How To Spot Shady Roofing Contractors from a Mile Away

Are you looking to install a new roof or repair a new roof but are worried of getting scammed or ripped off? Off course, who isn’t? The roofing industry is filled with people who just want to make a quick buck. There are two main kind of untrustworthy roofers you should be aware when shopping around the roofing industry. In this post I will show you the red flags to look out for and give you some advice to tell which roofers are being legitimate and which roofers are just not worth your time and money. So, let’s get to it.

Super Cheap, But Worth it?

The first type of untrustworthy roofers you should be aware of is the type who is super cheap and not really a professional. They claim to be professionals, but they are just a handyman, or inexperienced workers dressed as a professional roofer. People in the construction industry call this type of worker “Chuck in a truck”. The term “Chuck in a truck” basically mean a person who does every contracting job he can get his hands on. You can imagine a handyman who has all the general tools in his truck or van and goes around trying to take on any job he can get his hands on. A Jack of all trades. This guy very likely does not have the professional credentials to be working on your roof. They also very likely don’t have much experience. They are the ones who will charge you the cheapest possible rate just to get their foot on the door. They will beat the price of any estimates you got from other roofers. The price will be super tempting because it will be super cheap. But beware, because this will can come with consequences. The reason their prices are super cheap is because they do all their work using cheap materials and their labor is not done professionally. Here are a few things you can expect from Chuck on a Truck type of contractors:

• Roofing material like shingles are not fastened or nailed down strong enough. This will cause your shingles to pop up or fall after a short while.
• Cheap roof installations usually end up leaking shortly after being installed. This ends up costing you more in the long run since now you have to pay for a roof good and perhaps more since you need to pay to get the old roof out.
• Roofer will skip
• Roofer won’t replace or repair
• Risk of having a warranty that is not valid or honored.
• Risk of paying for property damage (your own or city) or any liability issues if the workers get hurt during roofing project (no insurance means all responsibility is on you).

The next kind of untrustworthy contractor you want to be aware of is the “pro roofer” dressed as a salesperson. Ahhh yes, I worked with these kinds of “roofers” before. The person that tries to sell you on a roofing project is not an actual professional roofer or contractor of any sort. What they are are salespeople that are taught everything about roofs and how to sell them. These salespeople overtime become so knowledgeable about roofs that they seem like professional roofers, but they’re not. They’ve never installed a roof themselves or repaired one. These “pro roofers” that are actually salespeople will try to sell you a roofing job as high as possible in order to get a good commission check. The guy who comes do the roofing job is another person or team that is subcontracted by the salesman roofing business. And whether or not that company that is subcontracted will do a good job is all up in the air. But it is very likely that the salesperson company will hire the cheapest subcontractors in order to make the highest profit.