Most roof jobs fall under the category of “critical repairs.” This is because your roof is the main thing that protects your home from rain and other forms of precipitation. For those who live in snowy areas, a roof compromise can be even more devastating. All of this comes down to one thing: You can’t trust a job this important to a bunch of unqualified yahoos. It is very important to find the best roofing companies in your area for the job, and here are a few tips that will help you to do that.
1. Referrals Are The Best Route
The surest indicator of future quality is past quality. As such, a referral from a satisfied customer is one of the best ways to find a good roofing company. Just ask yourself if anyone you know has had work done on their roof within the last year or so. If the answer is yes, contact that person and find out how things went.
You want to ask them about the speed with which the job was accomplished, whether or not the customer’s expectations were met, and whether or not they would consider using that company again. That last one is the most important, of course. If you don’t know anyone that can give you a good referral, you might want to check out local companies by looking up their company on the website of the better business bureau.
2. Verify All Credentials
Many roofing companies will claim to have all sorts of impressive credentials, so you should expect this. The important thing is to investigate these credentials and see if they are legitimate. You can look up the certifications and awards that they claim so that you can make sure they actually exist. Further, you should ask for verification of these credentials from the company.
Make sure they give you information that allows you to verify the credentials independently. This will usually take the form of a number or some other identifier, and you can then contact the organization that issued the certification or whatever it might be. Just don’t let anyone talk you into considering them as an expert…unless you can verify that they are.
3. Get All Quotes In Writing
This is not only a good piece of advice, but it’s also a way to evaluate the quality of a roofing contractor. When they do their initial assessment, they should provide you with a quote for the work. While this quote will probably be an approximation, it should still be within a short distance of the actual price. it is best to get a range rather than a single number, but either way, make sure you get it in writing. A verbal quote cannot be verified later, so don’t rely on that.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who have found themselves to be the victim of roofing scams. One of the most common methods is to simply ask for a large down payment on a roof replacement service before beginning on the job. Some will even ask for all the money upfront, which is a giant red flag. Sometimes, they will also quote you a super-low price, only to find many excuses for raising the price later.
4. Don’t Go With The Bottom Of The Barrel
It might be tempting to go with the cheapest price when choosing a roofing contractor. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they can get decent work for a rock-bottom price. However, this is simply not a realistic attitude. In reality, those rock-bottom prices are usually low for good reason. If those companies had a better reputation, they would be able to charge more money for their services.
What we are saying is this: No one is going to offer you a low price out of the goodness of their heart. Those who offer you the rock-bottom price are doing so because they have no real choice…it’s the only way that a substandard company can get business! In the end, such jobs will cost you more than you will save. If you go with the bottom-tier price, you will probably get bottom-tier work.
5. Don’t Forget About Clean-Up Costs
Before your roofing job is done, there will most likely be a work contract made. This will be a written agreement between you and the roofing company and/or the contractors they employ. Many things are self-explanatory, like costs, schedule, etc. However, many people make the mistake of forgetting about the clean-up process. If it isn’t in the contract, you probably won’t be able to get them to clean up their mess.
A large building site can involve a lot of debris laying around. These can include nails, staples, extra shingles, leftover pieces of lumber, and all sorts of other things that you probably don’t want in your yard. If your contract doesn’t even mention this aspect of the job, we would consider that a red flag. Any reputable company should take care of this.
6. Demand A Warranty
If your roofer does not mention any kind of warranty, that means they are not using new materials from reputable sources. In essence, we are talking about two warranties here: Both the materials and the labor should be guaranteed. Otherwise, there will simply be too many loopholes with which your claim can be denied.
Conclusion
If you are located in the South New Jersey area, we can save you a little bit of time and research. The best company in your area would be RGB Construction, as we are known to provide the best residential roofing services in the area. Our trained and licensed professionals will always deliver the most prompt and efficient service. Also, we never have a problem with verifying anything about our company and all our work contracts are plain and straightforward. If you are interested in learning more (or employing our many roofing services), you can call us at 856-264-9093.
