What Are Some tips on Choosing the Right Contractor for Your Roof?
Greg Hlavaty, along with Hal Leland, discuss the importance of choosing the right partner for your roof.
This article is derived from a podcast on a different topic and this question got asked. Please read and enjoy in its original conversational form.
How do you find a contractor and start that relationship?
GH
Well, there’s a little bit of due diligence in it. You can call a few contractors and see if they have any references. References are critical in finding a contractor.
Unfortunately, many building owners use the “who’s the cheapest method” in selecting a contractor. Even if they’re doing a new roof, a re-roof, maintenance, one contractor will come out and give them a proposal, and the next thing you know they’re calling four other guys. Then pick they the cheapest one.
Talk to a few contractors, but sometimes it only takes one. You get either a good feeling and you get some good references. I think networking is often the best way to go as opposed to just finding the guy that’s the cheapest.
There are a lot of guys running around in pickups and there’s many unlicensed contractors. That’s another thing, a one-person company has is a truck and a little bit of equipment has very little overhead. He can be inexpensive. Maybe he is a quality contractor, but maybe not. It’s not a fair comparison with somebody that has the overhead.
Sometimes many of those guys are good, qualified guys. They just haven’t gone through the process because there’s more to becoming a licensed contractor. But being a licensed contractor is a big deal in that you not only have to do the right kind of work, but you also have the business sense and in most states you need a contractors license to legally work.
Having the whole package, having the insurance, having the equipment needed, having the business backup to run a business that’s profitable, is all important. If they’re not running profitable business, they’re not around to come back and fix what they did before.
HL
Also, I think it’s very important to make sure they’re insured. There’s a lot of risk that goes into getting onto a roof. And as the owner of that building, you want to make sure that anybody that’s going on that roof is practicing safety, the correct safety measures, and they’re carrying the right protection and insurance.
GL
Exactly. You want to question them. Do you have a safety program? Do you have the right insurance? Otherwise, if that guy falls, it’s the building owner’s responsibility, it’s going to come down to your liability. So, you want to be sure that that is done and that they have all the things they need to go up that roof. Because roofing is one of the more hazardous occupations.
HL
Myself, I get a dozen calls a year from people who have referenced or searched through our building maintenance groups, like BOMA and IFMA, for the good reputable contractors and manufacturers are listed on their website as members, and that’s another resource that we get. With these larger commercial properties that is their due diligence. If you’re a homeowner, like Greg said, it is word of mouth but using these larger organizations for references is a good way to go.
GH
Right. That’s a great point because many contractors that have been around a while support the different building management groups and societies like BOMA, IFMA, or even the NRCA – National Roofing Contractors Association. If they belong to these organizations’ chances, are you are not the guy that just started yesterday.
If you’ve been involved with those people, you’ve got to perform or you’re going to get a black eye in those groups. So that’s a great resource. Even if you’re not a member of those groups, they have their guides online that you can find a lot of those contractors.
If Western Colloid is involved, you can come to us. We have guys in different regions that we would refer you to because we know the guys that do the quality work, not only the systems, but then do the maintenance to those systems too. Do a little bit of homework. The original founder of our company, back in the early seventies, added on his advertising flyers, “Protecting your most valuable asset.” For most of us, the biggest chunk of money we must invest in goes into that roof. So that roof is protecting that, your valuable asset, and the interior of that asset.
HL
Good point for any contractors that may be reading this is to build those relationships with your manufacturers, with your suppliers, and join those organizations and get involved and build those networks.
GH
The other thing is when you get somebody to go up on your roof, ask if they’re going to give you a report. It is so easy with our phones and cameras to do. They can provide you pictures and show you what they found, because you don’t always want to go up on the roof. There are many times when we go do a roof inspection, the building owner doesn’t feel comfortable going up a 20- or 25-foot ladder, and that’s fine, leave that to the professionals, but the building owner (or manager) would appreciate knowing what’s going on up there.
It’s interesting, the roofing companies we’ve had the longest relationships with and use the Western Colloid systems, hardly ever call on a warranty issue. That’s because they do the roof maintenance, and those roofs just sail through their years of lifespan without with little or no problems.
GH
Lastly, go with a contractor that offers a maintenance package.
We recommend it even when they’ve put on one of our systems. Contractors should work with the building owner, maybe the first couple of years it’s going to be in good shape, but start a program where the contractor will be up there every year. The contractor will give you a report and anything they catch can be taken care of quickly. If there’s something more major, something, an air conditioning has been installed or something’s been removed and it takes more work, then there might be some additional charges. But absolutely a yearly maintenance package is ideal way to go for cost.
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