How to Find the Best Local Roofing Contractor (Chatham Ont.)

When you have a roofing emergency, you need a reputable roofing contractor. It’s also great if the person you call for roofing repair is local and offers many roofing options. At Country Towne, we specialize in metal roofs and can easily repair your roof or perform a metal roof replacement in an emergency. Here are some ways to find the best roofing contractors in the Chatham-Kent area.

1. Make Sure They Are Licensed

There is no “roofing school” for contractors. But just like you wouldn’t trust a journalist to perform your dentistry, you shouldn’t trust a random person to repair your asphalt roof (but sometimes we do see it happen!!) But that does not mean that commercial roofing services lack standards or credentials entirely. There are several associations for both residential and commercial roofing contractors that issue licenses as proof of a roofing contractor’s skill.

Here are the licenses/certifications you should ask your contractor about:

• Apprenticeships in roofing. These vary significantly based on the employer. According to CompleteApprenticeshipGuide.com, most roofing apprenticeships take around 2 years to complete.
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board insurance.
• Certifications from the Roofing Material Supplier
• Master Elite Certification (very rare!).
• Liability Insurance.
• Worker’s Compensation.

The more advanced licenses your roofers have, the better warranty they can offer on your roof installation. When conducting a competent roofer search, always look for or ask about these training certifications.

2. Keep It Local

There are many benefits to having a roofer nearby as opposed to far away. If there is an emergency roof problem, you want someone nearby to fix your roof as soon as possible. Especially in the harsh winters of Canada! Chatham-Kent is a single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada and Country town roofing covers a lot of service area, including:

• Chatham
• Wallaceburg
• Tilbury
• Blenheim
• Ridgetown
• Wheatley
• Dresden
• London
• Toronto & GTA!

Since you always want to be sure there’s a roof over your head, it benefits you to have a roofing service ready whenever you need it. There is also a chance that your roofer has helped a neighbor or friend of yours if they are local; you can get a sense of their reputation by asking around.

3. Look Over Their Pricing

Your roofing contractor should offer fair, affordable prices for their commercial roofing services. They should give you a competitive price; too cheap, and you have reason to be suspicious. They may be cutting corners elsewhere to give you a better price.

Many new roofers may undercharge customers with no foul play involved. They simply do not price accurately. If you have the time, it may help you to take measurements yourself and do the math. According to WorkWave.com, the average markup for a roofing job is 6%; roofers have to eat, too!

4. They Should Give Accurate Quotes (and Fair Estimates)

When a commercial roofing contractor starts your roofing project, they should give you an estimate. This estimate can fluctuate by 10–15% by the time the project is through. Metal roofing contractors charge by square measurements. Your fair metal roof estimate will thus depend on how much you need.

A quote is a more accurate price that cannot be negotiated once both parties agree on it. For contractors in the roofing industry, this should cover roofing material, labour, and anything else that they might need for all-too-common roofing problems.

According to Freshbooks.com good roofing contractors should also give you your quote and estimate in writing. This printed quote not only helps you understand your roofing project better but gives you some power if your contractor backs out. Ask us for an estimate via our website before we come; you should have notes handy, too.

5. They Should Be On Time

When you have a roofing problem, you want the job done as quickly as possible. Even if it’s not an emergency, the contractor should not only arrive on time (and alert you if something comes up) but give you a reasonable time-frame for your complete roof repair. A full metal roof installation can take a few hours to a day. Smaller projects will generally take less time.

6. Look at Reviews

The final way to weed out the best roofers in your area is to look at their reviews online or in local magazines. Unless a professional roofing service is very new, you should be able to find out something about their customer service, their rates, and so on. If there are bad reviews, make sure they are not in bad faith; likewise, be skeptical if a service has nothing but 5-star reviews (nobody is perfect). It is better to trust a roofing contractor based on previous customers than any other criterion.

Contact Us

If you are in the Chatham-Kent area, your search for good metal roofing installation just got a lot easier. At Country Towne, we specialize in metal roofs and would love to help with your home improvement projects.

We offer our services to the Chatham Kent area for a fair price, can handle any project type, and pride ourselves on customer satisfaction. Contact us with your metal roofing questions today. We’re happy to help!