William & Hugh Roofing

What to ask when you call

Every roofer in this directory is a real company with a working number. What separates a good call from a wasted one is the questions you bring. There is no state roofing license in New York, so ask which cities they are registered to work in, and ask for the certificate of insurance direct from the insurer. Ask whether the crew doing the work is on staff or subcontracted. Ask who pulls the permit and who handles the city inspection.

New York issues no state roofing license. In New York City a roofer needs a Home Improvement Contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland run their own. A roofer licensed in one of them is not automatically licensed in the next. Look up a city license before you hire.

Then ask for the quote in writing with the roof area in squares, the material by product name, a price per sheet for any bad plywood, and the labor warranty in months. A company that gives you all of that on the first call has done this a lot.

Before you sign anything

Be careful with a large deposit up front. Money paid before any material reaches the property is the hardest to get back if the job stalls. If a bid comes in far under the others, find out what got left out of the scope rather than assuming you found a deal.

Our guide to reading a roofing estimate walks through the lines that belong on every quote.