The best way to ensure that your roof is receiving the attention it needs is to hire a professional for the job. While roof care can be done as a do-it-yourself project, it’s not the best way to do things. A roofing professional, as compared to an amateur, will not only have the requisite knowledge to address the problem correctly, they’ll also have the perspective necessary to pinpoint the extent and origin of the problem.
Just because a person hangs out their shingle as a roofing contractor doesn’t mean that they’re who you want working on your roof, however. With as important, and potentially extensive, investment as your roof, you’ll want only the best in the industry working on your roof.
The first thing you should check for is a roofing contractor license; in the state of Florida, businesses and persons working as roofing contractors are required, among other things, to have passed the requisite examinations to qualify for their roofing contractor license. If the contractors you’re considering hiring are unable to provide documentation of such a license – corroborated by you with the local licensing board – then they’re not the contractors you need.
The company should also be bonded and fully insured, with both liability coverage and workman’s compensation. The last thing you want is to have to pay out-of-pocket should an accident happen during a roofing repair or remodel.
Other credentials you should make sure to verify are the company’s tax identification number, and any contact number that the business is listed under, such as its business address, its contact telephone number, its website, and its email address. Where the option exists, go with a local company, one with a good working relationship with your community and the local residents. That way, you’re less likely to run into scams, or end up with a company that will disappear on you at the first sign of trouble.
Knowing how to pick a contractor is all well and good, but how do you know that you need one in the first place? More on this in part II.
