Top Secrets : A Homeowner’s Guide to a Hassle-Free Roof Job
Do you need a new roof? Consider this: Re-roofing ranks among the largest cash outlays you will make on your home. And let’s be honest, roofers have some of the worst reputations in the contracting business.
“Roofing is easy to screw up,” said Richard Boon, deputy director of the Roofing Industry Education Institute in Englewood, Colo. “Many, many times residential roofers don’t know what they are doing. There’s a competence problem as well as an ethical one.”
“It’s the nature of the business,” agreed Everett Lawson, assistant licensing deputy for the Contractors State Licensing Board. He cited the frequent lag time between completion of the job and the coming of rain as just one factor that makes it difficult for the homeowner to get satisfaction on any problems that may occur.
“Also, it’s a large-dollar, quick-turnover business,” Lawson said, “and that can invite larcenous types to prey upon unsuspecting, uninformed homeowners.”
Add to all of the above the fact that re-roofing can be a dirty, noisy, smelly project.
And when it’s done? Well, don’t expect cries of admiration from relatives and friends. A new roof, unlike a remodeled kitchen, is not a major aesthetic improvement (except perhaps to the eye of homeowner who’s just paid for it).
If all goes well, when the job’s done you will be snug and dry. You’ll also be anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000 poorer.
The best you can hope for, really, is the minimum of aggravation and the maximum of quality and economy in the finished job.
To begin, you have two major decisions to make. Get these right, and you are on your way to being a happy homeowner.
First, you need to decide what kind of a roof you want, and then, which roofing contractor you’ll use. And it’s important to make the decisions in that order, the experts say.
“Most people don’t know what the heck they want,” grumbled Pete Peterson, an estimator and salesman with Angeles Roofing in Los Angeles. “And they don’t know how to go about finding out what they want. To get estimates that are any good, everybody has to be oranges and oranges.”
If you select your roofing material first, you will be better able to evaluate estimates from different roofers because they’ll be bidding on installation of like materials. You will also be more certain of hiring a contractor who is competent to install the roof you’ve chosen.
To find out what kind of roof you want, it’s a good idea to begin by visiting a roofing materials supplier. There are a few in the Los Angeles area with showrooms and salespeople who will take the time to show you what your options are and explain the pros and cons of each kind of roof.
Before you visit the supplier, however, you should check to see what your local building codes permit.
Some cities, such as Los Angeles and Glendale, have banned all wood-shake and shingle roofs (even those factory treated with fire retardant). Others, such as Long Beach, have no restrictions on the type of roof you may install. Still others, Santa Monica for example, permit shake and shingle roofs when they are treated with fire retardant.
You’ll also want to find out whether your local code requires that your existing roof be removed. Removal is called “tear-off” in the roofing business.
So even before you take off for the roofing supply showroom, you’ll have more knowledge than most consumers.
“Most homeowners don’t do their homework,” said Rick Betts, owner of Spartan Supply Co. in Culver City. “They’ll be spending from $10,000 to $20,000, and they do less research than they would if they were spending the same amount to buy a car.”
Betts said he tries to educate homeowners who visit his showroom. He pointed out that roofers will sometimes push homeowners to choose the product they are most comfortable installing--not the product that might best serve the customer’s needs.
“Usually I want to find out where they are coming from. The first questions I ask are, ‘What is the existing roof?’ and ‘Do they want the same or better this time?’ Betts said the decision usually comes down to cost versus looks. “Aesthetics versus price, in the final analysis, that’s where most people make the decision,” he said.
But that can be a mistake. “You’d be crazy to try anything new,” said Mark Vanderslice, president of Roofing Forensics in Yorba Linda, an independent consulting firm. “Looks and cost should not be the only consideration.” Performance--the track record of the material--should be the first consideration, according to Vanderslice.
He recommends against buying any material that’s been on the market for less than 10 years. He says some of the new materials “look good and sound good on paper, but unless they’ve been exposed to the weather and other stress factors, such as walking, it’s too risky--unless you feel really lucky.”
As to pricing, Betts said: “Roofing is not like carpeting. You can’t say that every job will be the same. There are so many variables that the square foot price of the roof is only a rough idea of the total cost.” (See accompanying story for general guidelines.)
Among the variables Betts cited: pitch--the steeper the roof, the more expensive the job; access to house--if it’s hard to get a truck up close, that adds to cost as roofers have to load material up manually; a “cut-up” roof--with venting pipes, solar panels, air conditioning units, chimneys, etc.--require more labor, as do roofs with many hips and valleys. Is tear-off required? All these will add time, labor and dollars to the job.
Ross Riddle, owner of South Coast Shingle Co. in Long Beach, also presides over a large showroom of roofing materials and is oriented toward helping the homeowner choose among a bewildering array of roofing options.
“Our goal is just to show them all the options,” he said. “Nowadays there are just so many choices. I can imagine how overwhelming it is.”
And you needn’t rely only on the suppliers. Call the manufacturer and educate yourself on the product’s strong points and drawbacks. Once you know which material you want, make sure you get a copy of the manufacturer’s written specifications for installation and a copy of the product warranty and limitations. Those installation specs will be important when you get ready to sign a contract with your roofer.
Like Betts of Spartan Supply, Riddle offers contractor referral assistance to his customers. “Because our reputation means a lot to us, we don’t refer anyone whose work we don’t know,” Riddle said. “It’s not just because they (the roofers) buy from us, we have to know they are good before we refer them.”
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Joe Peyton, a sales manager for Ford Wholesale Co. in El Monte, operates on the same principle. “If a customer asks me for a reputable contractor, I have a list of people whose work I know and I’ve physically seen.” Peyton said he’s careful to recommend only contractors he really can vouch for: “I sure don’t want the customer coming back to me and complaining that he got a bad job.”
Spartan’s Betts said choosing the wrong contractor is the most common mistake homeowners make. “Most people look in the yellow pages, get three names and choose the lowest bid. Later on they find out why it was the lowest.”
There are competent, honest and reliable roofers out there. A referral from friend, neighbor or materials supplier is a good place to start. But it’s not a substitute for doing your homework: Finding the right roofing contractor for your job requires diligence and a little detective work.
Six Steps to a Sound Roof
Approach re-roofing in this order, the experts say, and you’ll greatly enhance your chances of getting a good job.
1--Call City Hall and find out what your city allows or bans in the way of roofing material.
2--Visit a roofing supply showroom. Find a helpful salesperson and get an expert’s advice on the best roofing material for your situation.
3--Call at least three roofers, based on recommendations from suppliers, friends, neighbors, co-workers.
4--Evaluate roofers’ estimates--making sure they’re all talking about the same roofing materials and labor.
5--Check roofers’ references, call the Contractors State Licensing Board (800-321-2752) to make sure roofer is licensed and bonded. Get certificates of insurance from roofer or his carrier.
6--Make final payment to roofer only after job is complete and you are sure all his material suppliers and workers have been paid.
Which Roof Is Right for You?
Fire Price/ Life Type Class Comments Square Expectancy Comp A Pro: Cost/Variety $25-70 20-40 yrs Shingles Con: Looks Wood B/C Pro: Looks $130-200 25-30 Shake & Con: Cost/Banned Shingle in some areas (Treated) Clay A Pro: Looks $75-200 50 Tile Con: Cost/Weight Light- A Pro: Mid-price $100-130 50 Weight Concrete Con: “Walkability” Tile Synthetic A Pro: Light wt. $140-190 50 Shake Con: Cost/ (Fibrated “Walkability” Cement)
Notes:
Roofing is commonly sold by the “square” (100 square feet.)
Prices shown here do not include installation or necessary materials. The total job will involve several factors including labor and the cost of supplies: underlayment material, metal trim, flashing, drip edges, etc.
In some instances you’ll have separate costs to consider: for example, if you are installing tile for the first time, you may need to hire an independent structural engineer to determine whether your house needs reinforcment to cary the extra weight.
Regarding “Walkability.” No roof is made to walk on, some are more fragile than others. You should always tred carefully when it is absolutely necessary to get up on the roof.
Once you know which material and price level you’re interested in, divide life expectancy into the total cost of material. That way you can compare the annual cost of the roof you choose. You may be surprised at which roofing materials turn out to be the best buy.
