Roofing contractors in the Canadian market do business to the tune of over $13 billion annually. The typical Canadian city of 1 million people has on average 300 registered roofing companies. Every 2 years approximately half of those registered roofing companies go out of business. Many of the failed companies are back in business within days or weeks under a new name. The industry has very little regulation, high competition, and low barriers to entry. Basically, one day you can be a shoe salesman, and the next day you can own a roofing company while having very little knowledge of the trade.
All too often I have been called to inspect a home or commercial building that has sustained costly damage to the interior, and the recently replaced roof system needs to be completely replaced again due to improper system design or poor quality of workmanship. The roofing contractor is either out of business or no longer returning calls.
The average home value in Canada is over $600,000 and the average cost to renovate its
roof is well over $10,000. As your roof system is the first line of defense against damaging water intrusion, it is clearly the most important aspect of your building envelope. I am often astonished that a homeowner will risk their $600K investment by choosing the wrong roofing contractor. This is not a rarity, I see it often.
There are ways to not only mitigate that risk and protect your mortgaged investment when getting the roof renovated, but ways to help you save money at the same time. Let me Show you how.
Shaw Roof Consulting can thoroughly inspect the roof (of your home, commercial building or condominium) to discover it’s exact building envelope requirements.
We can then develop a Project Tendering Package with a specification document for the project which lists:
· The contractor qualifications required in order to bid on the project
· The process used to choose the contractor
· The contractor requirements during and after fulfilling the contract
· The specific materials to be used
· The specific installation methods to be employed with each material component
· The clean up and close out process
· Issuing of contractor payment
· The receiving of warranties
Using this process provides the following security to the home/building owner:
· Only vetted contractors will be bidding on the job
· All contractors will be bidding on the exact same materials and stringent installation methods, which generally leads to much closer pricing.
· Sales tactics/pitches and emotion are removed from the process
· The pricing for the project will be secured
· The timelines for the project will be secured
· The contractor will have a specific job to perform, they will know exactly what is expected of them during every aspect of the job.
· You, the client will know what the finished product will be. No hidden surprises.
· Upgraded or extended warranties from the material manufacturer due to the materials used and specified methods of installation
· Transferrable manufacturer warranty if the home/building is sold
Let Shaw Roof Consulting guide you through the roof renovation process. We help put you in total control of the project by holding the contractor and material manufacturer to account. Many professional roofing contractors prefer to have a tendering package with specifications to follow when bidding on a project as this process typically "weeds out" the "fly by night" contractors.
We can provide this service on the average home for about $600 (contact us for a commercial building quote). Often, the majority of this cost is recuperated by reductions in the price of your insurance when notifying your home insurance provider of the new roof system installation.
If you have questions or want to get the process started, contact us today.
Allen Shaw, President
Interprovincial Red Seal Journeyman
Certified Inspector
NRCIA Member
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