What questions should you ask a roofing contractor?
Ask about licensing and insurance, who actually does the work, whether flashing is new, what happens if the decking is bad, who pulls the permit, what the warranty covers, and how payment is staged. Each has a right answer and a wrong one - and the answers are what make two bids genuinely comparable rather than just two numbers.
The questions, and what a good answer sounds like
Are you licensed here, and can I verify it? Roofing licensing varies enormously by state - some license it specifically, others fold it into general contracting. The right answer includes a number you can check yourself with the issuing authority. Do you carry liability and workers' compensation insurance, and can I see certificates? An uninsured crew on your roof is your exposure, not just theirs.
Will your own crew do the work, or subcontractors? Either can be fine; being told one and getting the other is not. If it is subcontracted, ask who carries the insurance and who honours the workmanship warranty. Is the flashing new? This is the single most revealing question on the list - reusing old flashing saves a few hundred dollars and is the most common source of leaks on an otherwise new roof.
What is your per-unit price if decking needs replacing? Sourced decking replacement runs $2 to $8 per square foot, and it is nearly always excluded from the headline bid because nobody can see the deck until tear-off. A contractor who will not quote the rate in advance is leaving themselves room you cannot price.
Who pulls the permit? You generally want it in the contractor's name, which puts the code-compliance obligation on the party doing the work. What does the warranty cover, and for how long - separating the manufacturer's material warranty from the contractor's workmanship warranty, because they are different things and workmanship is the one that fails. And how is payment staged? A modest deposit with the balance on completion is normal; a demand for most of the money before materials arrive is not.
Why asking all of them matters more than asking any one
Bids that look thousands apart usually converge once these are answered, because the gap is scope rather than efficiency - new flashing versus reused, disposal included or not, decking priced or unpriced, permit in whose name. Asking every contractor the identical list is what converts three numbers into a real comparison.
It also has a filtering effect. A contractor who answers all of these readily and in writing is demonstrating how they will behave when something goes wrong mid-job, which is the thing you are actually buying.
Ask every contractor the identical list, in writing - the differences between bids are usually scope, not price.
OUR TAKEBasis: A judgement resting on the sourced cost structure: tear-off, disposal and decking are separately priced line items, so a lower total generally reflects fewer of them being included rather than the same work performed for less.
Related questions
- Do they use subcontractors?
- Ask directly, and ask who carries insurance and who honours the workmanship warranty if they do. Subcontracting is normal and not a red flag by itself; being told the work is in-house and finding an unfamiliar crew on the day is. Get the answer before signing rather than discovering it on the morning of tear-off.
- Do they provide written quotes and contracts?
- They should, and the quote should itemise tear-off, disposal, flashing, underlayment, the permit and the per-unit decking rate rather than giving a single number. A contractor unwilling to put scope in writing is one you cannot hold to it, and verbal inclusions have a way of becoming extras.
- What's the warranty and can you get installation coverage?
- There are two warranties and they are commonly conflated. The manufacturer warrants the material against defects; the contractor warrants the installation. Since most roof failures are installation details rather than product defects, the workmanship warranty and the contractor's likelihood of still trading when you need it are what matter.