Roofers Who Are Unreliable or Can’t Keep An Appointment
If a representative of a roofing company rubs you the wrong way in any way, it should be noted, but keeping an appointment means more than words can say. If your roofer is late to scheduled appointments, seems unorganized, or can’t give you a decent estimate of when the project will be finished, you might want to get out while it’s still early. Repairing or replacing a roof is a costly and time consuming job that you should feel comfortable handing off to a professional. Voice your concerns as soon as they arise, and check in with your contractor along the way. A good company will care about your concerns and address them as efficiently as possible.
Roofers Who Grossly Underbid
It’s estimated that 90% of roofers underbid jobs. This is not to go as far as to say they don’t know what they are doing in the roofing business, but because they aren’t good at estimating the cost of the job including labor and time, materials, the possibility of hiccups, and clean up. Many companies are simply bidding per square, a good place to start, but not where a bid should end. Unfortunately this mistake could not only cost them, but you. A company may come back to you with a new number, not agreed upon at the beginning, which can be especially frustrating if no contract or agreement has been signed and the work has been started. An even worse scenario would be that a company cuts corners on your project, if even subconsciously, because they aren’t being fully compensated, although it’s not your fault. You want a roofer to estimate the costs right the first time, and put their pride into their work from start to finish. You can avoid this problem by researching companies based on a review and meeting with several to get comparable estimates. Don’t go with the lowest bid! Instead, ask the companies how they arrived at them and their answers might surprise you.
Roofers From Out Of Town/State Companies
When it rains, it pours and for the roofing industry, storms are very profitable; so profitable in fact, that roofers from out of town or even out of state might come to the site of a storm to profit from home owners. They can take advantage of these homeowners who might be left with no other choice due to the demand on local companies at the time. More than anything, the reason you should avoid using even the best out of town contractor or company is because they won’t be around in five years when your roof may show considerable wear and tear and the company will have less responsibility to you than another company would.
Among these things, follow your gut and ask as many questions as you can. Don’t be afraid to ask if changes to the plan or contract will be welcome, if even mid-project.
