When you hire a roofing contractor to come work on your home, you want to make sure you’re making a solid choice. You want the work to be done right. You want the job to be handled professionally. You also want to make sure you are not liable in the possible event that a worker injures himself on your roof.
What are the most important questions to ask a roofing company you’re considering working with for your roof repair or replacement?
1. Is your company insured?
Having insurance means that the company can cover workers’ compensation costs for its employees, if something bad were to happen. If a roofer gets injured, you need to know that their insurance coverage will protect you not only from injury liability, but from any damage that could be done to your property. Your own homeowners’ insurance generally does not cover workers’ accidents, so if the roofing company does not have workers’ comp coverage, then you personally might be responsible for paying those hospital costs out of pocket. Additionally, if a company isn’t insured, it either means they aren’t really a roofing company (might just be a bunch of roofers or general contractors who get together to take on jobs when things are slow) or they are an actual roofing company that is looking to cut costs in the worst ways. Either way, keep looking until you find the roofing company that’s right for you – and that means one that’s insured.
2. Do you hire subcontractors? If so, are they insured?
It is not uncommon for roofing companies to subcontract out some of the work. This may save both of you some money. But, if they do farm out some of the labor, you need to know that those workers are fully covered with liability insurance and workers’ compensation protection. As a general rule, you’ll probably have the best results and the most predictable experience working with a company with its own roofing staff, rather than one that subcontracts out to other companies. When you’re hiring a company with a great reputation, or maybe one that was personally recommended to you, you want to make sure you’re getting the quality of service that led you to hire this company in the first place.
3. Do you have a roofing contractor license?
The state of Ohio does not license construction contractors. However, local residential work requires a license, and this is administered by Hamilton County’s building department. Any roofing professional is required to fill out an application to be a Home Improvement Contractor, either as a general contractor or as a limited contractor. It’s a better bet to go with a company that’s playing by the rules and taking themselves seriously enough to get licensed. This shows a certain measure of professionalism and pride in their work, and this bodes well for the rest of the experience you will have with them.
Hire Harper!
If you want to make things easy on yourself, and you’re looking for a great roofing company in Cincinnati, you can skip all the questions and just contact us here at Harper Siding and Roofing. We’re fully licensed and insured, and we’ve built our business (and our excellent reputation) by doing fantastic work for your friends and neighbors. Ask around, and we bet that pretty quickly, our name will come up as a recommended roofing company in Cincinnati. Give us a call to find out what we can do for you!