Guide
What to check before you sign
Choosing a roofer is the part of this that homeowners have the least practice at, and the part that decides the outcome.
Get it looked at
Three questions, and up to three La Mirada contractors. Free either way.
You are on the list.
No provider in La Mirada is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Be careful with the deposit
Ten to thirty per cent is normal, often to order material. Full payment before work starts is not, and in several states it is not even legal. Hold the final payment until you have walked the job.
Check the licence yourself
A licence number on a business card is not a licence. Look it up, confirm the name on the licence matches the name on the contract, and check the status is active today.
Compare scope, not totals
Lay the quotes side by side line by line. Underlayment type, ice-and-water coverage, drip edge, valley treatment, ventilation, flashing replacement, decking allowance and warranty. Large gaps in the total are almost always gaps in the scope.
Ask for current certificates of insurance
You want general liability and workers compensation, both current, and ideally sent directly from the insurer rather than as a photocopy. If an uninsured worker is hurt on your roof, the exposure can land on your homeowner policy.
Get everything in writing, including the unknowns
The contract should say the material and the layers, who pulls the permit, the per-sheet price for replacing bad decking, what happens to the old material, the payment schedule, and the workmanship warranty. The decking clause is the one people forget and the one that moves the price.
Prefer somebody you could drive to
A local address, a landline, and jobs in the area from more than three years ago are all worth more than a five-star rating. Warranties are only as good as the company still trading when you need them.
In short
Do the boring checks. They are the entire difference between a roof that is somebody else's problem for ten years and one that is yours.
Related questions
Is this really free?
It is free to you. Contractors pay to receive homeowner requests in their area. That is the entire business model, and we would rather say so plainly than pretend otherwise.
What time of year is best to re-roof in La Mirada?
Here, the long dry run from May to October is the easy window. November through March is when the phone rings hardest, which means less flexibility on dates and less room on price.
What warranty should I expect?
Two separate things. The manufacturer covers the material for its rated life, but only if it was installed to their specification. The contractor covers workmanship, commonly five to ten years, and only for as long as they are trading.
Get the roof looked at
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.