway his decision if I defer to his expertise on something that looks abnormal.

Besides those reasons, it often provides my homeowners with peace of mind that I am there on their behalf.  They don't have to get on a roof or 'hope' an adjuster does his best.

This is not to say that adjusters dont care.  Some don't, of course, but many do.  The fact is that during a hail event, your adjuster is going to be busy.  You may be one of 7 appointments for the day and he needs to be quick and efficient.  My presence may help him to slow down and smell the roses.  Sometimes simply talking to him about where he lives, if he has kids, is enough to take the edge off of the hustle and bustle of claims adjusting and let him see things he may have otherwise missed.

Wait for the insurance scope of work

After the roofer and your adjuster have completed the inspection of your roof, it may be 7-14 business days or longer to get a final answer on the roof being replace by the insurance company.  Be patient.  If you get concerned, you can call and ask or you can have your roofer call and ask on your behalf.  I have relationships with adjusters such that it's very easy to talk to them as if we were friends because we might be.  We've done a few storms and looked at a lot of roofs together.

Give the scope of work to your trusted roofer so he can begin restoring your property

This is a big one.  After your roofer has done all of this work.  PLEASE GIVE THEM THE INSURANCE SCOPE.  It is not in your interest to withhold that.  It will slow down the process.  You do not need to get an estimate from your roofer.  It is nearly completely irrelevant at this point.  Your carrier has told you how much they will pay to replace the roof and it's up to your roofer to figure out how to make that happen or supplement accordingly to do the job right.  This is where he earns his keep.  Give him the information he needs to do his job.  

See these posts for further information:

Show Me the Insurance

My Insurance Company Said I Need Three Estimates

Summary

This process does not have to be hard.  It can be, but if you want it to go smoothly, work with your roofer.  Yes, your roofer gets paid to do this job, but he is also there to make sure you get everything you should.  It is in the roofer's best interest to do a good job for you because referrals are our bread and butter.  If you trust your roofer, and you follow this guide, the process should be quite smooth, and if it's not, your roofer can help get you through it.  For an experienced roofer, there are not a lot of issues that we have not come across.  We are here to help.