There is no such thing as being over protective with regards to your home and your finances. There are plenty of roofing contractors out there which are willing to bend the guidelines to simplify things for themselves, resulting in problems for you as well as your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every occasionally. That’s why it’s important to know these 4 simple ways to protect yourself when choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to fix a leak on your roof. One of their employees 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 property.
Solution: Roofers Compensation is really a kind of insurance covering roofing injuries. If a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees are entitled to recover expenses for hospital bills and being out of work. Be sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation in order that 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’s an urgent storm. Water seeps into your house and damages your sheet rock, carpet plus some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but there are exclusions preventing coverage of the inside of your building. You end up paying to fix 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 will cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as stated in the situation 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. Search for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage caused by leaving a roof open.
Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to focus on your roof. A couple of months later you notice a leak. You try to contact the business, but can’t find their information. You try to look them up by their business license and you find that there was never a business license issued for that company. You’re forced to pay for the repairs yourself.
energy-saving commercial roofs : Check ahead of time that your roofing contractor has a business license. If they don’t have a license, it could be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The company could easily disappear or walk out 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 requires a general roofing license.
A general contractor is legally able to install a roof without a roofing license if they have an over-all contractor license. However, there were many cases of general contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves if they lack the proper training. This causes problems for building owners and home owners. It is perfect for a general contractor to possess a roofing license besides their general contractors license.
In Utah, the number 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 also find that they will have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the option to terminate their service immediately. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor because they were operating illegally. After that you can find a qualified contractor to fix your roof and finish the job.
Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you also 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 responsible for that payment. It has happened and can happen to you.
Solution: Make sure you request a lien waiver when the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that if the contractor does not make his payments to a supplier or employees, you aren’t responsible to cover them. It really is ultimately in place to protect the home or building owner from paying twice. If you receive the lien waiver before you pay, it is conditional upon your payment. However, once your payment has cleared, the lien waver becomes unconditional without any additional paperwork.
