Q&A – Finding a roofer you can trust

This Arizona homeowner contacted our AskARoofer experts looking for some advice on how to find a trustworthy roofer.

Zain, a homeowner from Arizona, reached out for some help finding the right contractor for their project. This is what they asked:

Hello roofing experts. I'm coming here to see if they I could please get some advise from those who know. Please excuse me if I don't use the correct lingo or say anything that might offend, I'm pretty uneducated in the ways of building and construction so that's why I'm seeking expert opinions.

Little background first. I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area and have a two story tile (cement or ceramic, not sure what it's made out of) roof home that is 15 years old. Three years ago our roof developed a leak that was made known during a heavy monsoon. We had it fixed by a family friend that is roofer by trade. A couple months later it happens again. So our friend does more repairs but lets us know our house had bad underlayment and he had to replace a larger area this time to ensure it would work. He told us all the houses around us built during the housing boom had inadequate underlayment. Two more years go by and this last summer during a heavy monsoon storm a new leak happened in a different room. So this has got me wanting to look into getting the whole roof redone with new underlayment.

So I guess I'm asking how to make sure I hire a good company that will not rip me off. That family friend who fixed it the first time recommended I need to have Fontana G40 put down and he also said to make sure they are using new materials and not seconds or left overs. What are some things I can do as a homeowner to ensure I get quality work at a fair price? Thanks in advance.

One of our roofing experts, Henry Staggs, saw Zain's question and had this to say:

Continue the conversation in our Forum!