Guide
Choosing a roofing contractor
You are not really buying shingles. You are buying four days of somebody else's workmanship, and hoping the company still exists when you need the warranty.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Downey contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in Downey 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.
Be careful with the deposit
Never pay in full up front, and never in cash without a receipt that names the company. Progress payments tied to milestones protect both sides.
Ask for current certificates of insurance
Insurance certificates expire. A certificate dated eight months ago tells you what was true eight months ago. Ask for one issued this month.
Check the licence yourself
Every state that licenses roofing contractors publishes a free lookup. It takes two minutes and tells you whether the licence is current, who holds it, and whether there are complaints against it. Do it even when somebody has already vouched for them.
Get everything in writing, including the unknowns
Anything agreed verbally will be remembered differently on day two. In particular, pin down the decking rate, the start date and the clean-up before you sign.
Prefer somebody you could drive to
Ask where their yard is. Companies that follow storms across state lines do competent work and then vanish, which is fine right up until something needs putting right.
Compare scope, not totals
Lay the quotes side by side line by line. Underlayment type, ice-and-water coverage, drip edge, valley treatment, ventilation, flashing replacement, decking allowance and warranty. Large gaps in the total are almost always gaps in the scope.
In short
Do the boring checks. They are the entire difference between a roof that is somebody else's problem for ten years and one that is yours.
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.
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.
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Often you legally can, and it is usually a poor idea. Overlaying hides the condition of the decking, adds weight, shortens the life of the new shingles by trapping heat, and doubles the cost of the next tear-off.