When you shop around to find the best deal you can get on a new car it makes a lot of sense. We know that a brand new car is going to be the same no matter what dealer you buy it from. Shopping around to find the cheapest roofing contractor to do your roofing job is a totally different story. In this case you are more likely to get what you pay for.

But of course the solution is not to run around and find the most expensive contractors – an equally poor solution. In dozens upon dozens of cases, I have seen roofers bid (in total) what the actual costs were for a job (materials and labor, meaning they would make little to no money), and I’ve seen roofers bid 10 times the fair price for a job. Unfortunately, this is now a routine occurrence and getting a fair price from a good contractor is tantamount to walking a minefield.

I have seen consumers reason “If a contractor made a mistake and badly underbid my job, this is good for me” but it very rarely is. If he messed up and gave you a price he can’t possibly live up to, things invariably go badly. I’ve been called in to bid countless jobs where contractors had simply walked off the job because it was cheaper for him to just walk away. And in most cases he walked away having been paid for more work than was done, so, the consumer lost out but invariably, the jobs were a mess and much of it had to be redone. And it’s more than just finding the 3 highest rated contractors and choosing the cheapest of the lot. Although that is certainly a good place to start.

Get the RIght Price for a Roofing Job

First of all, your goal as a consumer should be to know – what is a fair price. You will at least be most likely to find that out if you get prices from 3-4 of the highest rated and most popular roofers in your area. Just make sure they’re all bidding the same thing.

There are a few other things that you should be aware of as a consumer and look for. One of the first things is, whether or not the person you’re dealing with is a trained roofer (and has therefore properly bid the details of your job since I can assure you, it’s the details that usually leak, not the middle of the roof). You might be surprised to know that a lot of the people running around giving roofing estimates have little or no background in roofing.

Since you are not an expert roofer yourself there are admittedly not very many ways you can quiz your roofer to ascertain his level of knowledge however in the normal course of conversations about various different materials and what not, if you pay close attention you can sometimes glean how much experience a roofer has. He should be able to easily answer your questions and there should be no inconsistencies in the data.

Also, if your roofing estimator hands you a simple piece of paper with a limited scope of work (especially handwritten), this is not a good sign. And unfortunately this is how many roofing estimators operate but in the year 2015 this is simply no longer acceptable. You may not want to see (or have to read) a 12 page contract but you do need one because roofing jobs can be expensive and can get out of hand and you want to know that your contract covers everything that can (and often does) happen.

In short, you want everything laid out and agreed upon and that’s not going to happen with a handwritten, one page contract. Doing business “old school” is quaint, but unwise. Gone are the days of handshake deals and promises to do good work. If your roofing contractor gives you a very simple contract then he’s leaving a lot of room for loopholes and that is not good for you as a consumer, just ask any lawyer.

It goes without saying you should first do the basics: check their license for complaints with the CSLB, see that they have a bond (info located on CSLB), ensure they have workers comp (for ALL the roofers that will be on your job), have liability insurance and are highly rated, have a professional website and have a legitimate place of business (and not a house, an actual place of business).

Once you’ve done all your homework it’s down to deciding who you liked best and this is a good time to go with your gut. If you’ve “done the math” and taken all the basics out of the decision, it should be an easy decision. Lastly, I recommend signing the papers at the place of business as the final seal on the deal. A real roofing company should have a real place of business and it’s indicative of someone who plans to be around for a while and if you have problems with your roof, you know where to find them!

I’ve talked a little in the past about how to choose a roofer – a good roofer and here it is again in a nutshell because let’s face it, this is the most important decision in getting a new roof.

If he is among the top rated roofers (at least 4 stars) on Yelp and Google, this is a good start though you should really choose someone who has at least 20 reviews, many of which are older. Of course Angie’s List is also an excellent source but not everyone is a member.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to 3 or 4 choices, you can call a local roofing supplier and see what they think of your choices. You may not get a lot of info, but you usually get some feedback that is at least interesting and sometimes very helpful. You may be surprised how candid they will be, after all, they service the roofers and if you are feeding them the names already, you can at least be assured you’ve not been fed a bad roofer from them since you already checked them out. Do not hire “X” roofer just because your neighbor did and had a good job.  How does he know? Your neighbor isn’t a roofer and maybe the roofer he hired is horrible but just happened to do a good job for once. But if the roofer your neighbor recommends is also one of the top rated, then that is a good sign, but only that and should not be a decision point.

Then of course check license numbers at the CSLB for complaints. NOTE: The BBB is not, in my experience, any kind of reliable indicator of a good business any longer and should be ignored. Surprisingly, local community boards and even hardware stores are often good sources to check. If one roofer keeps popping up, then this is a good sign.

Taking a look at the bids is also important. A roofing bid scratched out, with minimal details on a single sheet of paper is not a good sign. You want detail, with strong, definite and legally binding language that will protect you as a consumer. Some people are turned off by long contracts with lots of language but this language spells out in detail your rights and unless you take the contractor to court, which you may not win, he’s not obliged to do anything he didn’t say he was going to do. Don’t skimp on this. It’s not fun, but it’s important.

Since you probably know little to nothing about roofing, you have almost no chance of ensuring that even a good roofer will in fact do a good job.  But – you can ensure that he has a good rep and a good rep in this industry is critical so he will likely do anything to keep it. He’s going to do what he’s got to do in order to make sure you’re happy (before, during or after the job) and write great reviews about him.  The goal of any good company is not a cliché, it is a “happy customer.”

Make Sure you Get a Good Roofer

As a roofer I’ve spoken with thousands of clients over the years about what they need and want when hiring a roofer. From time to time I’ve noticed they seem to have difficulty describing what they want, either because they are concerned they are asking for too much and feel I may take liberties with how much I do or for some other reason but it usually boils down to money.

First and foremost, make sure you’re dealing with a roofer that you trust. If you trust your roofer and he knows what he’s doing then for the most part you should let him determine what needs to happen but you also need to give him some idea of your attitude toward the situation. If we’re talking about roof leaks, you should let him know if these are causing expensive damage, and if you really must have them fixed, guaranteed, or not. That may sound odd but many times I’ve had clients who were somewhat indifferent about the leaks, the damage was already done or the damage that it was causing wasn’t that critical and they were more interested in spending less money than they were in definitely handling the leaks. And I’ve had clients who did not care what it cost, the leaks must be stopped.

As a roofer I need to know this. A good honest roofer is not going to mind trying to save his client money, but if he is saving you money, that usually means he’s probably not doing the job in the most complete way possible. For example I can always guarantee solving leaks if I re-roof the entire area over the leak. But if I’m just putting some mastic or silicone on some cracks here and there or replacing a shingle or two, we can’t make the same guarantee. If repairs could always solve the problem, no one would ever need a new roof.

If you feel being so candid with your roofer will cause him to be overly cautious and overbid the situation, you really should not be. If he is a good roofer, he will simply bid what must be done to absolutely stop the leak. If stopping the leak isn’t “the end of the world” then, let him know that he can take a risk.

Matt Glass is one of the family members who own J and J Roofing in Los Angeles, Ca. J and J offer free estimates for your roofing troubles. (Free estimate does not apply to properties listed or in escrow.)  If you are hiring a roofer, give us a call! 877.7MY.ROOF or  323.913.4190

Matt Glass – Headed Up to a Roof Inspection