There is not any such thing as being over protective when it comes to your home and your finances. There are several roofing contractors out there that are willing to bend the guidelines to simplify things for themselves, leading to problems for you as well as your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every occasionally. That’s why it’s important to know these 4 simple methods to protect yourself when choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to repair a leak on your roof. One of their employees decides not 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 own property.
Solution: Roofers Compensation is a type of insurance covering roofing injuries. If a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees have entitlement to recover expenses for hospital bills and being out of work. Make sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so that you will are saved the trouble and expenses of paying those bills yourself.
Liability Insurance
Problem: Your roofing contractor leaves your roof uncovered after removing your shingles. That night there’s an unexpected storm. Water seeps into your house and damages your sheet rock, carpet plus some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but there are exclusions preventing coverage of the inside of your building. You wind up paying to repair the damages yourself.
Solution: If damage occurs to your house or building this is the fault of a roofing contractor, you want to be sure they will have good liability insurance. This will cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as mentioned in the situation above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance provider offers so many exclusions that it’s almost like there is absolutely no coverage at all. Look 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 try to contact the business, but can’t find their information. You try to look them up by their business license and you also find that there is never a small business license issued for that company. You are forced to pay for the repairs yourself.
Solution: Check in advance that your roofing contractor includes a business license. If they don’t possess a license, it may be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The company 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 install a pitched roof. A flat roof installation only requires a general roofing license.
An over-all contractor is legally able to install a roof with out a roofing license should they have a general contractor license. However, there have been lots of cases of contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves if they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners together with home owners. It is perfect for a general contractor to possess a roofing license as well as 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 center of working on your roof and you find that they will have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the option to terminate their service immediately. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor because they were operating illegally. roofing errors can then find a qualified contractor to repair 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 payment for the materials installed on your own roof. You discover your contractor didn’t pay his supplier and that you are now in charge of that payment. It has happened and can eventually you.
Solution: Be sure to request a lien waiver once the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that when the contractor fails to make his payments to a supplier or employees, you are not responsible to cover them. It really is ultimately in place to protect the home or building owner from paying twice. In the event that you have 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 any additional paperwork.