There is not any such thing as being over protective when it comes to your home and your finances. There are numerous roofing contractors out there that are willing to bend the rules to simplify things for themselves, resulting in problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every once in a while. That’s why it is critical to know these 4 simple ways to protect yourself whenever choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to fix a leak on your own 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 own property.
Solution: Roofers Compensation is really a type of insurance covering roofing injuries. If a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees have entitlement to recover expenses for hospital bills and being unemployed. 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 is an unexpected 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 this is the fault of a roofing contractor, you want to be sure they will 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 provider 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 resulting from leaving a roof open.
Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to focus on your roof. A few months later you see a leak. You try 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 is never a business license issued for that company. You’re forced to cover the repairs yourself.
Solution: Check in advance that your roofing contractor has a business license. If they don’t have a license, it could be a sign that they have no idea what they are doing. The company could easily disappear or go out of business.
In the state of Utah, your roofing company should have a shingle license and an over-all roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A flat roof installation only takes a general roofing license.
A general contractor is legally able to install a roof with out a roofing license should they have an over-all contractor license. However, there have been a great deal of cases of general contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves when they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners together with home owners. It is perfect for a general contractor to possess a roofing license in addition to their general contractors license.
In Utah, the quantity for a general roofing licence is S280. The overall contractors license is B100.
If your roofing contractor is in the center of working on your roof and you find that they 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 since they were operating illegally. After that you can find a qualified contractor to fix your roof and finish the work.
metal roofing : Your roof has been completed and you pay the contractor. However, a couple weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a payment for the materials installed on your own roof. You discover that your contractor did not 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 to 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 aren’t responsible to cover them. It is ultimately in place to protect the home or building owner from paying twice. In the event that you have 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.