Fast-Track Your ROOFING CONTRACTOR
There is no such thing to be over protective with regards to your home and your finances. There are plenty of roofing contractors out there which are willing to bend the guidelines to simplify things for themselves, resulting in problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every occasionally. That’s why it’s important to know these 4 simple methods to protect yourself when choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to repair a leak on your roof. One of their workers decides never to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to cover his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your property.
Solution: Roofers Compensation is really a kind of insurance covering roofing injuries. If a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees are entitled to recover expenses for hospital bills and being unemployed. Be sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so that you will 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 urgent storm. Water seeps into your home and damages your sheet rock, carpet plus some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but you can find exclusions preventing coverage of the inside of your building. You end up paying to repair the damages yourself.
Solution: If damage occurs to your home or building that is the fault of a roofing contractor, you want to be sure they have good liability insurance. This can cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as stated in the problem above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance company offers so many exclusions that it is almost like there is no coverage at all. Look for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage and mold resulting from leaving a roof open.
Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to focus on your roof. A couple of months later you notice a leak. You make an effort to contact the company, but can’t find their information. You make an effort to look them up by their business license and you also find that there is never a small business license issued for that company. You’re forced to pay for the repairs yourself.
Solution: Check in advance that your roofing contractor includes a business license. If they don’t have a license, it may be a sign that they have no idea what they are doing. The business could easily disappear or walk out business.
In the state of Utah, your roofing company should have a shingle license and a general roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A flat roof installation only requires a general roofing license.
A general contractor is legally able to install a roof with out a roofing license if they have an over-all contractor license. However, there have been a lot of cases of general contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves if 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 as well as their general contractors license.
In Utah, the quantity 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 option 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.
metal roof systems : Your roof has been completed and you also pay the contractor. However, a few weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a fee for the materials installed on your roof. You discover that your contractor did not pay his supplier and that you will be now responsible for that payment. It has happened and can happen to you.
Solution: Be sure to request a lien waiver once the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that if the contractor fails to make his payments to a supplier or employees, you aren’t responsible to cover them. It really is ultimately in place to safeguard the home or building owner from paying twice. If you receive the lien waiver before you pay, it really is conditional upon your payment. However, once your payment has cleared, the lien waver becomes unconditional without the additional paperwork.