How to Work With Roofing Experts When a Mistake Affects Your Roof
Roofing contractors work hard to provide their customers with a high-quality roof at reasonable prices. However, there are incidents in which mistakes in design and building may occur. Typically, these errors occur for a multitude of reasons and may happen early in the design stage or even late in the building process. Some may be very hard to predict without professional help.Therefore, individuals installing a roof on their home need to take the time to understand how these mistakes happen and grasp how to communicate with their contractors about them properly. Simply put, walking into the situation like a tiger tearing apart prey is the wrong approach and could cause more difficulties with the situation than necessary.
Step One: Assess Where Mistakes Occurred
When you notice an error with your roof, you need to take the time to thoroughly examine where they occurred and take steps to manage them right away. For example, you might notice that the roof slants at an angle that is too severe or that the shingles have been lined up improperly. These simple mistakes can occur for many reasons and may not be noticed right away even by professionals.Once you’ve fully grasped the extent of the mistake, take the time to calm down a little before contacting your contractor. You might be pretty angry about this situation and ready to heavily complain about it or even pursue a lawsuit against the roofer. Avoid this type of anger and, instead, understand that mistakes can happen and that most contractors will work hard to correct them.
Step Two: Bring Up the Issues With the Contractor
After you have calmed down about the mistake and are ready to talk to the contractor, contact them either by the phone or visiting their office. Take whatever approach is more comfortable with you but try to avoid e-mail in most cases. E-mail is typically too impersonal and may make it easier for you to lash out. In contrast, speaking in person may limit your willingness to yell at the contractor.Talking on the phone serves as an excellent middle ground for those who are too nervous to speak to the contractor about this problem face to face. Before you make the call, be sure that you’ve created a list of the problems and why they are an issue. Don’t try to blame the contractor for the issues or come up with a reason for why they happened. That topic can be discussed in more depth later.
Step Three: Listen to What the Contractor Has to Say
After you have carefully discussed the problems with the contractor and let them know what is happening, prepare to listen to what they have to say. Good contractors will apologize for what has happened and accept blame for the mistakes without complaint. In most cases, they will give you a simple explanation for what happened and discuss what they can do to address the issue.In most cases, roofers will come back to your home and fix the problem, free of cost, to ensure that you are satisfied. This approach might seem like a waste of time on their part, but most roofers have liability insurance that kicks in when they make a mistake. These policies protect them from loss by paying for the repair process. So, in essence, their doing fixes on your home is a win-win for both of you.
Step Four: Come Up With a Plan
Once the contractor accepts blame for the issue, the two of you can come up with a plan to address your roofing issue. In most cases, these simple plans involve the crew coming to your home and fixing the roof without cost. Often, these fixes take less than a day to finish and are usually done on the weekend to minimize the contractor’s lost time on other projects.Working on the weekend also makes it easier for many homeowners to be there when the contractor works. Meet with the contractor at your home during this process and showcase where the mistake is on the roof. Again, don’t throw blame around or be rude about the situation. The contractor is there to fix their error and will do what is necessary to ensure that you get the roof that you deserve.
Step Five: Track the Contractor’s Success
While the contractor works on the roof, homeowners should periodically check in to see how the repairs are going. This approach is two-fold and provides many benefits. First of all, tracking the changes helps homeowners know what is going on and can help them spot any potential problems before they develop. Beyond that, regular checkups ensure that the homeowner has greater peace of mind about the state of the repairs.Just as importantly, regular checkups let the contractor know that the homeowner cares about the repairs and is willing to track what is happening. This approach results in a few different benefits for the contractor. First of all, the contractor will work harder because they know that the homeowner is paying attention. Just as importantly, they’ll make sure to avoid any other mistakes to ensure that they don’t have to come back for any more roof repairs.
Step Six: Stay Professional
The hardest thing about roofing mistakes is avoiding getting too angry with the roofing contractors when they occur. Some people simply don’t tolerate mistakes from their contractors, even though they are honest and can happen in many situations. Approaching the situation with honesty and understanding is critical, so stay kind, professional and open about the situation.Just as importantly, you need to find a roofing expert who can minimize the risk of mistakes and take the right steps toward keeping your roof as secure as possible. Thankfully, there are many different options from which you can choose here. So please don’t hesitate to contact us about this problem right away to get your roof in great shape with minimal potential for serious design or building mistakes.