Guide
Questions worth asking
You do not need to know roofing to ask good questions. You need to know which questions have answers that can be checked.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three Oceanside contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in Oceanside 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.
"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 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.
"What underlayment, and how are the valleys done?"
A contractor who enjoys this question is usually the one whose roof lasts. A contractor who deflects it to brand names is quoting a different job.
"Who is actually doing the work?"
Employees, or subcontractors? Both are fine, but subcontracted crews change who carries the workers compensation cover and who stands behind the workmanship warranty.
"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?"
Then look it up. You are checking that the licence is current and that the name on it matches the name on the contract you are being asked to sign.
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 have to hire anyone?
Not at all. Plenty of people use this to find out what a job costs and then do nothing for a year. That is a perfectly reasonable outcome.
Is this really free?
It is free to you. Contractors pay to receive homeowner requests in their area. That is the entire business model, and we would rather say so plainly than pretend otherwise.
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Codes in most places allow two layers. That does not make it wise. You lose the chance to see the deck, and the next roofer has twice as much to remove.
Ready for a real number?
No cost. We email you once when a provider near you can take it on.