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There is no such thing as being over protective when it comes to your home as well as 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 once in a while. That’s why it’s important to know these 4 simple ways to protect yourself when choosing a roofing contractor.

Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to repair a leak on your own roof. One of their workers 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 property.

EBG Construction : Roofers Compensation is a kind of insurance covering roofing injuries. In case a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees are entitled to recover expenses for hospital bills and being out of work. 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 urgent 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 fix the damages yourself.

Solution: If damage occurs to your home 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 problem above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance company offers so many exclusions that it is almost like there is absolutely no coverage at all. Look for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage and mold resulting from leaving a roof open.

Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to work on your roof. A couple of months later you see a leak. You try to contact the company, but can’t find their information. You make an effort to look them up by their business license and you find that there is never a small business license issued for that company. You are forced to cover the repairs yourself.

Solution: Check ahead of time 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 company could easily disappear or go out of business.

In the state of Utah, your roofing company should have a shingle license and a general roofing license to install a pitched roof. A set roof installation only requires a general roofing license.

A general contractor is legally able to install a roof with out a roofing license if they have a general contractor license. However, there have been plenty of cases of general contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves if they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners as well as home owners. It is ideal for a general contractor to have a roofing license in addition to their general contractors license.

In Utah, the number for an over-all roofing licence is S280. The general 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 option to terminate their service immediately. You are not necessary to pay anything to the contractor because they were operating illegally. You can then find a qualified contractor to fix your roof and finish the job.

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 own roof. You discover that your contractor didn’t pay his supplier and that you will be now in charge of that payment. This has happened and can happen to you.

Solution: Be sure to request a lien waiver when the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that if the contractor fails to 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. If 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 the additional paperwork.