Guide
Choosing a roofing contractor
Choosing a roofer is the part of this that homeowners have the least practice at, and the part that decides the outcome.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Riverside contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in Riverside is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Compare scope, not totals
A cheaper number for less roof is not a better price. Ask the lowest bidder which items on the other quotes they have left out, and why they think you do not need them.
Ask for current certificates of insurance
You want general liability and workers compensation, both current, and ideally sent directly from the insurer rather than as a photocopy. If an uninsured worker is hurt on your roof, the exposure can land on your homeowner policy.
Prefer somebody you could drive to
Ask where their yard is. Companies that follow storms across state lines do competent work and then vanish, which is fine right up until something needs putting right.
Be careful with the deposit
Never pay in full up front, and never in cash without a receipt that names the company. Progress payments tied to milestones protect both sides.
Get everything in writing, including the unknowns
The contract should say the material and the layers, who pulls the permit, the per-sheet price for replacing bad decking, what happens to the old material, the payment schedule, and the workmanship warranty. The decking clause is the one people forget and the one that moves the price.
Check the licence yourself
Every state that licenses roofing contractors publishes a free lookup. It takes two minutes and tells you whether the licence is current, who holds it, and whether there are complaints against it. Do it even when somebody has already vouched for them.
In short
Do the boring checks. They are the entire difference between a roof that is somebody else's problem for ten years and one that is yours.
Related questions
Is this really free?
It is free to you. Contractors pay to receive homeowner requests in their area. That is the entire business model, and we would rather say so plainly than pretend otherwise.
It is leaking right now. What do I do?
Contain the water, photograph everything, and get the request in marked as an emergency. A tarp is the right first job. The permanent repair is a separate conversation and a separate price.
Do I need a permit?
Yes, in nearly every jurisdiction a re-roof is permitted work. A contractor who suggests skipping it is telling you something useful about how they work.