|
- How do I Choose the right Contractor?
- How is a new roof installed?
- What are we looking for on exterior inspection of a roof?
- What are we looking for on an interior inspection of a roof?
At A. Berg we believe that you as a potential customer should evaluate your contractor as carefully as you would choose a doctor, dentist or lawyer. With a decision as important as your home, it pays to be informed and to know that you are dealing with a reputable and capable company. As a homeowner it is important to look closely at the proposal offered, the products selected, and the price/value relationship of the entire package.
We believe that taking the time to evaluate a contractor is a cost and aggravation saving task on your part. We receive hundreds of calls every year from homeowners who need there houses repaired from poor craftsmanship. It is the old adage; you get what your pay for. We are not advocating paying the highest price, nor are we the most expensive contractor out there. We offer the highest quality work, at a fair price.
You cannot choose a professional roofer by looking at an estimate and comparing prices. Many potential customers ask us to leave an estimate at the door and they will review it. An exterior remodeling job is a major investment, would you trust hiring someone without meeting them?
You should allow yourself an hour of your time to sit down with the contractor. Both you as the customer and us as the contractor, need to discuss the proposal and the options available. You will be surprised at how many options you have. There are often great value upgrades available to you, the homeowner, that most companies will not make you aware of. Often these upgrades do not add a large increase in price, but offer a better look, or a longer warranty, or the chance to have something different from everybody else.
Questions to Ask Contractors that you are interviewing
1. Is the company licensed?
Illinois requires that all roofing contractors be licensed; in this process Illinois requires a bond and verification of insurance. Licensing is non-negotiable in Illinois and a crime if a contractor is not in possession of one.
Illinois has a website that allows you as a consumer to check to see if the contractor that you may do business with has a license and whether they are in good standing with the state.
Click here to see Berg’s license and standing with the state of Illinois
2. Does the Company carry insurance?
A contractor should carry comprehensive liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance to protect you in the event of an accident. This can be verified by asking to see the contractor’s certificate of insurance (for workers compensation and general liability) prior to the start of the job.
Be aware that if a worker is injured on your property, that you as the homeowner might be held liable for all costs unless the employee is covered by workers compensation. Often a contractor has a lower price because he has inadequate insurance. We see this all the time when we try to price match a lower estimate.
This is important because the levels of insurance that the state requires in general are not adequate to cover you in the event of an accident.
A. Berg is always happy to present you with a current certificate of insurance
3. How long has the company been in business?
Needless to say, longer is usually better. Less than three years may signal an unstable or one low on the learning curve. In tougher economic times, the failure for new businesses is very high. Not to say that all new businesses are bad, but the barriers to entry in contracting are high (licensing, insurance, bonds and advertising).
On average we do about a 100 new customer repairs a year. Almost 50% of the time we are repairing out of business (fly by night) contractor’s work. This is an unnecessary cost and aggravation that a homeowner should not have to deal with.
We are a long standing family business with thousands of satisfied customers.
4. Will the company provide referrals or references from previous jobs?
Request a list of a least 10 names and phone numbers of recent customers (within the last 3 years). It may not be necessary to check all references, but you will be able to pick randomly from the list.
Ask to see addresses of work performed by the contractor that allows you to see the style and colors that you are most interested in.
Ask to see photos of work preformed by the contractor.
Asking for references, referrals and the ability to see jobs for color selections, allow you as the homeowner, one more chance to verify the quality of the contractor. You would be surprised how many contractors can’t or won’t show you there work (a big red flag to future problems).
When trying to match reputable contractor’s prices, we run into inexperienced contractors all the time. This past summer we were working with a potential client of a complete exterior remodeling job. He wanted to use a single company for his work. In comparing companies, he was able to find out that the other contractor he was working with had only done three roofs! Needless to say he chose our company.
5. Do they pull there own permits?
Although some towns do not require permits, the majority of towns do require a permit. A legitimate contractor will always pull their own permit for a job. Many towns have their own licensing and bonding requirements, separate of the state. Often a contractor will have a homeowner pull the permit in the homeowners name because they cannot legitimately pull a permit. This is wrong, and illegal under Illinois licensing.
One thing to keep in mind is to verify if your town has permitting requirements. If your contractor fails to pull a permit and they are stopped in your town, the contractor will be told to stop all work until the permit is pulled. This is extremely dangerous for the homeowner! If the house is open (i.e. roof is torn off and not made water tight) and a storm comes through, the homeowners house can be severely damaged in an instant.
We always pull necessary permitting and follow each town’s guidelines for roofing. We will not take a chance with one of your biggest assets, your home.
6. What is the company’s workmanship warranty?
There are two warranties in the contracting business. The first is a material warranty, which varies by the type of material and product selected and warranties against material defects. The second warranty and probably the most important is the workmanship warranty. Usually, problems of either workmanship or material show up within the first quarter of the life expectancy of the project and should be covered under warranty.
It is very important to notice workmanship warranties (sometimes called labor warranties). Some less reputable contractors offer shorter warranties to limit their liability. (I.e.1-5 year warranties on a roof tear off). This benefits the contractor not the home owner.
We offer one of the best workmanship warranties in the business! We give a 10 year warranty on tear-offs and a 5 year warranty on recovers.
The Tear off Process of a roof
Upon the initial inspection of the roof we determine the overall condition of the roof. We are looking at a number of factors including, but not limited to; the number of layers of shingles, the effective age of the shingles, curling or cracking of shingles and any evidence of flashing problems.
We will walk the roof (when possible) and take an extensive visual look of the shingled roof deck. As much as we try to determine the roof deck condition, it is not fully possible to determine wood damage until the shingles are removed. Wood damage typically occurs from dry rot that is not visible until the shingles are torn off the roof. We look at the current ventilation system on the roof and determine if it is in compliance with today’s building codes. We examine all objects on the roof, such as a pre-fabricated chimney, skylight, T.V. antennas and plumbing stacks.
We ask you, as our potential customer, if there have been any roofing issues in the past or in the present that you are aware of. Issues include any leaking areas, water stains in the house, discoloration of the roof sheathing (i.e. mold) visible in the attic. A visual inspection of the attic will be done (if possible).
The initial inspection of the roof is extremely important, as it alerts our roofers to any problems that might come about in the tear off process.
We work as consultants to you on your particular project, because each house roof is different. We will explain the roofing process to you and offer you a three tiered sales installation process of; Good, Better and Best material strategy.
After you have chosen us to be you remodeling contractor, we will come back and help you with color selection for your project. We will then have you sign our contract (remember no money down, payment is due upon completion).
There are no worries with an A. Berg job, we have a state roofing license in good standing, we maintain a bond, and we carry liability insurance and workers compensation insurance. We also handle all permitting, licensing and bonding in your town.
It is our goal at A. Berg to finish your roofing project in one day (depending upon size, wood issues, or weather). If this is not possible, we will do your roof in sections and we make sure the roof is covered in case of bad weather.
The installation of the roof is performed using the manufacturer’s guidelines for the installation process of a tear off. We have achieved the status of a Master Shingler company with Certainteed, the premier shingle company.
The installation process begins with us arriving at your residence in the morning. We begin by protecting your landscaping and placing boards under our dumpster.
We will tear off the existing roofing and perform an inspection of the wood (actually seeing the visual condition of the wood) by the roofers. After the inspection, the foreman will replace (as necessary) any damaged or rotted wood. We will then clean the deck of all debris.
Next we will install of ice and water shield on gutter edge and in valley areas of the house roof (heated areas only). Installation of felt paper is used as the underlayment for the remainder of the decking.
If your house has a chimney, we will install a new chimney flashing by using a triple flashing method that includes: installing ice and water shield around chimney, new step flashings and a new counter flashing. We will replace any plumbing flashings with new lead flashings. We check all flashings and replace (as necessary) all of the step flashings, as we re-flash all walls and penetrations.
We will replace the existing mushroom vents with new color matched mushroom vent and we will install any additional vents (if needed).
Next we install a starter strip on the gutter edges and the rake edges of the roof. We will install one layer of shingles using 4 1 ¼” roofing nails per shingle, installed on the manufacturers nail line. When finished shingling, we caulk all roof penetrations using a (30 Year) neoprene caulking.
All debris is removed by using hand cleaning, raking of debris, visual inspection and finishing with a rolling magnet. Our goal is to be very meticulous in our removal and cleaning process.
Remember at A. Berg our goal is to give you the highest quality job at a fair price. We take the time to educate you as we go the through the process of your project. At A. Berg we take the stress out of hiring a contractor and we back it up with strong warranties and thousands of satisfied customers. Our Family thanks you for the opportunity to be your contractor.
Outside Roof Inspection
Do you need a new roof? It can sometimes be tough to determine just why your inspector says a new roof is necessary, but there are a few simple signs to look for.
We do not recommend that you inspect your roof by walking across it. Instead, start by taking a pair of binoculars with you into the yard, find aspot without trees or other buildings blocking your view and look for any of the following signs:
- Blistered, curled or split shingles.
- Loose or missing shingles or tiles.
- Broken or loose shingles at the ridge lines and hip lines.
- Loose nails. A loose nail means an open hole, which can cause leaks and subsequent water damage to your roof.
- Exposed nails. These also can lead to leaks in your roof as the water seeps around the head of the exposed nails.
- Dark patches on asphalt shingles and/or large amounts of granules in the rain gutters. This could mean that the granular coating of your roof is wearing away and needs to be replaced.
- On a slate roof, dark patches could indicate mold, but are often just discolored places from trees dripping repeatedly on the slates. If you see dark patches, be sure to check the interior for dark or discolored drywall or other evidence of a leak before calling an inspector or contractor.
- Sagging either on the ridges or in the center of the roof.
- Rusty or corroded metal (flashing) and loose shingles in the valleys, plumbing vents or near chimneys. You may need to removed leaves and other debris before a proper inspection can be done. Remember that a lot of leaf debris in the valleys, plumbing vents, or near the chimney can cause problems with your roof if not dealt with promptly at the end of the season.
- Rusty metal or loose shingles in locations where a vertical side of the house meets the roof .
- Overflowing gutters or excess water pooling near the foundation of the house.
- On a flat roof, look for blisters in the coating. If you want to fix them yourself, pop the blisters with a knife and coat them with roofing cement to prevent further damage.
- Depressions near the vent pipe on a flat roof is another sign to look for. These depressions also can be filled in with roofing cement. Keep your eyes open for separations in the flashing, or clogged drains, as these are also signs of trouble for a flat roof.
Inside Roof Inspection
Do you need a new roof? It can sometimes be tough to determine just why your inspector says a new roof is necessary, but there are a few simple signs to look for.
Continue the inspection from inside, where there is a whole new set of problems to look for. The obvious leak is not hard to miss, but there are warning signs you can look for that may help you stop a problem before it reaches the critical stage. These include:
• Sagging decking between the rafters.
• Outside light that can be seen from the attic. If you have a shake roof, this may not be a problem as shakes will swell and seal during the wet months. On any other type of roof however, seeing the sky through your roof is not a good sign.
• Signs of leaking in the attic. This could include dark spots in the wood, especially around vents, chimneys, and other hole to the roof, or stained drywall/ceiling tiles if your attic is finished.
• If you find a dark spot on your wood, test it to determine if it is old or a new problem. If the spot is still wet, or if it is soft when you press a screwdriver to it, the spot is a current problem. If it is dry and hard, the problem has already been taken care of and you do not need to worry more about it.
• Signs of water damage or leaking (usually in the form of water stains, or sagging ceilings)--this could be from either an active leak in the roof or to collected condensation caused by poor ventilation.
If any of the above signs are present in your roof, inside or out, you need either repairs or a new roof. It will be up to you to decide, depending on the degree of damage, what is going to be best for you and your home. Sometimes it is less expensive to pay for a new roof than to deal with fixing the damage from an old, continuously patched roof.
|
