Tips | PJsRoofing

June 21, 2017 in Tips

10 Tips to Help Homeowners Find the Best Roofing Contractor

silhouette of roofing contractor making repairs to a roof
Is your home in need of a new roof? If so, the first task on your to-do list should be to find the best home roofing contractor. While there are plenty of roofing contractors to consider, you will want to make sure that you settle on one who has demonstrated an ability to do this kind of work. To help you find the right person or team for the job, please review the tips below.

#1 – Start with the BBB

While a good rating with the Better Business Bureau is not a sure sign that you are dealing with a great contractor, it is a good place to start. At PJ’s, we are proud to be recognized with an A+ rating by the BBB of greater Maryland! If the contractor you are considering is in good standing with the BBB, you can feel free to move on to other points.

#2 – Find a Designated Contractor

If a contractor has earned a designation from a manufacturer, you can feel good about that contractor’s ability to handle the job. Those designations are not given out for free, as the company needs to prove that they can meet certain requirements in order to gain this endorsement.

#3 – Safety Matters

You always want to place a priority on safety when anyone is working on your home. Should you find that a specific contractor has a questionable record when it comes to safety, you will be better off going in a different direction.

#4 – Ask for Referrals

If you happen to know anyone in your life who has recently had their roof repaired or replaced, ask them about their experience with the company they selected. Or, even if you don’t know anybody in this category, consider asking neighbors for help if you notice they have had work done.

#5 – Insurance Issues

When filing an insurance claim as part of your roofing project, be sure that the contractor is willing to play by the rules with regard to the insurance policy. If, for example, the contractor says that you don’t need to pay your deductible, you should be suspicious.

#6 – Deal with Your Own Insurance Company

Speaking of insurance, you should be dealing with the insurance company personally, not going through the contractor. Not only is this often illegal, but it also doesn’t make any sense. The claim is a matter between you and the insurance company, so you should be the parties involved.

#7 – Watch for Pressure Tactics

There are too many contractors out there to allow yourself to be pressured into a decision by an overaggressive salesperson. If you aren’t yet comfortable with the terms of the contract for this project, don’t sign anything and don’t give in to pressure.

#8 – Study Up

Before you even contact any contractors about this work, do some research and learn about things like roofing materials. If you know your stuff ahead of time, you will be better prepared to negotiate successfully.

#9 – Always Work with Licensed and Insured Contractors

This one is an easy decision. Anytime you are hiring a company to do any kind of work on your home, you should confirm that the contractor is both licensed and insured. It’s just that simple.

#10 – Get a Warranty

Is the labor going to be covered under warranty, in addition to the roofing materials? Be sure to ask this question, and only work with a home roofing contractor who can offer a warranty on their workmanship.

How to Protect Your Home’s Roofing System Against Ice Dams

Your roof is one of the single most-important parts of your entire house, as it has the job of keeping the weather out of your home year after year. A healthy roof can do wonders for the condition and longevity of your home, while a faulty roof can be an expensive and time-consuming problem to fix.

If you live in a cold part of the world, you will need to worry about the possibility of ice dams forming on your roof in the winter. What is an ice dam? Simply put, an ice dam is an accumulate of ice near the edges of your roof. It is natural for ice to form during the course of a cold winter, and these large chunks are commonly found on many different kinds of residential roofs. However, while they might not look like a big deal from street level, they can actually be extremely harmful if ignored.

A Pooling Problem

The problem with allowing ice dams to exist on your roof is the possibility of water backing up behind those dams during warm parts of the day. For instance, if the temperatures are well below freezing overnight – but warm into the low 40’s during the day – there will be water on your roof that can pile up behind an ice dam. When that happen, the water may work its way back up under your shingles, doing damage to the roof below.

So how can you protect your home from this quiet but serious problem? Surprisingly, one of the best things you can do is to keep your roof as cold as possible in the winter. The water that develops on your roof is often the due to a warm attic, which can head the roof up to a temperature above that of the outside air. This kind of warming from the inside will accelerate the melting of ice and snow on your roof, and you will suddenly have a pool of water that can cause trouble for your structure.

Proper Insulation is Key

To avoid heating your attic during the winter, make sure your insulation is in good shape heading in to the cold season. Most building codes call for at least a foot of insulation in an attic, so check with your local regulations to make sure you are in compliance. By checking on the thickness of your insulation, you can then add more if necessary to keep your attic and roof colder in the winter.

A Manual Fix

If you aren’t able to keep your roof as cold as necessary, or if there is water pooling due to the air warming during the daytime hours, you may need to manually pull snow off of your roof from time to time. Of course, this can be a dangerous job, so be sure to take all necessary precautions, and look into the possibility of purchasing a snow rake which can allow you to do the job while standing on the ground (for a single story home). Never pull snow down toward you while standing on a ladder, and the snow could potentially knock you down.

Ice dams are a serious problem in cold parts of the world, but there are steps that can be taken to prevent them from doing damage to your roof. Plan ahead for this potential issue and you should be able to avoid any costly repairs down the line.