This is a checklist for vetting a commercial roofing contractor before you ask them to quote, or before you accept a quote they have already given you.
It separates the checks that produce facts from the ones that produce impressions. Both matter, but they are not the same and should not be weighed as though they were.
The facts
| Check | How to verify it |
|---|---|
| Contractor license | Directly with the state licensing board, by number |
| License classification | That it covers the class of work being quoted |
| General liability insurance | A certificate sent by the insurer, naming your interest |
| Workers compensation | Current, and covering the crew that will attend |
| Manufacturer approval | With the manufacturer, for the specific system |
| Trading history | How long under this name and this license number |
| Business address | A real address you can find, not a mailbox |
| Any license history | Suspensions, lapses or changes of entity |
The experience
| Ask | What a good answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| What proportion of your work is this building type? | A specific figure, not a reassurance |
| What is your largest recent project? | A named building and a scale you can picture |
| Who would run this project? | A named person, with their own track record |
| Is the crew directly employed? | A clear answer either way, with the subcontractor named |
| How many of these systems have you installed? | A number, and ideally a nearby example |
| Who is your manufacturer contact? | A name, which confirms a real relationship |
The references
| Take | Why |
|---|---|
| Similar building type and size | A roof of a different type proves little |
| Completed two or more years ago | A new roof that has not leaked yet is not evidence |
| Buildings you can visit | A letter tells you what somebody chose to write |
| The project manager, not the signatory | They know what actually happened |
| One reference you found yourself | The chosen references are chosen for a reason |
| The question: what went wrong? | Something always does; the handling is the test |
The documents
| Require | Why |
|---|---|
| Written scope | The only basis on which two quotes can be compared |
| Named exclusions | Unstated exclusions become variations |
| Payment schedule | Proportionate to work completed, not to signature |
| Change order process | Agreed before the first variation, not during it |
| Specimen warranty | The conditions are the warranty |
| Safety documentation | Method statements and evidence of training |
The warning signs
| Sign | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Pressure to sign today | A price that will not survive scrutiny |
| A large cash deposit | Cash flow being funded by your project |
| No written scope | Nothing to hold anybody to later |
| Reluctance over insurance | It may not exist, or may not be current |
| A price far below the others | Work has been left out, or will be added later |
| An out of area address after a storm | A contractor who will leave with the weather |
What to do with it
- Do the four factual checks first. Before any preference has formed.
- Take references on buildings you can visit. And ask what went wrong.
- Match the contractor to the project, not to a size. Fit beats scale.
- Get everything that matters in writing. The reaction to the request is informative.
- Refuse to be hurried. A roof that has lasted ten years will last another week.
Want the reasoning behind these checks? Read how to choose a contractor and what to look for in a roofing company.
Walked by Date Roof
Common questions
Which checks are facts rather than impressions?
The license, the insurance, the manufacturer approval and the trading history. All four can be verified independently in a few minutes, none of them depends on the contractor's cooperation, and each one occasionally turns out to be different from what was claimed in the meeting.
- License status and classification, confirmed with the state board
- Liability insurance, confirmed by a certificate from the insurer
- Workers compensation covering the crew that will attend
- Manufacturer approval, confirmed with the manufacturer
- Trading history under the current name and license number
Everything else on a vetting list is judgment, and judgment is worth having, but it should sit on top of the facts rather than in place of them. Do these four checks before the quotes arrive, because verification carried out after a preference has formed is verification that tends to find what it hopes to find rather than what is there. Keep the evidence in the project file as well, because a licensing or insurance question asked after an incident is much harder to answer from memory.
What makes a reference worth taking?
That it is a building of similar type and size, finished at least two years ago, and that you can go and look at it. A recent reference tells you the roof did not leak immediately, which is a low bar and not the one that matters.
- Similar building type, size and system
- Completed at least two years ago, ideally five
- A building you can visit rather than a letter you are sent
- A contact who managed the project rather than approved the invoice
- At least one reference the contractor did not choose for you
The question worth asking a reference is not whether they were happy. It is what went wrong and how the contractor handled it, because something goes wrong on every roofing project and the handling is the only thing that distinguishes one contractor from another. A reference who says nothing went wrong has usually forgotten rather than been lucky.
Does size matter when choosing a contractor?
Less than fit does. A large contractor brings resources, process and resilience; a small one brings the owner onto your roof and often a lower price. What matters is whether the contractor regularly does work of this type and scale rather than whether they are big or small.
- Ask what proportion of their work is this building type
- Ask what their largest and smallest recent projects were
- A project far above their usual size carries real risk
- A project far below it may not get their attention
- Check whether the crew is directly employed or subcontracted
The uncomfortable case is the contractor stretching to win a project larger than anything they have done, because the ambition is genuine and the capacity is not. Ask directly what the largest comparable project was and who ran it, and if the honest answer is that this would be their biggest, treat that as information rather than as disqualification.
What should be in writing before anybody commits?
The scope, the price basis, the schedule, the payment terms and the warranty conditions. A contractor who resists putting any of those in writing is telling you something about how the project will run, and it is better to learn it now than during the works.
- A written scope naming system, build up and detail treatment
- A payment schedule proportionate to work completed
- Named exclusions rather than unstated ones
- A specimen warranty document, with its conditions
- The change order process and who may authorize one
There is no good reason for any of this to be verbal, and the request is entirely routine, so the reaction to it is informative in itself. Most contractors produce these documents immediately because they already have them. The ones who do not are usually the ones whose projects later rest on what somebody remembers being agreed. Ask for all five in one email rather than one at a time, which is both faster and a reasonable test of how the contractor handles a straightforward request.
What justifies walking away?
Pressure to sign the same day, a large cash deposit, refusal to provide insurance details directly, no written scope, and a price far below the others with no explanation. Any one of these is a reason to slow down; two together are usually enough to stop.
- Urgency manufactured by the contractor rather than by the roof
- A deposit disproportionate to the materials involved
- Reluctance to provide insurance or license details
- No written scope, or a scope of a single paragraph
- An address that turns out to be a mailbox or out of state
Storm seasons bring contractors who follow the weather and leave with it, and the pattern is well documented in every region that gets severe storms. The defenses are ordinary: a verifiable local address, a license history, references on buildings you can visit, and a refusal to be hurried. None of them is sophisticated and all of them work.