Tips for Hiring a Reputable Roofing Contractor

Tips for Hiring a Reputable Roofing Contractor

Curling or cracked shingles. Leaks in the ceiling. Too many asphalt granules in the gutters. Any one of these telltale signs can mean it's time to replace your home's roof. So where do you start? With a reputable contractor. Schedule time to sit down with three or more recommended roofers and ask the following questions:

What is the full name and address of the company? This will verify that the company is credible.

Does the company carry insurance?

Contractors should carry both comprehensive liability insurance and workers' compensation to protect you as the homeowner in the event that an accident occurs.

Is the company a licensed or credentialed contractor?

Although not all states require licensing, it is a good indicator that the contractor is knowledgeable and dedicated.

How long has the company been in business?

The longer the company has been in business, the better; the lifespan for most small businesses is three years.

Will the company provide referrals or references from previous jobs?

Ask for a list of names and phone numbers of previous employers and try to get photos of the roofer's completed work.

What is the company's workmanship warranty?

Warranties that cover the installer's work should typically cover a minimum of a one-year time span.

That is the company's track record for solving customer complaints?

Request a referral from a job that involved a complaint. This will show the homeowner how the contractor handles problems when they do arise.
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Roofing Insurance Considerations

Roofing Insurance Considerations

You should be under no illusions; roofing can be a dangerous job. Working at such heights and often in some fairly extreme conditions means that workers are put at risk on a fairly regular basis. If a company is held liable for any injuries or accidents to workers then without worker’s compensation insurance they may be forced to pay out a large amount of money from their own pockets. For small roofing firms this can lead to financial ruin. Roofing insurance may cost money but it is a lot cheaper than not having it in the event that you need it.

Types of Roofing Insurance

There are basically two types of article that you should consider using to cover yourself from any accidents or injuries. Workers compensation insurance protects against any injuries to workers whereas public liability insurance covers against similar accidents involving members of the public or property that belongs to someone else.

Workers Compensation Insurance

Workers compensation insurance is one of the two types of roofing insurance that you should seriously consider taking out because without it you are in very great danger of being forced to pay large settlements from out of your own pocket. If the worst happens and one of your workers is killed through a work related accident this sum can equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The only way to avoid this is through having workers compensation insurance.

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance is available to virtually anyone who needs it from cat minders to roofers. As far as roofing insurance goes this is another vital commodity to your business. If a member of the public walks into a piece of scaffolding or a shingle you have just fitted falls off the roof and hits a car you are responsible for paying damages and the cost of any required repairs. In some cases this can amount to very large amounts of money. Comparatively speaking the monthly premium you will be required to pay is virtually nothing.

Bring Down the Cost of Your Roofing Insurance

If you are concerned about the cost of roofing insurance then you may want to consider joining a buying consortium of sort or another. If you are already a member of a trade organization you may find that they have negotiated excellent deals on all aspects of roofing insurance and taking advantage of these deals can save you a lot of time and quite a lot of money.

Buyers Should find out what Roofing Insurance a Firm Has

If you are a consumer looking at having a new roof fitted then you should always check any potential roofing company to see what forms of roofing insurance they have. You should know that because the price of roofing insurance can be quite high some roofing firms have now taken to using a general contractor’s insurance policy.

If the roofing firm you use cause any accidental damage to your house or anything in or around it then you can only be sure that you will be covered if they have roofing insurance. Roofing insurance firms will pay out quicker and easier than if you have to rely on the roofing firm themselves to compensate you.
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Quality Online Roofing Resources


This is a review of some quality online roofing resources namely, Garlandco.com and Roofing.com and which are highly helpful to new roofers and non-roofers.

I recently had the need to come up with relatively useful definitions of some roofing terms and also some guides and opinions regarding roofing methods. I stumbled upon some useful online resources that provide the things that I need and also may also be helpful to other users out there.

Here is a list and some descriptions of some of the sites I have found:

1. Garlandco.com - It is a roofing company that has been in business since 1895. What generally caught my attention was their PowerPoint presentation that provides an overview of the most common types of roofing systems that are available in the commercial market place today. Other information include in the presentation are brief description, history and application of each system and lastly, the advantages and disadvantages of each roofing system.

2. Roofing.com - It is a forum all about roofing. Its main feature is a forum area where there are active members. All posts are related to roofing and most members are highly knowledgeable when it comes to roofing both in theory and in practice.

It also has a Knowledge base area wherein forum members can give inputs like answers to frequently asked questions and some roofing guides. Within this area, you can find the definitions to most roofing terms.

The site also has a section wherein you can view the number of roofing jobs available per state. It also has a directory of roofing companies categorized by state.

All in all, the site is quite user-friendly and highly informative. Most of my friends also think that it is one good online resource site if the subject is roofing.

I would include the other sites that I find useful in another article which I may finish by next week. Until then, I hope you get the maximum benefit that you can from the following sites.
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Starting Your Home Improvement Project

Starting Your Home Improvement Project

Home improvement can be defined as modifying the existing structure of one's home by making additions and making changes. Mostly a professional technician is recruited however, sometimes; the home improvements is done on a non-professional and an amateur basis by the homeowner.

As mentioned above, there are two ways of going about the process of home improvement. The first id the professional and the second is the do it yourself (DIY) method. In the professional method you could hire a general contractor to be in charge of the whole home improvement project. On the other hand you could do away with the contractor and 'do it yourself' (DIY). You will need to hire the plumbers, electricians, roofers etc yourself.

There are endless types of works in  that you could do. To begin with the walls could be wall papered, or painted. Wood paneling can also be installed on it. New flooring, such as linoleum, hardwood flooring, and tiling can be installed. The kitchen and bathroom sink, cabinets, and pipes can be replaced with new ones. The electrical and plumbing systems could be upgraded. As also the heating and the air conditioning systems.

Similarly other home improvements projects that could be undertaken are the tearing and replacement of the roof, repairing the foundation and the chimney if required, waterproofing the basements etc. these are only a few of the home improvements projects mentioned here.
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Ten Ways to Survive Building or Remodeling Your Home

Ten Ways to Survive Building or Remodeling Your Home

Remodeling or building your home can be a very stressful experience. Here are 10 ways to take a humorous and lighthearted look at this expensive and often frustrating time.

1. Think of the project as a new diet

Who doesn't want to lose at least five pounds? This is one way to do it. Between running to stores all day and evening long, meeting with contractors, inspecting the work, searching the Western world for the perfect light fixture, who has time to eat? Provided you don't sabotage this new, unorthodox diet plan, with McDonalds drive through, you're good for losing five pounds. If you are a masochistic type who does some of the work yourself - whether it be painting, laying tile, landscaping the yard - you can count on another five to ten pounds of weight loss. Just think, you may be miserable, frustrated, exhausted, nd down right cynical about the good of the humankind, but your jeans will fit nicely!

2. Write checks as aerobic exercise

These workouts are great for toning the wrist and fingers. Usually done in hectic spurts as you race out the door in the morning while the contractors are breathing down your neck and your kids are beating each other with the lunch boxes you just prepared, the stress and frantic activity are sure to raise your heartbeat for a good hour. Grumbling under your breath that the plumber, electrician, or you name it, isn't really worth this much money adds greater intensity and calorie burn to this little publicized exercise regime.

3. Save money through shopping burnout

Yes, even the most die-hard shopper will come to dread setting foot in any store. This affliction starts innocently enough as you go to look for light fixtures. How hard can it be? Hard! Either the light you want is being shipped from Yugoslavia and won't arrive until your youngest child buys his own home, or you just can't find the one you want. You'll shop every lighting and electrical store you know. You'll search Home Depot. You'll haunt hardware stores. And then there's plumbing fixtures. Sink centers, faucet handles, finishes, special orders. What's all that about? And the cost. You'd think you were outfitting the palace for a former third world dictator. Of course, there's carpet, tile, hardwood, stairs, siding, windows. Enough already. And you thought it was a pain picking mints and sweet table treats for your wedding.

After your 1000th trip to Home Depot (or Lowes or Menards or whatever), in addition to all the other trips you've made for items that shouldn't count as shopping (toilet seats, for example), you've had it. Your friends won't be able to bribe you to check out the latest sale at Bloomingdales. You'll think it will be better when you can pick out "fun" things like paint, wall paper, drapes, fabric, furniture - but don't bet on it. At this point, the pressure to make your home look like something other than an empty rat maze will counteract any joy in shopping. Spending this much money has never been such a miserable experience. As a result, when your home becomes half-way presentable, you'll refuse to shop again - even for groceries - for at least six months. The money you save during this shopping hiatus will be sufficient for you to resume this previously pleasurable past time
once more without guilt.

4. Impress your friends with obscure facts

Only someone that has built or remodeled their home can explain the fluid dynamics of a proper toilet water swirl. Or cite the International Building Code that calls for no more than 6' between electrical outlets. Or brag that triple glazed windows are really the wave of the future for light emitting device technology. See what I mean?

5. Pride yourself on your new creative skills

You'll discover a creative side that you never knew existed. Like how to wash dishes in the bath tub. And how to make a full course meal for a family of four using nothing more than a toaster and hot plate. Or how to fit an entire family in a house smaller than your first apartment. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. That's probably true, but I also think that the only thing that separates modern and pioneer life is just one kitchen or bath remodeling project.

6. Yell at someone other than your kids - and not feel guilty

Honestly, as a modern woman trying to juggle the running of our homes, possibly a job, and the future Olympic soccer aspirations of our children, you have the primal need to yell. At someone. Anyone. Often our spouse and children suffer from this need of ours to release pent up negative energy generated from nothing more than some miniature human leaving smelly gym shoes on the kitchen table. (Ok, that probably deserves a bit of yelling - we eat at this table!) But when you remodel your house, you have a whole cast of characters - and believe me, they're characters - that often deserve a good scream from time to time. Like when they tell you that they tore out the fireplace because they didn't think it looked right. Or when they show you a mistake made three weeks ago that now requires half the house to be torn down in order to fix. Yelling isn't immature or a result of too much estrogen, it's therapy.

7. Throw out (finally) your significant other's treasured [fill in the blank] from his bachelor days

You know what I mean. It could be the semi-nude poster he won't get rid of. Or his collection of exotic beer cans. Or all of his Sports Illustrated magazines since the Chicago Bears last won the Superbowl. Now is the perfect time to get rid of it. If you need to move out of your house while the remodeling is done, or you are moving to a new home, such an opportune time may never occur again. Say it won't fit in the rental house. It's either this or his golf clubs. Gently remind him that the sentimental item really serves as a reminder of his advancing years. Anything. Get rid of it. It will be one positive you can remind yourself of when the stress of remodeling makes you feel that this project was the biggest mistake of your life.

8. Grow closer to your family through forced bathroom sharing

The saying goes that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps that wise pundit had to share a closet sized bathroom with three kids and a spouse. In reality, there's no greater way to create intimacy in a family than by all trying to get ready for the morning in the same 7'x 5' space. You'll learn new exciting things about your children - like toilet paper is purely optional for little boys. You'll discover that there is no bond quite like the one created when the entire family brushes their teeth together over the same sink. You'll realize why the older generation of your relatives only washed their hair once a week instead of facing communal bathroom time. But most importantly, you'll no longer need to yell at your kids to hurry up for school - they're standing right next to you.

9. Earn free flights from all of your purchases

In what is admittedly (and somewhat sheepishly) the only practical survival tip on this list, get an airline mileage credit card. Charge everything on it - lights, plumbing fixtures, windows, doors, lumber, carpet. The windows alone can get you close to one free trip.  Whether you decide to share your miles with anyone else in the family or to escape on your own to a world of quiet solitude and, preferably, an open bar, is entirely up to you.

10. Hire some good looking contractors and feel like you're 15 years old again

Hey, guys get a whole chain of restaurants and bars where the main attraction is busty waitresses in tight t-shirts (Hooters). Why can't us gals have some eye candy once in a while? Besides, it's a productivity tool. You'll be more likely to inspect the job or meet the architect if some young, fit, good-looking men are there - especially in the summer months when shirts tend to become optional. For example, we once hired a roofing crew of male model wannabees for a house we built. My husband called them the "Beefcake Roofers". They created quite a stir in the neighborhood that summer. Let me tell you, it made rushing to stop by the house to go over notes with the trades first thing in the morning a bit more interesting … and much more fun!

Finally, remember, the end result of your new house will be worth the aggravation of the process. Plus, think of all the good stories you can tell!
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Your Guide to Hiring a Roofer

Your Guide to Hiring a Roofer

The average life of a roof is approximately fifteen years. If the roof is under fifteen years old yet you are having problems, it will likely be able to get repaired as opposed to having to install a completely new roof. However, if your roof exceeds this age it may be necessary to install a new roof. To accomplish either repairs or new installs, a roofing contractor should be employed. A roofer will be able to properly install or repair roofing materials to ensure a quality finished product.

Before hiring a roofer it is always wise to get recommendations from friends or family. Whether or not you have recommendations, get several quotes before determining the roofer to hire. A quote should be detailed and include the work to be done, cost, and time-frame for completion. Be sure clean up is included in the quoted price. If you want to save some money, offer to do the cleanup yourself.

Ask the roofer how long they have been in business. Roofers with many years experience are preferable. Also, make sure they have a physical address. Many roofing scams are conducted by people working out of a truck with no valid business license or permanent address. Ask for references and check them. Roofers should be properly insured. Ask for proof of insurance to be sure you are protected from any damage to your home.

Roofing repairs and new roofs may require specific building permits. Make sure the company you work with is familiar with local building codes and that they obtain proper licenses or permits. Most locations also require inspections during certain phases of construction and a final inspection when the work is complete. Check your local building codes to ensure the roofer is complying with all regulations. You may be liable if this does not occur.

Before starting the project get a contract. This should include all the details of the project, time frame for completion, and price. It should clearly outline payment policies and warranties. Read the warranty carefully to make sure you are adequately protected. Also, be sure the contract states they are responsible for clean up. Roofing materials can be very messy and you do not want to have to clean up and dispose of waste yourself. But keep in mind you can save yourself some money if you choose to tackle the cleanup process yourself.

Never be rushed into hiring a roofer. Take the time to interview potential roofers and check experience and references. Roofing repairs can be expensive and a new roof is a major investment. Protect your home by doing some research. Hire the roofer who has the best combination of experience and price and with whom you feel most comfortable.
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Tips for Hiring a Reputable Roofing Contractor

Curling or cracked shingles. Leaks in the ceiling. Too many asphalt granules in the gutters. Any one of these telltale signs can mean it...