Choosing a Metal Roofing Company Checklist

Transcription

1 American Metal Roofs Choosing a Metal Roofing Company Checklist A pblication of P

2 As yo prepare to prchase a new metal roof for yor home, USE THE CHECKLIST BELOW to gide yo to a contractor who will offer yo the highest qality materials, installation and working relationship. 1. Is the company licensed? Is the contractor licensed and registered with the state? Ask for a copy of the license. 2. Does the company carry Worker s Compensation Insrance? Make sre the contractor carries worker s compensation insrance for the installation crew. This policy insres the crew that works on yor property. If the company has no worker s compensation insrance and a worker is hrt, yo cold be held liable and sed. If the company ses sbcontracted 1099 workers those workers may not be covered by the contractor s insrance. 3. Does the company se safety eqipment? Federal Law reqires workers to se safety eqipment inclding an anchor point, OSHA compliant safety line and lanyard. This policy is now reqired on all roofs by OSHA. 4. Does the company carry General Liability Insrance? Get a copy of the General Liability insrance for the company. This protects yo and wold pay for any property damage in the case of an accident. There shold be no open ended costs on the policy. 5. Does the company provide a Written Estimate or an Exact Price Qote? A Written Estimate is essentially a written gess. Ask for an Exact Price Qote that has fixed cost per nit variables. 6. Permits Make sre it is the company s responsibility to secring the necessary permits. 2

3 7. Does the company have a physical location - an actal office/showroom? Check to see if the contractor has a physical location other than his hose. Visit their showroom and shop. The contractor shold have a physical location dedicated to the bsiness, not his hose or apartment. If he does not have the money to rent a decent office, where will he get the money to make an expensive repair or replacement if there is a serios warranty isse cased by falty workmanship? 8. Does the company have a bank reference letter? This single docment from the contractor s bank will show yo the financial stability and the bank s jdgment of character of the company yo re working with. Insist on seeing the letter, so yo now that yo re dealing with a company that is stable and financially sond. 9. Does the company have a Spplier Letter? This is a written commnication from the spplier of the prodct that they se. These are easyto obtain from the spplier. If the contractor tells yo otherwise, they may not be able to get the prodcts they showed yo and cold be sbstitting an inferior prodct. 10. Does the company have references? Get a complete list of references and check at least 4 of them ot. Many people neglect to check the references. Do not make this mistake - yo may be srprised at what yo learn from past cstomers. 11. Are the members of the install crews employees? Visit a work site and talk with the crew. Ask them if they are employees of the company. Check to see if the trcks and eqipment have the company s name on them. If not, they are probably sbcontractors. 12. Do company representatives commnicate clearly? Make sre the contractor commnicates clearly and concisely with no pressre and his spport personnel are clear, corteos and thorogh. 3

4 13. What is the company s policy on changes to the agreed pon work? Find ot if the contractor ses written change order forms on all changes. Non-written change orders can lead to costly add-ons. 14. Does the company do a complete attic inspection as part of the sales process? The contractor has done a thorogh inspection to minimize ftre problems and costs. Looking at the srface of a roof is not adeqate nless the contractor has x-ray vision. A thorogh attic inspection is necessary and shold inclde: Ventilation Analysis Interior attic inspection of ventilation. Yor contractor shold be trained in ventilation. Does he know what the minimm sqare inches of venting that code reqires? Yo shold have at least 144 sqare inches of venting per 300 sqare ft. of attic space for intake and the same for exhast. This will help prevent mold, keep inslation dry and redce heating and air conditioning costs. Ventilation Inspection Visal inspections of vents to make sre yo do not have open can vents and gable vents sed in conjnction with a ridge vent. Moistre Inspection Take moistre readings with a moistre meter. This will tell if yo have a sorce of moistre which may case ftre problems. Infrared Temperatre Evalation Check and record attic temperatres at the eave and ridge sing an infrared heat gn. Soffit Inspection If the soffit venting is blocked, what are the soltions? Soffit is needed for intake of air. Exhast Venting Inspection Inspection of the bathroom and kitchen exhast vents to see they are venting properly throgh the roof or gable wall and not into a soffit. Strctral Inspection Visal inspection of rafters and sheathing. Heat Sorce Evalation Inspection of dct work and pipes in the attic that may case heat bild p and ice. 4

5 15. Does the company se permanent materials? The contractor is sing the appropriate materials. It is common place for a contractor to shave costs and the homeowner does not know. Premim Ice & Water Shield When a tear off is needed, premim non-granlated ice and water shield is needed 9 feet p from all eave edges, in all valleys and arond all protrsions. Woven Synthetic Underlayment Woven synthetic nderlayments installed with plastic cap nails, not staples. Interlocking Starter Interlocking starter for high wind certification. Open Valleys Open valleys that are self-cleaning. Closed valleys will allow ice to freeze arond them and get ripped apart when snow and ice shift. Baffled High Volme Ridge Vent Baffled high volme ridge vents of 21 NFA (21 sqare inches of venting per lineal foot). Premim Sealants Premim sealants. Silicones will fail with modern ceramic finishes. Non Corrosive Metals Non corrosive metals sch as alminm or copper. Steel may be acceptable if yo are not concerned abot rst. Many nscrplos contractors will try to get yo to believe steel will not rst. Energy Saving Finish Look for heat reflective finishes sch as Hi-R Kynar for maximm energy savings and longevity. Hidden Fastener Make sre all installation methods se hidden fasteners. Throgh fastened metal roofs with neoprene screws or rbber washers will fail and leak when the UV attacks the washer. 4 Way Interlock Metal roof panels shold be 4 way interlocking so debris and wind cannot get nder the panel. Unsightly debris collects on overlapped panels. Permanent Finishes Metal roofs shold have finishes that are permanent. Many inexpensive steel prodcts try to mimic asphalt by gling granles to the srface. These granles will come off. If yo are bying a granlated steel roof, make sre to get 5 ponds of granles per 20 sqare of roofing for aesthetic repairs. This is done by applying an adhesive onto the panel and sprinkling granles into the adhesive. 5

6 16. Does the company offer the following warranties to back yor new lifetime roof? Limited Lifetime Non-Prorated Prodct Manfactrers Warranty Manfactrers warranty is 100% labor and material and non-prorated. Limited mostly by acts of God. Limited Lifetime Non Prorated Installation Warranty Contractors Installation warranty is 100% and nonprorated for as long as yo own the home. Limited mostly by acts of God. Money Match Vale Warranty Contractor offers a money match vale warranty. Energy Saving Garantee Contractor offers an energy saving garantee. 17. What is the company s reptation? Does the contractor have Better Bsiness Brea complaints? Are there nmeros stories on the Internet from nsatisfied cstomers? Contractors can be checked ot at RipOffReport.com. 18. Does the company offer a respect agreement with sales associates? Sales Associates sign an agreement to play no tricks or exert any pressre on any cstomer and to treat the cstomer with respect. 19. What are the company s job clean-p standards? Do all installers sign a written agreement pledging daily clean p of job site and a thorogh clean p of the entire work area at the conclsion of the job. 20. What is the workers code of ethics? All workers shold sign a worker condct compliance agreement. 21. What kind of training does the company offer for workers? All installers shold be certified by the manfactrer of the metal roof. Ask for certification. 6