A roof replacement is hard to judge from the ground while it is being sold to you, so the quality of your questions does real work. Good questions force a vague promise into a written scope: what comes off, what goes on, what happens if the deck is damaged, and who stands behind the result. Use the sets below in order, and write the answers into the proposal before you sign anything.
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First, who are you and can I verify it?
Start with identity and standing. How long has the business traded under this name? Does it have a permanent place of business? Are you licensed for this work in my city or state, and can I see that record? What insurance cover do you carry for the job, and can I see current proof?
The Federal Trade Commission advises homeowners to look for an established company whose record and reputation can be checked, and to check qualifications such as licensing with the local building department or consumer protection agency in its guide to hiring a contractor. The same guide suggests asking people you know who have had work done, and checking a company reputation before hiring.
Also ask who will be on your roof. Will your own crew fit the roof, or will the work be subcontracted, and if so, to whom, and are they covered by the same insurance and workmanship promise?
What exactly will you remove, and what will you install?
Ask the provider to walk the job in sequence. How many layers are on the roof now, and will all of them come off? What underlayment goes on the open field of the roof, and where will self adhering membrane be placed? Which exact covering product, by name and line, will be fitted? Will flashing be renewed at chimneys, walls, vents and valleys, or reused?
Vague answers here are a warning sign, because these are the hidden parts of the system. A provider should be able to name each layer and each detail without hesitation. Our roof tear off and re-deck page sets out the sequence a full replacement should follow, so you can compare an answer against it.
Ask about ventilation in the same conversation: what intake and exhaust does the attic have now, what will you change, and how will you keep the soffit path clear? Ventilation is easy to forget in a sales talk and expensive to correct later.
What happens when the deck is opened up?
This is the question set that protects the job mid stream. When tear off exposes damaged decking, how will you show me? Photos, a site visit, or both? How is extra deck work measured and charged, and at what point do you need my approval before proceeding? What do you do at the end of each day to keep the home dry if weather turns?
Agree the process now, while there is no open roof and no time pressure. A provider who has a clear, calm answer to these questions has done this work before. A provider who waves the subject away is asking you to trust that no damage exists, which no one can know before tear off.
What are the timing, permit and clean up terms?
Ask who obtains any permit your city requires and who arranges inspections. Ask for an estimated start date and completion window, and what factors could move it, including weather and material delivery. Ask where the disposal bin will sit, how landscaping and siding will be protected, and how nails and debris will be cleared from lawns and driveways at the end.
The National Association of Home Builders, in its home maintenance guidance, notes that a qualified roofer should inspect a roof periodically and that skylights should be checked for leaks around seals, caulking and flashings in its routine home maintenance guide. A good replacement provider should be equally specific about the checks and finishing steps in your job.
Get timing and protection promises into the written proposal, with any issue such as landscape protection and debris clean up described, not left as a verbal assurance.
What do the two warranties actually say?
Ask for both warranty documents, not a summary. For the manufacturer warranty: which product does it cover, what faults, for how long, and does the remedy include labour? For the workmanship warranty: who issues it, what fitting faults does it cover, how long does it run, and what remedy is offered?
Ask what conditions could limit cover, such as ventilation requirements or a registration step, and who completes that registration. Read the documents before you sign the contract, which is exactly the order the Federal Trade Commission recommends for warranties generally: the warranty should be available to read before you buy in its consumer guide to warranties. Our warranty guide in this batch explains how to compare the two documents line by line.
How will we handle changes and the final walk?
Finally, agree how changes will be handled. Any change to scope should be written and agreed before the changed work is done. Ask what the final walk involves: reviewing the finished roof, seeing photos of deck work, checking clean up, and receiving the warranty documents and registration confirmation.
Ask also how you will be updated during the job and who your single point of contact is. Most disputes in home work grow from missing information, not from bad intent, and a named contact with a daily update habit prevents most of them.
When the answers are written into one proposal, you can compare providers fairly and choose with confidence. See our asphalt shingle roof replacement page for the full system a complete proposal should describe.
How the referral works
Request a free quote using the quote button on this page. Share your city and roof details, and get connected to a local provider who offers full roof replacement. You then deal direct with that provider for the quote, schedule and work.
FAQ
How many quotes should I get before choosing a roofer?
Get written quotes from more than one provider for the same stated scope, so the comparison is fair. The Federal Trade Commission advises getting written estimates from several firms and asking for explanations of price differences, rather than choosing automatically on the lowest figure. Keep the quotes, and the questions you asked, together in one file for the job.
What should a written roofing proposal include?
It should describe the full scope in plain terms: layers to be removed, deck work and how it is approved, underlayment and membrane locations, the exact covering product, flashing scope, ventilation work, start and completion timing, clean up and disposal, and the warranty terms for both materials and workmanship. If an item was promised in conversation, it should appear in the written proposal.
Should I ask about licensing and insurance before replacement?
Yes. Ask whether the business is licensed where your area requires it, and ask to see proof of the insurance cover it carries for the work. Licensing rules vary by state and city, so check the position with your local building department or consumer protection office. Note who will actually carry out the work, including any subcontracted crews.
What is the most important question about the deck?
Ask what happens when tear off reveals damaged decking: how it is measured, how you approve extra work before it is done, and how that work is charged. No one can see the full deck until the old covering is off, so an agreed process in advance prevents delay and dispute in the middle of the job.
Areas
Licensing and permit rules change from place to place, so ask these questions against your own city rules. Published pages include Brooklyn, NY, Chicago, IL, Houston, TX, Phoenix, AZ and Los Angeles, CA; find yours through the areas hub.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, Hiring a Contractor, via govinfo.gov: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-FT-PURL-gpo73201/pdf/GOVPUB-FT-PURL-gpo73201.pdf
- National Association of Home Builders, Guide to Routine Home Maintenance: https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/other/docs/Guide-to-Routine-Home-Maintenance_Outdoor.pdf?hash=F3035647FA41EAFCDA9E7B6A69D73A42
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, Warranties: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/warranties
Common questions
How many quotes should I get before choosing a roofer?
Get written quotes from more than one provider for the same stated scope, so the comparison is fair. The Federal Trade Commission advises getting written estimates from several firms and asking for explanations of price differences, rather than choosing automatically on the lowest figure. Keep the quotes, and the questions you asked, together in one file for the job.
What should a written roofing proposal include?
It should describe the full scope in plain terms: layers to be removed, deck work and how it is approved, underlayment and membrane locations, the exact covering product, flashing scope, ventilation work, start and completion timing, clean up and disposal, and the warranty terms for both materials and workmanship. If an item was promised in conversation, it should appear in the written proposal.
Should I ask about licensing and insurance before replacement?
Yes. Ask whether the business is licensed where your area requires it, and ask to see proof of the insurance cover it carries for the work. Licensing rules vary by state and city, so check the position with your local building department or consumer protection office. Note who will actually carry out the work, including any subcontracted crews.
What is the most important question about the deck?
Ask what happens when tear off reveals damaged decking: how it is measured, how you approve extra work before it is done, and how that work is charged. No one can see the full deck until the old covering is off, so an agreed process in advance prevents delay and dispute in the middle of the job.