It doesn’t matter whether you have a big job or a little one, getting the right contractor is important. You need to feel happy with the choice you’ve made, as well as comfortable and confident that will complete the job to the best of their abilities — and meeting your standards. Hiring a contractor for your roof is an overwhelming task. There are many companies out there, all vying for your attention and custom, and not all of them are offering quite the service you would have hoped for. We have personally been called out to many a property where another contractor has already been in and “bodged” the job. We have also personally been called out to many a property where the homeowner has tried to DIY the job and not quite got things right. If there’s anything we’ve learned in life, it’s to leave the big jobs — the ones that require a certain amount of expertise — to the professionals.



But which professional should you hire?
Ideally, you should give at least two or three different contractors or companies a call. Get quotes from all of them, and see how different the prices are. The cheapest quote doesn’t always mean the lowest standard of work, and the highest quote doesn’t always mean the best job. The decision is ultimately down to you, but if one company is quoting you $9,000, but three other companies are quoting you half of that much, you need to ask why that’s the case. In fact, you should probably ask that expensive company why that is the case. A roofing expert won’t be able to give you a “proper” quote for the work until he or she has physically seen the property and performed a full assessment on the roof. A ballpark figure of $3,000 for a few replaced tiles and some minor alterations and repairs can easily turn into a $15,000 full replacement job once all noted damage has been taken into consideration. The quote you get over the phone might not always be the end quote for the full job, but make sure that you ask why the price has gone up — and what extra work will be included. The contractor should always be able to provide you with a full plan of the work they intend to carry out, just so that there is no room for error or misunderstanding, on both sides.

Of course, price isn’t the only determining factor here. You will also want to hire a contractor that has the right qualifications, training, licenses, and insurances for the job. If you’re asking for a specialist job, such as a slate roof, make sure that you ask how many previous slate roof jobs the contractor has completed. Take a look at reviews left online to see if any of them mention slate roofs, and to get a good overall feel of how the company or contractor is received by customers. A lot of happy customers could mean that you’ll be the next one. In the same breath, a lot of unhappy customers could also mean that you're the next one … Above all else, make sure that you ask your roofing expert questions. Let them reassure you that they are the right man (or woman) for the job. Remember this: if they aren’t the right company or team for the job, there are plenty of others. Competition is high, so there’s no need for you to put up with shoddy service from an unfriendly team of contractors.

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