Looking to protect your home in Florida? Hiring a quality roofing contractor is important.

You want to find and hire a contractor that you can trust with your upcoming roofing project, right?

Well, you are not alone; No one wants to hire a bad contractor.

We get it.

We understand that a roofing job is important. Whether it’s a small repair or a full replacement it's an important job that needs to get done right the first time.

Our family at Roofcrafters of Florida has helped many homeowners over the past 3 decades. We've done so by repairing and installing high-quality roofs. We also provide our clients with the longest-lasting warranties in the roofing industry.

Over the past 29 years, we have seen both quality and poor quality contractors in the Florida market.

In this article, we are going to provide 7 tips for hiring a quality contractor. And by the end of this article, you will have all the information you need to make a great hiring decision.

Sound good? Ok

Let’s get started!

Check for Florida State licenses, insurance coverage, and certifications

 Verify the roofing company has proper Florida state and local business licenses.

Verify that the contractor has proper insurance coverage; workman's compensation and general liability. Roofing contractors that do high-quality work will have a major manufacturer supporting them. GAF or Certainteed backs the material and labor warranties for your protection.

• Proper licenses to apply for permits and get your roof inspected are a must. (verify)

• Proper Florida insurance policies will protect your assets if an accident happens. (property damage or worse, body injury)

• Contractors certified by a manufacturer can offer long warranties. These warranties are backed by roofing manufacturers. To be eligible, the contractor must meet strict guidelines.

Check references, online reviews, and social profiles

 Yes, get local references and check online reviews and social media profiles. Google the name of the local contracting company. You will learn a lot and can weed out those with low ratings fast this way.

• Keep in mind, that a contractor will not provide references for jobs where there were no issues. Ask them to provide the name, address, and number of a past client; where something went wrong. This is very important, you want to know how the roofing contractor will handle problems if they do occur. NO roofing contractor in Florida has all great jobs where something didn’t go wrong. Bushes and shrubs may get damaged or the siding could get damaged from shingles sliding off the roof. How will the contractor handles the "mishaps" is great to know before hiring them.

• Checking online reviews can help, (Google, BBB, Facebook)

• Social Media can tell you a lot about the contractor, don't be afraid to "stalk." NO, it’s not weird and this could save you TIME & MONEY.

Avoid out-of-town door knockers and storm chasers

 Hiring an out-of-town roofer can result in wasted money, should you have a roof issue later on.

Storm chasers come into town fast. But, we also see them leaving in a hurry leaving homeowners to pay twice for repairs. Warranties handwritten on paper contracts are not valid if they are not around to honor them.

• Door Knockers pressure you into letting them do your roof. Do you like to get disturbed in the comfort of your home? Only to feel pressured into a transaction without being able to verify the company? Slow down and do some research and you will be glad you did.

• Storm chasers come into town and do as much work as they can. Then they leave town shortly after. Unfortunately leaving homeowners with shoddy work. And leaky roofs that the homeowners have to pay local roofing contractors to fix.

Quality Florida roofing contractors have financial stability

 Do NOT hire contractors asking for "upfront" money or a "deposit" to get your roof started.

Roofing contractors who do high-quality work will get deposits for special order materials. Materials such as metal roofing or a tile roof. And often, they will not even need deposits.

Having a roofer with financial stability will help ensure you get high-quality work. They buy quality roofing materials and can pay their installers higher wages.

• If a contractor needs money "up front" or a "deposit" they may not have the funds to buy the materials. And pay the labor required to complete your roofing project. You may not want to hire a roofing contractor that won't be able to afford to fix a problem if one should occur.

• It's no secret, that contractors have scammed homeowners by taking their "deposit." And leaving town. So if a contractor asks for a deposit, beware!

Ask if their roofers use safety procedures on the roof

 Be concerned about safety.

You would not want anyone to get hurt on your property, would you?

No! Not having safety procedures in place says a lot about the contractor. Our workers are our family.

During the inspection ask, "Do you enforce safety procedures?' For the crew members that will be performing the work on my property?

What are those procedures?

And listen, you will know if they are serious about safety!

Verify that the Florida roofing contractor requires supervision onsite

 Verify that you will have supervision, a project manager, a forman, a crew leader, or someone in charge.

Roofing companies will send a crew out to perform the work without supervision. And sometimes without someone that can communicate with you. No Bueno!

Supervision or project management will ensure you have a direct line of communication. with, before, during, and after your roof gets installed.

Also, you want to know if the roofing crew is installing the roof system you are paying for, right? Well, proper roof supervision is your insurance policy.

Trust your gut when evaluating local Florida roofing contractors

 Yes, number 7, and last but not least, Go With Your Gut, during your contractor evaluation process.

YES, trust your instincts!

You are in the habit of making good decisions, aren’t you? You should be nodding your head yes! lol

And if it doesn’t feel right at any time during the inspection. Start over. Keep searching until you find a quality roofing contractor. A contractor that you feel confident about. That will be your contractor and they will provide you quality work you deserve.

Don't settle.

• If the roofing contractor can't provide the proper documents, move on. You need licenses, insurance, certification, and local references.

• If you call to schedule the appointment and the office is rude, move on.

• If your contractor shows up for the initial inspection late, move on. Without communicating (not valuing your time) the job will likely start late. It likely won't get finished on time either. Accountability starts with the leaders in the company, moving on.

• Hire someone you want to do business with, and don't ever feel like you have to settle, You deserve the absolute best!

Ready to hire a local Florida roofing contractor?

 Here at Roofcrafters of Florida, we want to be a part of helping educate all the communities we serve. So hopefully you feel confident along every step of the way of your roof investment journey.

It’s a big investment and an important one at that. We’ve also put together a hiring checklist for you. With some frequently asked questions, along with the answers. So that homeowners like you can feel confident making a great hiring decision.

Would like to save yourself time? If you are ready to move forward we would love to send one of our expert estimators out to meet you. They will perform a professional roof inspection for you. They will go over the services we provide and answers any question you have about your project. If this sounds good and you are ready to move forward, schedule your roof inspection here.