Finding a roofing contractor
Your home is probably your most valuable asset, and you need to do everything you can to protect it. When it is time to carry out maintenance on your home you can't afford to take risks and employ an unsuitable tradesman. Hiring the wrong person could mean accepting a poor quality job or potentially causing further damage to your home. Whether you need an emergency repair to rectify storm damage or your roof is simply coming to end of its working life, you need to find a roofing professional you can trust.
How can you find a good roofing contractor?
If you are hiring someone to work on your roof, they must be reliable and trustworthy, but you will also need someone with the right experience to complete the work to a high standard. Finding a roofing expert who can meet this criteria may seem a struggle, especially if you are uncertain how to judge the suitability of potential candidates. If you know someone who has recently had roofing work carried out, then asking if they would recommend their contractor is a good place to start. If you can't find a personal recommendation, then you will need to do some research for yourself.
What should you look for in a roofing contractor?
It sometimes happens that while you are looking for a contractor you receive a visit from a tradesman who "just happened to be working nearby". It is always best to avoid hiring anyone who arrives at your front door uninvited. When someone arrives you have no way of checking their work history, their professional status or their level of skill. You also have no way of contacting them should anything go wrong. Instead you should look for a professional with a solid history in the local community. Look for other work they have carried out locally, and don't be afraid to ask them for references from satisfied customers.
While you are researching a prospective roofing contractor you should check that they have the appropriate insurance cover for any work they will be undertaking. Without liability insurance you could be facing a serious bill if something goes wrong while they are working on your roof.
Don't make the mistake of hiring anyone based on price alone. Everyone wants value for money, but if your roofing contractor is substantially cheaper than everyone else, then they will be cutting corners somewhere. Perhaps they are using lower-quality materials or not doing such a thorough job as other contractors. If you accept a lower cost now, you may find that in a few years you will need to pay for expensive repairs to fix a job that wasn't done properly the first time.
Choosing the right roofing contractor takes time, but it is always best to be thorough, ask the right questions and find someone who is right for the job.