Guide
What to ask before you sign anything
Every contractor will answer these. The differences between the answers are where the useful information is.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Whittier contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in Whittier 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.
"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.
"Can I see a job you finished five years ago?"
Recent work shows tidiness. Older work shows competence. Ask for the older one.
"What is your licence number, and who holds it?"
The follow-up matters more than the answer: does the entity on the licence match the entity on the paperwork, and is it active today?
"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.
"What underlayment, and how are the valleys done?"
This is the question that reveals whether you are comparing the same roof. Underlayment, ice-and-water placement, drip edge and valley treatment are where quotes quietly diverge.
"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
Write the answers down. Two weeks later, when the quotes have blurred together, the notes are what you will actually decide on.
Related questions
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.
What should I do to prepare?
Move the cars out, take pictures off the top-floor walls, cover anything stored in the attic, and put pets somewhere else for the loud days. Expect nails in the driveway however careful the crew is — ask whether they run a magnet at the end.
Do you handle commercial buildings?
Yes. Commercial requests go to contractors who do low-slope and flat systems rather than to residential crews. Say so on the property question and it routes correctly.
Get the roof looked at
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.