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A good roofer is easy to reach, has a local address, shows you the actual damage, gives you a written price before work starts, doesn't ask for a big payment up front, and never offers to cover your deductible. Texas law backs up the last two.
1. Can you reach them, and do they call back?
In local reviews, the most common complaint about roofers is that they don't show up or don't call back. Call the number before you hire. If nobody answers and nobody calls back, that is how the job will go too. A real local address and phone number on the bid matter: out-of-town crews often leave once the storm work dries up.
2. Do they show you the problem?
A good roofer finds the cause of the leak or the damage and shows you photos of it. Homeowners often praise roofers who say a whole roof isn't needed, and complain about ones who push a big job on a roof that is only about ten years old. If you only need a repair, you should hear that.
3. Is everything in writing?
- Get at least three written bids, on the company's letterhead, with a phone number and address.
- Don't sign anything called an "estimate" or a "release" just to let someone on your roof; it may be a contract.
- Don't sign a contract with blank spaces.
- Don't sign a contract that says "Homeowner agrees to the listed repairs for the value of insurance proceeds". It hands the contractor your whole insurance payment.
4. Do they want a lot of money up front?
Be careful with anyone who asks for a large or full payment before work starts. After a disaster, it is against Texas law for out-of-town contractors to ask for a down payment before they start.
5. Do they offer to cover your deductible?
Walk away. In Texas, it is against the law for a contractor to offer to waive your deductible or work it into the bid. You can report it to the Texas Attorney General at 800-621-0508.
6. Do they know the local rules?
Ask whether your job needs a permit. A good local roofer knows that Baytown needs one for decking repairs but not for shingles alone, that Pasadena has a 25 percent rule, and that La Porte follows state windstorm rules. See the 25% rule explained.
7. What about a license?
Texas has no state license for roofers, so a "Texas roofing license" is not something you can look up with the state. Judge a roofer by what you can check: a local address, a phone that gets answered, written bids, photos of your roof, and what neighbors say.
More answers: What is the 25% rule for roofing? · Does home insurance cover a roof leak in Texas?. Or go back to roof repair in Baytown.