Tricks (and Treats) of the Roofing Industry
Hard to believe October is here already, with the tricks and treats of Halloween. That means the rains won’t be far behind, along with the tricks and treats of roof repair.
Beware of the tricks and welcome the treats. Don’t leap into anything. Reputable roofers are often busy, leading up to and into the rainy season.
That encourages fly-by-the seat-of-their-pants operators to troll neighborhoods hoping to trick homeowners with easy promises or bait and switch deals. A drive-by deal may not be a deal at all.
Tricks Unscrupulous Roofers Use
- They will show a homeowner a high-quality component or roofing material but actually install a similar looking yet, inferior grade material. This can happen with everything from plywood sheathing, the felt paper underlayment and the actual shingles or tiles.
- Hidden horrors can cause a real scare. Those areas of a roof replacement or roof repair that can’t be easily detected until the upper damage is torn away. In fairness, those surprise damages can happen to any roofer. But there may be telltale signs, like wood rot or stains that you’ll want to see if the roofer makes note of in the initial estimate. Disreputable roofers sometimes make up the bulk of their profit margin through change orders that come from those surprise repairs that they then overcharge you for.
- Reusing old materials, like roof flashing. This can lead to trouble since flashing is meant to work with the specific roofing material used. Say, if you change from shingles to slate tiles. The flashing has life-use expectancy, too. This means it could be halfway through its usefulness, and the new roofing material will outlive the flashing, causing more expense later.
- Beware roofers who use subcontractors. If they don’t pay them for the work, you could be on the hook and end up paying for some services twice. This is true when it comes to supplies. You may pay the roofing company, but if they fail to pay the suppliers, you could be liable for those costs, too.
- Workman’s compensation fraud happens when roofing companies pay workers in cash and fail to secure insurance. Professional roofers won’t take a job without that protection. You end up with inexperienced people doing a very difficult job. If one of those workers is hurt, you could be liable, as the homeowner to pay the medical bills.
Treats You Can Expect from Reputable Roofers
- Knowledge – about roofing materials, what materials work best in the Bay Area’s varied microclimates, what to use on differing roof slopes. Also know what permits are needed in the different municipalities.
- Professionalism – the team that shows up to work on your roof knows what they are doing and gets the job done.
- Concern for you as a customer.
- Latest news about creative technologies and innovative materials.
- A Solid Reputation – when a roofing company has been around for a number of years, it has an investment in the community.
If you want to avoid the scary prospect of an unreliable roofer, be sure to contact us to talk with one of our professionals.