Questions To Ask A Roofer
Interviewing contractors is an important step in hiring the right roofer. Heres what to ask:
- What types of roofing do you install?
- Do you work with homeowners insurance to file claims?
- Do you have a current license to do this work in my area?
- What types of insurance do you have, and what is the coverage?
- Can you give me two or three references to check?
- Do you offer a free on-site inspection?
- Do you take photos during the inspection and after completing the project?
- Will you give me a written estimate after the inspection?
- Do you do roofing repairs? How much do they cost?
- Is your work covered by manufacturer warranty?
- How do you keep projects on schedule? Whats your inclement weather policy?
- Do you remove or dispose of old roofing materials? Is there a disposal charge? Do you recycle old materials?
- When and how do you bill or invoice? Do you accept credit cards? Do you offer financing?
Your Roof Looks Even And Uniform In Appearance
After a roof repair or installation, take a good hard look at your roof. Most of the time, homeowners dont do a thorough visual inspection of their roof after a project has reached completion. At the end of a roofing project, your roof should look completely uniform throughout. An uneven appearance is a key giveaway that youve been the victim of a bad roofing job. If your roofline is sagging or asphalt shingles are not uniform in color, it is not uniform in appearance. Additionally, your roof should be done in the same materials from beginning to end.
The shingles are the main focal point of the roof and will do all of the heavy liftings in keeping your home free from moisture. A great roofing contractor will start the installation at the bottom of the roof, go up over the starter shingle, and then continue upwards. This creates a uniform appearance and allows your shingles to work as they should.
Do You Need A Permit To Do A Roof In Nyc
A permit from the Department of Buildings is required for the bulk of construction. In addition, before work can begin, a New York State licensed Professional Engineer , or Registered Architect must usually file drawings and obtain permissions. Construction, boiler, elevator, and plumbing permits are just a few examples.
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What The Law Says
When a tradesman agrees to do work at your request, you have both entered into a contract. Contracts can be either written or spoken so you don’t have to sign anything to enter into a legal agreement. The contract protects both you and the tradesman.
When a tradesman fixes or maintains something in your home, they are providing you with a service. They must do it with reasonable skill and care. Also, if no price or date for completing the work was agreed beforehand, they must only charge you what is reasonable and finish the job within a reasonable time. Any materials they use must be of satisfactory quality, fit for any stated purpose and as described.
Find out more about your rights when a trader provides goods or a service.
Extended Manufacturer Warranties = Comprehensive Coverage
Leading manufacturers understand the direct connection between installation quality and how well their roofing products perform long-term. To help homeowners get lasting value and provide peace of mind, they offer optional extended warranty coverage on new roofs installed by authorized contractors who are certified to install the roofing system according to the manufacturers installation requirements.
Most extended warranties are available for an additional cost and require that you have a complete roof system installed, which usually includes certain coordinating components such as:
- Ice and water barriers
- Hip and ridge cap shingles
- Soffit and ridge vents
- Starter and field shingles
The most comprehensive extended warranties offered bytrusted manufacturers provide a range of benefits, such as:
- Coverage for all roof system components:Excluding flashing, wood decking and fasteners
- Lengthy, non-prorated, or continuous,coverage for defective materials: Typically includes labor costs forrepairs or replacements and is extendable for up to 50 years
- Workmanship coverage against installationerrors of the roof system: Term may be lifetime with prorating beginningafter a certain number of years and includes labor, tear-off and disposal costs
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Oc Premier Home Inspections
Since joining the NRCIA, we have greatly benefited from its professional credentials, trademarks, training, inspection reporting and estimating software, and CRM to keep our small business on track for growth and success. Not only did it create additional revenue streams through inspections and certifications, but we also gained a significant competitive advantage through their recognizable seal as well as their thorough and professional inspection reports. Every report and proposal that goes out is generated through their simple yet effective online system, and the finished report has undeniably increased my conversion rate on jobs. In my experience, customers prefer a roofer who is NRCIA-certified over one who is not. I even use it to justify our premium pricing and reduce company liability in an honest, clear, and transparent way to all of our customers. Im so grateful that NRCIAs membership has taken me to a level of great success at such an early age, and I know I will be a member for life.
How To Check If A Roofer Is Licensed
Fortunately, checking if a roofer is licensed is a simple process. Find your states online database of licensed contractors. Enter the contractors name, the company name, or the license number to find out if the roofing contractor is licensed.
In Florida, go to MyFloridaLicense.com, a database managed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional regulation.
To search the database by name in Florida, you can enter the contractors name or the company name. In order to see results with both exact name matches and similar names, check the boxes for those filters.
You can see in the image below that our search for Castle Roofing Group yielded one result in Florida. You can see our company address, and to the right, you can see that our license is active and valid with the date of our next required renewal.
If you have already searched by contractor name and license name and the search yielded no results, thats a problem. Licensed roofing contractors are required to advertise their services according to the name on their license to prevent confusion, fraud, and stolen identity.
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Torch And Spare Batteries
The shorter days means there is an increased chance of breaking down in the dark.
A torch can help you find your way safely, especially if your car breaks down and you need to wait by the road for assistance.
The RAC said: “Stuck by the side of a country road in the dark of a winter’s evening with a flat battery?
“It’s a very real possibility, and without any light it can be a frightening and dangerous situation.
“A large torch with spare batteries or a wind-up torch which doesn’t require battery power should definitely be among your breakdown kit essentials.”
How To Conduct A Driving Licence Check In 2020
We often find that many fleet operations do not have a dedicated fleet manager available to carry out a thorough driving licence check.
It is clearly important to validate and check your fleet drivers background and licence, but if the person checking does not know how to check the validity of a driving licence, or know how many points can accumulate before losing a driving licence, or even which category of vehicle the driver is licenced for then there could be a problem which can ultimately impact on your claims.
Around one in 10 motorists would tell their employer if they received penalty points whilst driving. This would potentially void their insurance and vulnerable to hefty fines from the police. Businesses may also be held responsible for the actions of their drivers if they allow them to drive a company vehicle without a valid licence.
COVID-19 Update: Despite the global pandemic, DVLA are still operating and checking licences as usual to maintain compliance. However, there may be some delays. Please submit any checks needed as soon as you can to allow extra time for checks to take place.
Use the following guide on how to conduct a driving licence check
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Roofing Companies Near Me
Before hiring a roofing contractor, always double check that the company is licensed and insured. This may seem like an unnecessary step, especially if you know the contractor, or if they come recommended to you by a friend. However, checking a contractors license and insurance is important, because as the homeowner, you are responsible if someone is injured while working on your home and the contractor is not insured.
Why You Should Ask Your Roofer For A Certificate Of Insurance
When you are planning to hire a roofer, there are a few things you need to find out about them, and their company, before forging ahead with the work you need done. Your roof is the most important part of a home or business and as such, needs to have a reliable roofing contractor who is licensed and insured handle all work that needs to be done to it. Hiring a bad contractor, or one who is not licensed or insured, can end in having to spend far more than necessary or hiring someone else to fix the mess the first contractor made. Before you hire anyone, be sure you understand the insurance
The first thing you must do, before hiring a roofer, is ask them to show you proof that they are licensed and insured. They need to be licensed in the state your home or business is located. Next, check the insurance.
A roofing contractor should have valid, and verifiable workmans compensation insurance as well as liability insurance that will protect you, the homeowner or business owner, if an accident happens at your home or business.
Another thing to be sure to check is references and online reviews of the company to make sure they do not have any legal claims against them, and that they are in good standing.
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William L Hogue & Associates
Please accept this letter as an unequivocal recommendation for NRCIA. It has been my extreme pleasure to know them for five years. I initially became acquainted with them by enrolling in, and completing the National Roof Certification and Inspection Association online coursesFollowing the course completion and introductory phone call, I flew down to Southern California to meet them in person. After completing a roof inspection together, they took the time to engage me on a personal level to explain the development of the business and his vision for success in the future. They were very patient with me over the next few months as they guided me through the online inspection program and its attendant possibilities for business growth. Over the past five years, I have never experienced a time when I could not easily access them personally and receive the assistance I needed to provide their product to my customer. I have recommended, and will continue to recommend fellow contractors to become part of the NRCIA team. My confidence in doing so is directly related to the solid business model and fair dealings I receive from NRCIA.
Your Roofer Should Have Workers Compensation
You may be wondering why workers compensation insurance needs to be valid for the roofer to provide services for you. If the roofer has a worker who falls from your roof, nails their hand with a nail gun or has any other type of accident while on your property, the injured worker, or their family, could try to hold you responsible for the injury since it happened on your property. If the roofing contractor has valid workers compensation insurance, the homeowner/business owner is protected by that coverage.
If the roofing contractor did not have workers compensation insurance, you can be held responsible for doctors bills, emergency room visits and even funeral costs if a death should happen to occur from the accident.
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How Long Does It Take To Receive My License And What Are The Requirements
To have a roofing license, if you are the one asking for it, you need to check with your local government the requirements needed to apply for a license. Since this is a guiding article, it will help you in some ways about roofing licenses by considering this information as your insights.
How do you become a licensed roofer?
Becoming a licensed roofer or a certified roofing contractor is your gateway to acquiring the trust of your clients. Because you have an in-depth knowledge of your craft and experience in handling projects you can, your license will add up to your impression as a professional. Your license or certification can gain you more customers.
Generally, each state or country has its guidelines in getting a license. Although different locations need similar documents, these requirements, when completed, will make you become a licensed roofer immediately.
How To Find Out If A Roofing Company Is Legit
There are many roofing companies available to you with different levels of experience and expertise. The amount of options can make it difficult to choose a roofing company that is legitimate.
Here are some tips to aid in the decision-making and give you confidence in the roofing company you choose.
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National Roof Certification And Inspection Association
In 1995, the National Roof Certification and Inspection Association was born out of the evolution of the home inspection industry and its eventual standard to refer and defer any roof damage to a certified roofer. Today, the NRCIA has become THE authority in LeakFREE® roof protection by leading the industry in roof inspections and certifications.
Understanding The Basics Of Roofing Warranties
Although it may seem as though theres a wide range ofwarranties offered on roofing, there are really just three main types:
- The standard manufacturers warranty that covers the products you purchase
- A workmanship warranty from your contractor that covers the installation
- An extended manufacturers warranty that covers contractor workmanship along with expanded coverage for the products
Here, well take a closer look at the coverage providedby each type and explain what it means in practical terms.
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Accreditation And Industry Bodies
Youll need to have a Construction Skills Certification Scheme membership card to train and work on a construction site.
And if you want to get professional accreditation for your roofing skills, the National Federation of Roofing Contractors offers the RoofCERT National Roofing Accreditation the only one of its kind in the UK.
Professional bodies in the construction industry:
- Institute of Roofing you can become a member for access to training and industry contacts
- CITB is the industry training board for the sector in England, Scotland and Wales
- National Heritage Training Group offers specific training and resources for people who specialise in working with historic buildings
Signing A Contract Without All The Details
Scam companies will be very agreeable in conversations about the work that needs to be done. They will seem to fully understand your needs and act like they will do a great job. A contract will be provided that does not include all the small details you discussed, and their contractors will try to convince you to take their word for it. Never sign a contract that does not include all of the details. Instead, take this as a sign you should look for a higher quality roofing company.
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Recommendations & Previous Work
A simple yet extremely helpful starting point is talking to friends or family that have had previous roofing work done about roofers that they recommend. This is beneficial as you can ask a range of questions such as Was the roofer trustworthy?, Was the project completed within the time frame given? and How payment was handled?. You can also check out their work yourself and evaluate the results up close.
If you dont know anyone who has recently had roofing work carried out, another helpful method is looking at online reviews. There are a number of sites such as Trust a Trader and Check a Trade where you can search for contractors based on your location and read reviews by current and previous customers.
You can additionally ask roofers for their own references but remember that these may be bias as the roofer isnt going to provide you with a reference from someone who had a bad experience! Asking them questions such as Do you have any previous work I can see? and What kind of work have you done before? can also be very insightful as it allows you to not only view previous results yourself, but also compare these projects to your own to evaluate how experienced the roofer is in a job of that type. If a roofer refuses to show images and proof, this should be taken as a warning that they do not want you to see their former projects for a reason.
Roofing Contractor Licensing Requirements In The Us
There are no national licensing requirements for roofing contractors in the United States.
Some states require roofing contractors to have roofing contractor licenses specifically, some states require roofing contractors to hold building contractor or home improvement licenses, and some states do not require roofing contractors to be licensed at all, and leave it up to local authorities.
Contractor licenses are generally only valid in the state where they were issued. If a roofing contractor does business in more than one state, they will need to register in each jurisdiction, and there will be a separate record in each place where they are permitted to operate.
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