There is no such thing as being overprotective when it comes to your home and finances. There are plenty of roofers willing to bend the rules to keep things simple, causing problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors sometimes make mistakes. That’s why it’s important to know these 4 easy ways to protect you when choosing a roofer.
Work allowance
Problem: You hire a roofer to fix a leak in your roof. One of his employees decides not to use proper safety procedures and falls and breaks his leg. The employee will hold you responsible for paying their medical expenses for causing damage to your property. Solution: Replacing roofing is a form of insurance that covers roofing contractor Long Island. If a roofer has employee benefits, injured parties are entitled to reimbursement of hospital bills and unemployment costs. Make sure that your roofer receives employee compensation so that you avoid the hassle and expense of paying these bills yourself.
Liability insurance
Problem: Your roofer leaves your roof open after removing your tiles. An unexpected storm comes that night. Water seeps into your home and damages drywall, carpets and some nice furniture. Your roofer has liability insurance, but there are exceptions that prevent coverage of the interior of your building. You pay yourself to repair the damage. Solution: If there is damage to your home or building that is the fault of a roofer, you want to make sure they have proper liability insurance. This covers everything from broken windows to damaged interiors, as mentioned in the case above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but insurance companies offer so many exclusions that it almost seems like there is no coverage. Look for coverage that doesn’t preclude water damage from leaving a roof open.
Business license
Problem: You hired a new roofing company to work on your roof. After a few months you will notice a leak. You are trying to contact the company, but you cannot find their details. You try to search them by their business license and find that no business license was ever issued for that company. You must pay for the repair yourself. Solution: Check in advance whether your roofer has a business license. If they don’t have a license, that could be a sign that they don’t know what they’re doing. The company can easily disappear or go bankrupt. Your roofing company must have a tiller license and general roofing permit to install a pitched roof. For the installation of a flat roof, only a general roof permit is required. A general contractor can legally install a roof without a roofing permit if he or she has a general contractor’s permit. However, there are several known cases of general contractors installing and installing roofs themselves without the proper training. This creates problems for both homeowners and building owners. For a general contractor, it is ideal to have a roof permit in addition to the general contractor license.
Problem: Your roof is ready and you pay the contractor.
However, a few weeks later, the contractor’s supplier will contact you to request payment for the materials placed on your roof. You discover that your contractor has not paid his supplier and you are now responsible for this payment. This has happened and it could happen to you. Solution: Make sure to request a lien release after the job is done and before paying. A lien says that if the find a reliable roofing contractor near New York NY does not make payments to a supplier or employees, you are not responsible for honoring them. Ultimately, it is intended to protect the home or building owner from paying double. If you get a lien before you pay, it depends on your payment. However, once your payment is confirmed, the cancellation becomes unconditional without further paperwork.