So you’re shopping around for a new roof, apart from your foundation your roof is probably the most important exterior structure of your home. Having a new roof put onto your home is a major home improvement decision as well as a long term investment. Depending on the climate in your area and the type of roof you decide upon, this should be an investment that lasts the next 20 years or more.
After you have made the decision to replace your roof, the next to step to choose your contractor and this is always a difficult decision if you are not a part of the industry. We will be addressing the top five questions you should ask a roofing contractor before hiring them to work on your home.
- Will you remove my old roof?
This may sound like a silly question to ask since most of us would assume that removal would be included. However some unscrupulous contractors will leave this cost off of their initial bid. Then when you get final invoice for the project there will be an extra couple of thousand dollars for removal and disposal or they will shingle over the old roof and just cover up any leaks and soft spots with new shingles so it all looks ok.
- What is the warranty on my new roof?
What you want to hear is that your new roof has a minimum of a 25 year warranty. Modern dimensional style shingles, cost roughly the same as the older style shingles. Either of those products should come with a 25 year warranty.
- What will you do to protect my gutters?
This may not be something that is on your mind as you contemplate a new roof, however if you fail to find out if they will be using stabilizers or standoffs for their ladders you could end up with a new roof and a bill from a gutter contractor who has to come and replace them.
- Do you bring a container for refuse material?
Refuse from the old roof, such as shingles, will need to be placed somewhere as it comes down. The company you hire should bring a container to the job site to contain the refuse. You should not be required to supply this container, nor should you have to deal with the refuse once the job is completed.
- What is the cost of plywood should you find rotten roof or soft roof decking?
Unscrupulous roofers might skip over this information as you head into an agreement. Once the roof is up, it’s tough for you to dispute an overinflated cost for plywood sheeting to fix what was rotten underneath. For this reason, you need to ask how much it will-cost for plywood sheeting should the roofer find rotten or soft pieces that need to be replaced. This will leave you with no surprises during the job, and it will allow you to compare one roofer’s estimate to another’s.
