12 questions to ask a roofing contractor before you sign anything
Licence, insurance, who actually does the work, what the warranty covers, and the payment schedule that should make you walk away. What to ask before a roofer starts.
A roof is one of the largest cheques most households ever write, and it is one of the few bought from whoever knocked on the door after a storm. These twelve questions take about ten minutes and separate the contractor you want from the one you really do not.
Who they are
1. Are you licensed here, and what is the number?
Licensing is state and sometimes city level. Ask for the number and check it yourself — a licence that lapsed last year still looks fine on a business card.
2. Can I see your liability insurance and workers' compensation certificates?
Not a yes-or-no question: ask for the certificates. If a worker is hurt on your roof and the company has no workers' comp, the exposure can land on your homeowners policy. Ask for them to be sent directly by the insurance agency, which is how you know they are current.
3. How long have you been trading under this name?
Roofing companies dissolve and re-form. A ten-year warranty from a business that is two years old, under a name that is two months old, is a piece of paper.
4. Do your own crews do the work, or do you subcontract?
Subcontracting is normal and not a problem in itself — but you want to know, and you want the insurance answers to cover whoever is actually on the roof.
What you are buying
5. Is this a tear-off or a layover?
Going over the existing shingles is cheaper and often legal, but it hides the deck, shortens the life of the new roof, and can reduce or void the manufacturer warranty. If the quote is notably cheaper than the others, this is usually why.
6. What exactly is included — underlayment, ice and water shield, drip edge, flashing?
This is where quotes stop being comparable. New flashing versus reusing the old, synthetic underlayment versus felt, how far the ice and water shield runs: all real money, all easy to leave out of a number designed to win.
7. Will you replace rotten decking, and at what price per sheet?
Nobody knows what is under there until the old roof is off. What you want is the rate agreed in advance, in writing, so the discovery is not also a negotiation.
8. What happens to my ventilation?
Inadequate attic ventilation is the most common reason a manufacturer denies a shingle warranty claim. A good contractor raises this before you do.
Paper and money
9. How long is your workmanship warranty, and is it in writing?
The manufacturer covers defective shingles. The contractor covers installation — which is what almost all problems in the first decade actually are. Two years is common; ten is a real signal. “We stand behind our work” is not a warranty.
10. What is the payment schedule?
Materials are usually delivered on credit, so a large deposit before anything arrives means you are funding their cash flow. A deposit at material delivery and the balance on completion is normal. Half up front is not.
11. Will you register the manufacturer warranty for me?
Many enhanced warranties require registration within 30–90 days of installation. It is usually the contractor's job and it is the step most often skipped. Ask for the confirmation afterwards and keep a copy.
12. Can I have three local references from the last year?
Local, and recent. Then actually ring one. Ask whether the crew turned up when promised, what the site looked like at the end of each day, and whether the final price matched the quote.
Storm chasers
After hail, out-of-town crews arrive, work fast, and are gone before problems surface. Some are perfectly good. The difficulty is that a workmanship warranty is only worth something if the company is still trading, and still nearby, in three years. Ask where their office is and how long they have worked in your county.
Make the quotes comparable
Get three, and insist on the same material, same underlayment, same tear-off scope. Most “cheap” quotes are cheap because something in that list is missing. Knowing the realistic range for your roof before the first conversation is the easiest way to spot it — an instant measured estimate from your address takes seconds and costs nothing.
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