There is not any such thing as being over protective when it comes to your home as well as your finances. There are plenty of roofing contractors out there that 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 is important to know these 4 simple methods to protect yourself whenever choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to repair a leak on your own roof. One of their employees decides not 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. In case 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 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 house and damages your sheet rock, carpet and some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but you can find exclusions preventing coverage of the interior of your building. You wind up paying to repair the damages yourself.
Solution: If damage occurs to your house or building this is the fault of a roofing contractor, you intend to be sure they have good liability insurance. This will cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as mentioned in the situation above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance company offers so many exclusions that it is almost like there is no coverage at all. Look for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage resulting from 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 make an effort to look them up by their business license and you find that there was never a small business license issued for that company. You’re forced to pay for the repairs yourself.
Solution: Check ahead of time that your roofing contractor includes a business license. If they don’t possess a license, it may be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The company could easily disappear or go out of business.
In hawaii of Utah, your roofing company must have a shingle license and a general roofing license to install a pitched roof. A flat roof installation only requires a general roofing license.
A general contractor is legally in a position to install a roof with out 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 correct training. This causes problems for building owners along with home owners. It is perfect for a general contractor to have a roofing license besides their general contractors license.
In Utah, the quantity for an over-all roofing licence is S280. The general contractors license is B100.
If your roofing contractor is in the middle of working on your roof and you find that they will have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the option to terminate their service right away. You are not necessary to pay anything to the contractor because they were operating illegally. After that you can find a qualified contractor to repair your roof and finish the work.
Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you also pay the contractor. However, a few weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a payment for the materials installed on your own roof. You discover that your contractor didn’t pay his supplier and that you are now responsible for that payment. This has happened and can happen to you.
Solution: Make sure to request a lien waiver once 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 are not responsible to cover them. energy-efficient roof retrofitting is ultimately in place to protect the home or building owner from paying twice. If you receive 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 any additional paperwork.