By Suzana 
What to Ask Your Prospective Roofing Contractor
A bad roofing job can costly huge in leaks and repairs in the future, so be sure to spend time and effort searching for the right roofer. In so doing, interview each prospect you have, making sure to six five crucial questions.
a. What is your full business name and where are you physically located?
First of all, ask the contractor for their full name and complete physical address. If they give a P.O.box number, ask for the physical location. A roofer without a physical office is suspicious, and you shouldn’t waste time dealing with them.
b. Do you have workers’ compensation and liability insurance?
Contractors should have both liability and workmans’ compensation insurance to protect their clients in case of an accident. Workers’ compensation provides protection to the homeowner in the event that a contractor’s employee gets injured, and liability insurance saves you from from paying for damages that the roofers cause while at work.
If your contractor has no workman’s compensation insurance, you may end up being responsible for medical bills and other expenses arising from the injury.
c. Do you hire subcontractors?
If they do use subcontractors, make sure you know these people as much as you know the roofer, most especially on whether or not they have insurance.
d. Are you a licensed roofer?
Know whether your prospective contractor has a city or state license. Licensing requirements are unique from one state to another. Cities and counties may also require a roofer to be licensed. Check whether a license is needed in your area, and if so, inquire from your local licensing offices if your prospective roofer’s license is current and holds no outstanding violations. A business license should not be confused with a roofing contractor license. A business license is only there for legal identification and taxation purposes. It is not an assurance that the person has passed an exam or is qualified to accept roofing projects.
e. Will you provide client references?
Ask for local project sites where you can drop by, and check some roofing work they’ve done in the last 5 years. You can ask for references as well, but past customers may refuse to release their personal information, or the a contractor may cherry pick a number of satisfied customers. Ring these people and ask if they can confidently recommend the roofer.
f. Do you provide a workmanship warranty? In general, a roof warranty lasts a year, but there are roofers that provide longer than that. In most cases, the roofer covers the work while the materials are covered by the manufacturing company. These are two different warranties, so specifically ask for the coverage and covered period for each one.
What You Should Know About Roofing This Year