Questions People Actually Ask

Roofing is priced per square, which is one hundred square feet. An average two story house here is eighteen to thirty squares. The price per square depends on the material, the pitch, how many old layers are up there and how cut up the roof is. Anybody who quotes a total without seeing the roof is guessing, and the guess will be wrong in one direction or the other.

There is almost always a specific reason. Reused flashing, minimum ice and water shield, felt instead of synthetic underlayment, no deck repair allowance, or no workers compensation insurance. Ask directly which one it is. Lesson 13 lists them.

Ask us when you have the estimate. What matters more is that you are not pushed into deciding quickly, and financing pressure is one of the commonest ways that happens in this trade.

Enough to cover materials, and never the whole job up front. A large deposit before anything is delivered is a risk with no upside for you, whoever is asking.

Most single family homes here take one day. A big or steep roof, or one with two old layers, can run into a second. Weather is the only thing that regularly stretches it.

Yes, with care. Shingles need warmth to seal, so a winter roof is hand sealed where it matters and takes longer to bond. If the roof can wait for spring, waiting is usually better. If it cannot, it cannot.

Usually within a few days for a normal inspection. Storm calls are the same night and go in order of severity.

Not for the roof. For the attic part of an inspection, yes, unless you are comfortable telling us how to get in.

It is legal in some cases and we do not do it. It hides the decking and traps heat, which shortens the life of the new roof.

Tarps and plywood go down before anything comes off. Tell us about anything you particularly care about and we will work around it.

Some, despite everybody's best efforts. We run a magnet over the yard, the driveway and the street twice. Run one yourself after the first rain and you will find a couple more.

No, and neither can anybody else. Only the policyholder can open a claim. A company that says it will file for you is describing something it cannot do.

Get a second opinion from a company that was here before the storm. Door knocking after hail is legal and normal, and it is also how the worst work in this trade gets sold. Lesson 18 is eight free checks.

No. It is insurance fraud in Iowa and in Illinois and it would put you in it alongside us. Anybody who offers is telling you something important about themselves.

Often the adjuster did not see what we saw, and a reinspection changes it. We will send our photographs and our findings and ask for another look. If it is genuinely not there, we will tell you that too.

For most houses, an impact rated architectural shingle. If you are staying long term, standing seam metal wins on cost per year and handles ice dams better than anything else. Lesson 19 walks through choosing.

Less than people expect over a solid deck with underlayment. The noisy metal roofs people remember are on barns, over open purlins with nothing underneath.

On a shingle it generally means as long as the original buyer owns the home, prorated after an initial period. By year twenty it may pay a small fraction of materials and nothing toward labor. Lesson 15 is the detail.

A written workmanship warranty on the installation, separate from the manufacturer's material warranty. Ask for both in writing from anybody you are considering, and ask how long they have traded under that exact name.