There is not any such thing to be over protective with regards to your home as well as your finances. There are plenty of roofing contractors out there which are willing to bend the rules to simplify things for themselves, resulting in problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every occasionally. That’s why it is important to know these 4 simple ways to protect yourself whenever choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to fix a leak on your roof. One of their employees decides never to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to pay his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your property.
Solution: Roofers Compensation is a type of insurance covering roofing injuries. If a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees are entitled to recover expenses for hospital bills and being unemployed. Be sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so that you will 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 home and damages your sheet rock, carpet and some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but there are exclusions preventing coverage of the inside of your building. You end up paying to fix the damages yourself.
Solution: If damage occurs to your house or building that is the fault of a roofing contractor, you intend to be sure they will have good liability insurance. This can 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’s almost like there is absolutely no coverage at all. Search for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage and mold caused by leaving a roof open.
Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to work on your roof. A couple of months later you notice a leak. You make an effort to contact the business, but can’t find their information. You make an effort to look them up by their business license and you also find that there was never a small business license issued for that company. energy-efficient roof materials forced to pay for the repairs yourself.
Solution: Check in advance that your roofing contractor has a business license. If they don’t possess a license, it could be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The business could easily disappear or go out of business.
In the state of Utah, your roofing company must have a shingle license and a general roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A set roof installation only takes a general roofing license.
An over-all contractor is legally able to install a roof with out a roofing license should they have an over-all contractor license. However, there were plenty of cases of contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves when they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners along with home owners. It is ideal for a general contractor to get a roofing license besides their general contractors license.
In Utah, the quantity for a general roofing licence is S280. The overall contractors license is B100.
If your roofing contractor is in the middle of working on your roof and you find that they have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the choice to terminate their service right away. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor since they were operating illegally. After that you can find a qualified contractor to fix 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 fee for the materials installed on your roof. You discover that your contractor did not pay his supplier and that you will be now responsible for that payment. This has happened and can happen to you.
Solution: Make sure you request a lien waiver when 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 aren’t responsible to cover them. It is ultimately in place to protect the house or building owner from paying twice. In the event that 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 the additional paperwork.