8 Ideas To Help You Find The Best Roofer

How did you select your interior designer, kitchen remodeling company, or landscaper? Word of mouth, neighbors’ recommendations, online searches — these are all great ways to narrow your choices. But how to choose the best roofer? Try this checklist of Must Haves before your next roofing project. 

Roofing Specialists Versus General Contractors

Some roofing companies are also siding, windows, doors, and deck companies. That’s great — but what are they really good at doing? Everything? Really? 

No company is great or even good at doing everything. If your workweek includes two roofs, 10 windows, a sliding patio door, and three decks, have you done any of those jobs really well? 

Beyond the eight ideas below, we strongly recommend you stick with a roofing contractor who concentrates only on roofing. Keep in mind roofs are complex systems and include all these components, from the ridge line down: 

• Ridge and attic vents
• Roof deck — sheathing, attic insulation, underlayment, water and ice shield
• Roof field (shingles and starter shingles, energy-efficient “green” roofing)
• Rooftop ice melt systems 
• Caulk, curbing, stack flashing, rubber boots, step flashing, valley flashing 
• Drip edge
• Gutters

Only a highly skilled roofing crew, receiving factory training from roof materials manufacturers, can install your Norwood-area roof to such a high degree that the warranty will always be honored and you will never worry about roof leaks. 

To find such a top-notch roofer, measure every prospect using these eight metrics:

1. Proper licensing, insurance, and training — Ask to see state licenses, proof of Workers Compensation insurance, liability insurance, and factory training in the roofing system you want for your roof.
2. Neighbors — Ask for a local, physical address for the roofing contractor. You need a place to visit for complaints, compliments, or concerns, and you need to know they are not hiring subcontractors.
3. Testimonials — Ask for references, testimonials, videos, or photographs of completed projects. At least get some addresses of completed projects so you can drive past them to see the roofer’s finished products.
4. Can You Hear Me? — A great roofer with terrible communication skills is no help to you. Your roofing contractor should have good communication skills, answer questions clearly, return telephone calls or texts within a reasonable time, and never seem inconvenienced by you, the client.
5. What Do We Have Here? — The first site visit by the roofer’s representative cannot take place only at your dining table. Expect the representative to closely inspect your roof (off limits to amateurs!) and your attic, providing video or photographic evidence of findings such as mold, missing shingles, loose flashing, or other problems.
6. Rule of Thirds — Good, reputable roofers need only about one-third of the total estimate of a roofing job — such as full roof replacement — to get started. This seed money buys supplies and then you will be asked to pay another third when the project starts, with final payment at final inspection.
7. Scope of Work — A written estimate for your roofing project should have a Scope of Work written into it; this describes the task, materials, time, and details for each aspect of the job, so the total cost is clearly explained.
8. Fair Value — You should neither expect an outrageously high estimate nor a ridiculously low estimate. Roofers are skilled workers and deserve to make good livings, so your estimate should be fairly priced and the right number for the value, expertise, and excellent service you receive.

One Roof

At O’LYN Roofing we absolutely recommend that, for major roofing projects, you seek out and get three estimates from local, reputable roofers. Include O’LYN Roofing, of course, but we can assure you that our firm stands apart from any other two roofers.

You can get all eight of the criteria under one roof when you contract with O’LYN Roofing. We are a step above the rest for three important reasons:

1. Innovation: O’LYN Roofing is the first roofing company in the greater Boston area to offer environmentally safe roof cleaning. We are a “green” company in other ways, such as recycling shingles into road fill and recycling all possible office materials at our own expense.
2. Success: O’LYN Roofing has installed nearly 20,000 roofs, leaving other contractors to imitate a lot of our operations without ever matching them.
3. The Roofing Experts: O’LYN Roofing only does roofs, while many other contractors do roofs and dozens of other exterior services to varying degrees of quality. At O’LYN Roofing we prefer to emphasize the top quality of work, construction, and materials.

O’LYN Roofing in Norwood, Massachusetts only works on roofs. We pride ourselves on providing our Massachusetts neighbors with excellent roofing and gutter services. Contact us today to find out why, after more than 40 years and 20,000 roofs, we are among the very best roofers in the nation.