While working on my next blog, 4:30 in the afternoon, my
door bell rings. A friendly face is there with a business card in hand, advising
me his company was in my neighborhood and noticed my roof needed replaced. I
agreed with him and advised him I was a general contractor and one of my
roofing sub-contractors would get the project, soon. He asked me if I was
planning to pay for it out of pocket and went on to advised me; he could work
through my insurance company and get them to cover a partial replacement or
cover the cost for the entire roof replacement. That sounds great; doesn’t it,
he asked? I didn’t take his card, (I should have so I could have reported his
company to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation). I advised
him I couldn’t do that, because I’m not in the business of committing fraud and
that is what the friendly face was trying to get me to do. He was just one of
three people ringing my doorbell within the last week, dealing with my roof.
Another person wanted to pressure wash my roof. I looked at
him with a puzzled look on my face; you pressure wash roofs? I didn’t think you
were supposed to do that? He confided, he had been doing it for years and he
only used low pressure. I advised him I was a general contractor and had been a
roofing contractor years before and what he was proclaiming was wrong. If you
have a newer roof, it voids the warranty. If the roof is older, it takes off at
least 3-5 years of remaining life. I asked him if he was licensed to do that
kind of work and he told me he didn’t need a license for what he was doing. I
laughed and let him know I had sat on the codes enforcement board for the
county and he indeed, needed a license, insurance and be a corporation in order
to be workers comp exempt. He just looked at me with a disgusted look on his
face, shook his head and reminded me he had been doing this for years and had
never needed a license, turned, walked back to his truck, got in and drove
away.
The deal of a lifetime rang my doorbell as I was resting,
trying to get over a bad cold. Two rough looking guys were standing on my front
porch as I looked back at their beat-up pickup truck with a cheap aluminum
ladder extended out from the bed of the truck. They told me they could install
shingles over my roof, cheaper than anyone in the area. I asked them if they
had a license and they told me they didn’t need a license to install shingles
over old shingles. I asked about a permit and they shook their head and told
me; a homeowner doesn’t need to pull a permit to install shingles over shingles
but if I wanted to pull my own permit, spend the money to do that, that didn’t
make much sense to them. Feeling like pure crud, I advised them they were
operating illegally, they needed a license, a permit was required and if they
would kindly leave my property, I would appreciate it.
Here are my suggestions so you can avoid getting scammed,
ripped off and keep codes enforcement off your door step;
1.
If someone is going door to door offering
roofing services, advise them to leave, I refer to them as gypsies. Most legitimate
roofing companies are 2-3 weeks out and don’t need to go door to door, peddling
their services.
2.
Anytime you have someone walk on your roof, ask
them if they are licensed and have them prove it. A county issued business
license is not a license to do contract work. Ask if they have liability
insurance and workman compensation or if they are exempt.
3.
A home owner can pull their own permit to
re-roof their house, (homestead), if they are going to do the work themselves
and can install shingles over shingles. Check the roofing package for their
warranty when installing over an existing roof, chances are, it isn’t.
4.
Never allow anyone to pressure wash your roof.
It can be chemically cleaned using normal pressure from your garden hose, that’s
it.
5.
Check your local building code or call your
local building department if you have any questions concerning license of
anyone working on your home.
That great deal can turn into
thousands of dollars more than you should have to pay. If you decide you need
your roof replaced, get several bids from local licensed contractors and
compare what products they will be installing, don’t act like you understand if
you don’t, ask questions. Make sure they pull permits and get a final
inspection, ask for a lien release, prior to paying the final invoice. Protect
yourself from those friendly faces ringing your doorbell and offering that deal
of a lifetime… they offered the same deals to me and I sent them on their way,
I suggest you do the same.
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