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What’s wrong with just getting 3 bids on my roofing project? And, Could someone please help me to not get screwed by the contractor I choose?
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner,
I would like to address the vulnerability you are subjecting yourselves to by going out and requesting 3 bids for your project. Maybe the advice should be to make sure that you get the best qualified contractor to do the job right in the first place, instead of worrying about problems down the road. The 3-bid suggestion is just there so you can hopefully get lucky and find one who fits that category. Would you be astounded to hear that according to major roofing related manufacturers, that over 90 % of all roofs do not qualify for the manufacturers long term peace of mind warranty, from the initial installation time? I know I am. And, That’s a proven fact!
I know what you have been told; "Go out and get at least 3 bids", and throw away the contractors bid at the bottom and the contractors bid at the top and select the one in the middle. After all, isn't that what almost every single, "How to Choose a Contractor Guide" suggests you do. Isn't this the only way to ensure you do not get the low ball fly-by-nighter or the contractor who has to charge too much to justify his overhead or just wants to make too much profit from your job?
When you decided you had a need for this particular project, did you say to yourself?
"Gee, I want to make sure I get somebody who does not provide me with the full scope of work we need to validate the manufacturers full length warranty, (even if we do not really know what specifications those are yet), and I also want to make sure they do not have enough experience for this type of project?
Of course you didn't! That would be foolish and absurd!
Well then, that obviously eliminates anybody who would not spend the proper amount of time with you to be able to assess your projects complete requirements, while attempting to remain within your financial means to afford this enhancement to your home.
From years upon years of experience, we have discovered that the majority of bid work usually omits many of the necessary items that should have been included in the first place. We have chosen a different path. We decided that it would be better to explain the proper price for the job being done correctly at the beginning, rather than have to make excuses for the lack of quality for years to come.
Do you really think that there are so many corrupt or deceitful contractors out there? Actually, no there are not. The unfortunate consequence of requiring multiple contractors to be bidding on the same project without pre-determined specifications to be met is that most contractors feel compelled to find ways to cut corners to be able to "Win" the job. There is a necessity to "Make the
Well now, what will happen next, once the job starts. Here are two possible scenarios;
A) The contractor will do all of the minimal work specified in the contract, hoping that no one alerts you to the fact that additional specifications should have been included in the first place. If you never find out that some specs were omitted, Great Job. Everybody is happy. That is until things do not work as they were intended.
Even though, “Roofing is Not Brain Surgery”; There are many Wrong ways to roof a house. But…There is only…One “
But, if the building inspector approves it, doesn't that mean it was done correctly? Yes and No! The building inspector is only there to ensure that the "Minimum" specifications were followed. That means that they pass things all the time, where some contractors only do the least amount of work to just barely be on the legal side of the ordinances. Is this what you want, a "barely passed minimum standards job"?
B) On the other hand, what if you realize that the project is not advancing towards your vision you started out with? Aha, you inform the contractor that more work needs to be included in the project scope. Great!!! The contractor replies, but first, Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner, please sign these additional work change order forms. That work you now realize that you needed to have included, was not in our initial bid! We thought we were doing you a favor, by keeping the costs down for you, isn't that what you wanted?
So, what is a homeowner to do? The best that you can do is to find a contractor who is proposing to do the job 100 % the
After you have done all of this, which contractor do you now believe is going to give you the Right Job for the Right Price?
More than likely, the only one out of the original 3 bidders, who even had a shot at producing the right results, was the supposedly highest priced contractor. Now, can you see that the highest bid, probably is not really the highest cost to you, but the only one to have provided the proper value to the specifications to ensure your warranty is validated by doing it the
The bottom line is that only the right “Qualified” bidder should even be considered in the 1st place.
This article is geared towards FW&D future roofing clients but is a valuable guide for any remodeling experience.
This article was written by my friend Ed Fako, owner, Right Way Roofing Company.
This roof has an obvious leak in the porch area due to poor installation techniques. FW&D was called in to make an assessment and recommend a solution. We proposed to use Certainteed WinterGuard™ waterproofing shingle underlayment as the solution for winning the battle against water penetration in this roof's most vulnerable place, the valley. But we decided to go for maximum protection and covered the entire porch roof area. WinterGuard™ is a composite material of asphalt polymers, formed into a rolled sheet. The asphalt makes it vapor-tight, and the polymers make the asphalt elastic and sticky. This protective
barrier is able to stretch and seal around nails driven through it.
was to turn the 2x4 block at a 45 degree angle to act as a curb to hold the insulation and still allow air flow into the attic space.
What is really unfortunate here is that the workers had an attitude that if the homeowner can't see it from the ground then we don't have to do a proper repair. As you can see the gap between the bottom of the
siding and the roof flashing allows water to get into the house. FW&D
will show the homeowner these pictures and propose an economical repair.
