How to choose a roofer, and spot a storm chaser

Why this matters most after hail — The week after a serious hail storm, the neighborhood fills with out-of-town crews knocking doors. Some are legitimate outfits chasing work honestly. Others take a deposit, install fast over decking they never looked at, and are three states away by the time a ceiling stains. Texas draws more of them than anywhere else in the country, and spring is their season.

Question one: where is your yard? — Not a mailbox address. A physical place with a truck and a trailer at it, that you could drive past. A contractor with an address in the county has to answer for the work at the feed store. Ask how long they have been at it here, and check that the jobs they name are in towns you recognize.

Question two: who is on my roof? — Plenty of companies sell the job and hand the work to whichever crew is free that week, which is why the same company's roofs can look nothing like each other. Ask directly: are the crews employees? Will the person who measured the roof be reachable while it is being built? You want one name that stays attached to the job from the ladder to the last magnet pass.

Question three: is the warranty in writing, and what does it actually cover? — There are always two. The manufacturer's, which covers materials and is close to worthless unless the contractor registers it — ask whether they will, and ask for the certificate afterwards. And the workmanship warranty, which covers the install and is only as good as the odds of that company still existing in year eight. Get the length, the coverage and whether it transfers.

Question four: can I see the scope line by line? — A real scope names the shingle line and impact class, the underlayment, where ice-and-water shield goes, drip edge, flashing details, pipe boots, the vent count, tear-off, haul-away, and decking quoted per sheet. A single line reading "new roof" on a carbon-copy pad is not a scope, and the gaps in it tend to reappear later as extras.

Question five: can I see the insurance certificate? — Ask for the certificate itself, not a yes. General liability and workers' compensation. If somebody uninsured is hurt on your property, that can land on your policy. A legitimate contractor has it emailed before you have finished the sentence.

The red flags that end the conversation — A deposit demanded today for a price that expires tomorrow. An offer to cover, absorb or rebate your deductible, which is insurance fraud in Texas and has carried felony-level exposure since 2019. Pressure to sign an assignment of benefits on the first visit, which hands your claim to a stranger. No local address. And a quote well under everyone else's, where the saving is always in the layers you will never see.

The easy test — Ask any roofer for three addresses of roofs they installed five or more years ago within twenty minutes of your house. Anyone local can produce them without checking. Start with a free inspection and the photo report is yours either way.