There is no such thing as being over protective with regards to your home as well as your finances. There are metal roof upgrade options out there that are willing to bend the rules to simplify things for themselves, resulting in problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every occasionally. That’s why it’s important to know these 4 simple methods to protect yourself whenever choosing a roofing contractor.
Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to fix a leak on your own roof. One of their employees decides never to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to cover his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your property.
Solution: Roofers Compensation is a kind of insurance covering roofing injuries. If a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees have entitlement to recover expenses for hospital bills and being out of work. Be sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so you are saved the trouble and expenses of paying those bills yourself.
Liability Insurance
Problem: Your roofing contractor leaves your roof uncovered after removing your shingles. That night there’s an unexpected storm. Water seeps into your home and damages your sheet rock, carpet plus some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but you can find exclusions preventing coverage of the inside of your building. You wind up paying to fix the damages yourself.
Solution: If damage occurs to your house or building this is the fault of a roofing contractor, you intend to be sure they will have good liability insurance. This will cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as mentioned in the situation above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance provider offers so many exclusions that it’s almost like there is no coverage at all. Search 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 make an effort to contact the company, but can’t find their information. You try 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 pay for the repairs yourself.
Solution: Check in advance that your roofing contractor has a business license. If they don’t possess a license, it may be a sign that they have no idea what they are doing. The company could easily disappear or walk out business.
In hawaii of Utah, your roofing company should have a shingle license and an over-all roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A set roof installation only takes a general roofing license.
An over-all contractor is legally in a position to install a roof with out a roofing license should they have an over-all contractor license. However, there were a lot of cases of contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves if they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners in addition to home owners. It is perfect for a general contractor to possess a roofing license in addition to their general contractors license.
In Utah, the number for a general 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 choice to terminate their service immediately. You are not necessary to pay anything to the contractor since they were operating illegally. After that you can find a qualified contractor to repair your roof and finish the job.
Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you also pay the contractor. However, a couple weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a payment for the materials installed on your own roof. You discover that your contractor did not pay his supplier and that you are now responsible for 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 really is ultimately in place to protect the house or building owner from paying twice. If you receive 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 any additional paperwork.