How to choose a roofing contractor

Registration and a real address

Nebraska registers contractors. Ask for the number, ask for the street address the business actually operates from, and look both up. It takes two minutes and it is the single fastest filter there is.

A registration number with no local address is a company that can leave. An address you can drive to is a company that has to live with the work. That is the whole argument for hiring locally, and it is why the warranty on a roof is only as good as the company still being reachable in year six.

Ours is Nebraska registration 30526-25 and the trucks park at 1113 E Overland, Scottsbluff. Both are checkable without asking us.

Insurance, and the part people skip

Ask for certificates of insurance covering both liability and workers compensation, and look at the dates. A certificate that expired in March is not insurance.

This matters more than it sounds like it should. If an uninsured crew member is hurt on your roof, that can become your problem rather than theirs, and finding out afterwards is an expensive way to learn it.

What the contract should say

• The full scope: tear-off or layover, how many layers come off, what underlayment, and how the flashing is handled.
• The exact material and line, not just a brand name.
• How replacement decking is priced per sheet, decided before anyone finds any, because nobody can see the decking until the old roof is off.
• The payment schedule, and what triggers each stage.
• Who cleans up, and whether they sweep for nails.

A contractor who will put all of that in writing before starting is a contractor who has thought about it. One who will not is asking you to trust a number.

The storm-crew tells

Door knocking within days of hail

Legitimate local roofers are busy with the phone ringing. The crews working the doors are the ones with no local customer base to call them.

Pressure to sign before an adjuster has seen anything

There is no good reason for urgency at that stage, and plenty of bad ones.

An offer to make the deductible disappear

This is illegal for a Nebraska contractor. A company willing to do it for you is a company willing to do worse to you.

Money up front, or a large deposit

Materials get ordered, not prepaid by you in full. Be very careful here.

A promise about the outcome of your claim

Nobody outside your insurer can promise that. Anyone who does is either guessing or selling.

Get more than one opinion, and compare them properly

Two quotes are not comparable unless you know what is in them. A cheaper number is usually cheaper for a reason, and the reason is almost always on the list above: a layover instead of a tear-off, thinner underlayment, flashing reused instead of replaced, or an uninsured crew.

Ask each of them to show you photographs of your actual roof and to explain what makes their recommendation the right one. A roofer who has been up there can do that in a sentence per finding.