There is no such thing as being over protective with regards to your home as well as your finances. There are many roofing contractors out there that are willing to bend the guidelines to simplify things for themselves, leading to problems for you as well as your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every once in a while. That’s why it’s important to know these 4 simple methods to protect yourself whenever choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to repair a leak on your roof. One of their workers decides not to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to pay his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your property.
Solution: Roofers Compensation is a type of insurance covering roofing injuries. In case a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees have entitlement to recover expenses for hospital bills and being out of work. Be sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so you are saved the difficulty and expenses of paying those bills yourself.
Liability Insurance
Problem: Your roofing contractor leaves your roof uncovered after removing your shingles. That night there’s an unexpected storm. Water seeps into your home and damages your sheet rock, carpet and some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but there are exclusions preventing coverage of the inside of your building. You end up paying to fix the damages yourself.
Solution: If damage occurs to your home or building this is the fault of a roofing contractor, you intend to be sure they have good liability insurance. This can cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as stated in the situation above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance company offers so many exclusions that it is almost like there is absolutely no coverage at all. Look for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage and mold caused by leaving a roof open.
Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to work on your roof. A few months later you notice a leak. You make an effort to contact the company, but can’t find their information. You try to look them up by their business license and you find that there was never a business license issued for that company. You are forced to pay for the repairs yourself.
Solution: Check in advance that your roofing contractor has a business license. If they don’t possess a license, it could be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The company could easily disappear or go out of business.
In the state of Utah, your roofing company must have a shingle license and an over-all roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A set roof installation only takes a general roofing license.
An over-all contractor is legally in a position to install a roof with out a roofing license should they have an over-all contractor license. However, there were plenty of cases of general contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves when they lack the proper training. This causes problems for building owners and home owners. It is ideal for a general contractor to have a roofing license besides their general contractors license.
In Utah, the number for an over-all roofing licence is S280. The overall contractors license is B100.
If your roofing contractor is in the middle of working on your roof and you find that they will have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the choice to terminate their service right away. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor because they were operating illegally. You can then find a qualified contractor to repair your roof and finish the job.
Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you also pay the contractor. However, a couple weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a fee for the materials installed on your own roof. You discover your contractor didn’t pay his supplier and that you will be now in charge of that payment. This has happened and can happen to you.
Solution: Be sure you request a lien waiver once the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that when the contractor does not make his payments to a supplier or employees, you are not responsible to cover them. It is ultimately in place to protect the home or building owner from paying twice. In the event that you receive the lien waiver before you pay, it really is conditional upon your payment. However, once roofing maintenance has cleared, the lien waver becomes unconditional without the additional paperwork.