Guide
Choosing a roofing contractor
Choosing a roofer is the part of this that homeowners have the least practice at, and the part that decides the outcome.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three San Juan Capistrano contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in San Juan Capistrano 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.
Check the licence yourself
A licence number on a business card is not a licence. Look it up, confirm the name on the licence matches the name on the contract, and check the status is active today.
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.
Be careful with the deposit
Ten to thirty per cent is normal, often to order material. Full payment before work starts is not, and in several states it is not even legal. Hold the final payment until you have walked the job.
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.
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.
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.
In short
Three quotes, three licence checks, three certificates of insurance. It is a dull hour that routinely saves five figures.
Related questions
How quickly will someone call?
Usually within the hour during working hours. If you marked the job as an emergency it goes to the front of the queue and is normally picked up faster than that.
Do you cover the whole Orange County area?
We match across San Juan Capistrano and the neighbouring communities in Orange County. Put the ZIP of the property in and it will route to whoever actually covers it.
What warranty should I expect?
Two separate things. The manufacturer covers the material for its rated life, but only if it was installed to their specification. The contractor covers workmanship, commonly five to ten years, and only for as long as they are trading.
Get the roof looked at
No cost. We email you once when a provider near you can take it on.