Guide
Questions worth asking
Ask all three contractors the same list. Comparing the answers is far more revealing than comparing the totals.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Carson contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in Carson 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.
"What happens if the decking is rotten?"
The right answer is a specific price per sheet, written into the contract before work starts. A vague answer here is how a fixed price stops being fixed on day two.
"Can I see a job you finished five years ago?"
Anybody can show you a roof completed last month. A roof that has been through five winters shows how the edges, valleys and penetrations were actually detailed.
"What is your licence number, and who holds it?"
Then look it up. You are checking that the licence is current and that the name on it matches the name on the contract you are being asked to sign.
"What underlayment, and how are the valleys done?"
A contractor who enjoys this question is usually the one whose roof lasts. A contractor who deflects it to brand names is quoting a different job.
"Who is actually doing the work?"
Ask how long this specific crew has worked together. Roofing companies keep their name and change their hands more often than most trades.
"What does your workmanship warranty cover, and for how long?"
Ask for it in writing, in the company name, with a term. Five to ten years is common; the term matters less than whether they will still be trading.
In short
Six questions, three contractors, one afternoon. It is the cheapest insurance available on a job this size.
Related questions
Why three quotes and not one?
Because one price tells you nothing. Three tells you where the middle is, and the outliers are informative in both directions — the very cheapest is usually leaving something out, and the most expensive should be able to say what you are getting for it.
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Codes in most places allow two layers. That does not make it wise. You lose the chance to see the deck, and the next roofer has twice as much to remove.
What happens to my information?
It goes to a maximum of three roofing contractors working in Carson, and to nobody else. We do not sell it as a mailing list and we do not post it anywhere public. Our privacy policy sets out exactly what is shared.
Get the roof looked at
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.