What questions should I ask a roofing contractor?

What did you inspect, and did that include the roof space? What did you find, and can you show me? Where is water entering, and why there? Could anything else be causing this? What happens if the cause turns out to be different once work starts?

These questions are not confrontational — they are the ordinary basis of an informed decision, and a competent contractor will welcome them.

What exactly is included? What is excluded? What access is needed, and is scaffolding priced in? How long will it take, and what happens if weather delays it? Which materials, and are they compatible with what is already there?

Scope questions prevent most disputes, because most disputes are about something one party assumed was included.

Do you hold public liability insurance, and may I see it? What is your business address? Who will be carrying out the work — your own team or subcontractors? Can I see comparable completed work?

Straightforward questions with straightforward answers. Evasiveness here is itself the answer.

What does the guarantee cover, for how long, and is it in writing? Does it cover workmanship, materials, or both? What payment stages apply, and is a deposit required?

A large deposit before any work, or payment in full up front, is worth questioning. So is a guarantee that exists only verbally.

Where quotations differ widely, the answers to these questions usually explain why: one has priced the cause and another the symptom, or one includes access and another does not. Compared on scope rather than on total, the right choice is usually obvious.

Ask what happens once the work is finished: is there a completion inspection, will you receive photographs of the completed work including areas that will later be hidden, and is there a recommended maintenance schedule for gutters and outlets afterwards. A contractor who has thought about aftercare usually shows it in how the work is documented.

Also ask who to contact if a problem appears in the weeks after completion, and how quickly that would typically be addressed. The answer tells you whether the guarantee is a document or a working relationship.