The Quest for a Professional: How to Vet a Roofing Contractor

The series of articles Yakima Roofing & Remodeling, LLC is composing is meant to help you on your search for a professional. Life is a constant whirlwind, and hiring a contractor often becomes a 30 second process with virtually zero consideration of the things that count. Most Americans shop for a contractor based on price, price, and maybe appearances.

Our goal is to consolidate enough information in one place that a person who knows nothing of the industry can learn enough to make an educated decision about who to hire. Not based on the bottom line, but on a measuring system that properly vets a contractor.

What a professional looks like

Not all contractors are professionals. A professional should first have the basic traits of a code of conduct he lives by. He should be, to some degree, a gentleman by our own standards. A professional should also be knowledgeable in his field and skilled enough to perform that profession at a high degree of quality. The end result should be a service or product that is well done, looks great, and will last.

Conduct, knowledge, and skill

Those three traits are easier to measure than they sound, and you can start measuring before anyone climbs a ladder.

• Conduct shows up in the small things: whether he returns calls, shows up when he said he would, and explains your options without pressure. A contractor who rushes you to sign today has told you how he will behave when something goes wrong tomorrow.
• Knowledge shows up in the answers. Ask what he will do about attic ventilation, how the underlayment and flashings will be handled, and what the manufacturer requires for the shingle he is bidding. A professional answers plainly and in detail. A salesman changes the subject back to price.
• Skill is the hardest to see from the street, because anyone can make a roof look good from the curb. It lives in the nailing, the flashing details, and the way the crew is trained and paid. Ask how the work is inspected as it goes in.

No single question settles it. A contractor who knows the basics might be a professional, but the search isn't over until his written estimate matches what he told you out loud. The articles in this series take these questions one at a time, so that you can read a bid, compare two bids, and recognize the difference between a low price and a good value.