Now this isn’t about how you physically go about reroofing your house. I do not have that expertise, I’m scared of heights, and I have no desire to learn that skill. But here are some tips and tricks I learned while having our house reroofed!
Talk To Your Insurance Agent
This should be your first task. Every homeowners insurance will have different requirements on what they are looking for with a reroof, and what they will cover when they add coverage to your policy.
Now this one I did out of order, and talked to my agent last. Which required me to go back and readjust our decision on which roof and company to go with. So, save yourself the effort and know exactly about what you’re needing!
Arbitrary Time Coverages
We decided to go with a standing seam metal roof because of the 40+ year lifespan, even though it was twice as expensive. Some friends told us over their son’s birthday party about how insurance agencies are putting arbitrary coverage ranges on reroofs. From their agent, a new shingle roof would only be covered for 10 years, regardless if it’s still functioning well and undamaged after those 10 years. For metal roofs, they would only cover it for 15 years.
Although we had already signed for our personal loan to fund the reroof, we hadn’t signed paperwork with the roofing company yet, so we were able to look into the timing situation more. That’s when I called our insurance agent.
Now, these rules are going to be different between policies, especially in this time of extreme house buying/selling (especially in the Orlando area). During our chat, our insurance agent mentioned that the replacement requirements have been changing consistently over the last year. A roof that would have been covered with minor damage before absolutely would not be covered now. Especially between change of owners, homeowners insurance will most likely require a reroofing for any flaw.
Our agent mentioned the same arbitrary reroofing schedule, and said those dates weren’t confirmed, but that we should reroof as conservatively as possible. He mentioned 3-tab shingles wouldn’t be a horrible idea, even though they are the least effective, but do no more than architectural shingles.
Depreciation
During our conversation, our insurance agent also mentioned that some insurance companies are starting a depreciation method with roof replacement. So, with each additional year the roof ages, the insurance policy will provide a smaller replacement payout when a claim is made. For example, if your roof was one-year-old, you would get a larger payout if you have damage from a hurricane than if your roof was six-years-old.
Find A Roofing Company
Talk to Your Friends and Neighbors
The best resources are going to be those people around you! Your neighbors may have had a roof replacement in the last few years, or maybe someone from your church or other community group. Ask around! If we hadn’t been discussing our roof replacement with our friends at their son’s birthday party, we wouldn’t have found out about the arbitrary replacement dates.
With that first-hand knowledge and recommendations, you will know a little better about the company you are potentially working with. About their policies and trustworthiness, and about their work quality.
Check Online Resources
If you don’t know many people in your neighborhood, look online for other recommendations. There are many review sites out there, and even places like Google and Facebook allow for public comments with their experiences with companies. The Better Business Bureau is a good place to find out about business practices of companies too.
Be sure to check out community pages as well on Facebook and NextDoor. They may not be your neighbors that you talk to and know personally, but maybe someone a few blocks away has posted about their experience, or has recommended a company they trust.
Check Online Ratings
When you have company names, start looking up reviews on their business practices. Most online sources where you’re finding the company names will also have a rating system. Facebook allows for customers to rate a company and leave reviews, so read through those for any issues (shoddy workmanship, not completing work, etc.). Google and Yelp are great resources as well.
I look at the 4-star reviews, because that usually means that there were some problems but that things were resolved. Problems happen in all business, and if a company has perfect scores, that may be more of a warning light than anything. It’s more important to see how they react to issues.
Pick the Winning Bid
Get Multiple Quotes
Don’t stop at asking one business to bid your project. Each company will have different perks and distinguishing features. And it’s great way to make sure you’re not being taken advantage of on price!
For example, differences in quotes we got for the reroof included:
- Paying for county permits
- Cleaning the job site with magnet sweeping
- Complementary power washing of sidewalks
- Paying for wind mitigation report
- Length of workmanship warranty
- Financing options
I like to get three quotes, so there can be an average middle option. But on this project I talked to five different companies, since we were quoting out metal and shingle options. Metal roofs take a whole different set of skills, so we had to talk to different groups. Metal roofing companies seem to do shingles too, but shingle companies didn’t do metal roofs.
Understand Their Vibe
Even with the short conversations I had with these sales reps at my house, I could get the general vibe of the company. And this was the biggest deciding factor for me on which company we worked with. For example:
- Providing brochures of their policies and product information and warranty policies, etc. (good) vs. only giving a business card, requiring me to remember what they talked about (bad)
- Pushy salesmen (bad) vs. providing information (good)
- When asking questions, some would act like I was bothering them (bad) vs. taking the time to teach me about the process (good)
- Talking down about other companies (bad) vs. highlighting their benefits (good)
After the reps would leave, I made sure to write down my impressions of them. Since I was meeting with multiple groups, I didn’t want to rely on pure memory.
Our Final Decision
In the end, we signed with Total Home Roofing and chose an architectural shingle roof. It was a middle option -- not an expensive metal roof, and not an inexpensive shingle roof. They offered a free wind mitigation inspection, applied for the building permits, and provided a 15-year warranty. The biggest difference though was our salesman. He hit each of those "good" vibe examples, and we had a great experience working with them.
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