SubContractor - Is that a bad word?

SubContractor. . . is that a bad word?

So you are about to hire a roofing contractor and the subject of a sub-contractor comes up. What is a Sub-Contractor and is it a bad thing to have them on your roofing project? It is not required to have a license to do a roof in all of the states in our country. So it is up to you the homeowner, to understand what the law is. Find out what is required by calling your local building department. If you live in an area where the contractor needs to be licensed, that means the contractor and any of their subcontractors must be licensed.

Any sub-contractor, should not only have a license to do his specific trade but should also be insured for your family's protection. Having contracted roofing in Rocklin, California for many years, I would often run into jobs that the customer would plan on doing that was associated with the roofing I was bidding. A good example of this would be a roof-mounted air conditioner. Most roofers are not licensed to install air conditioners.

The problem I found is that after I installed that brand new roof and later on, my customer installs a new roof-mounted AC, there is a good chance my new roof is going to be torn-up, by all the activity around the new AC unit and possible leak. Who do you think they will call if the roof leaks or needs repairs?

Remember a Heating & Air contractor is most likely not licensed to do roofs. So to solve this problem, I always had two or three HVAC contractors who I trusted and developed a great relationship over many years and tried to get these types of the project all done at the same time. This is where a sub-contractor comes in handy to provide a better overall job.

Jobs associated with roofing, like skylights, gutters, dry rot repairs, HVAC, insulation, and painting are best done just before, right after or during the new roof installation. If your roofer doesn’t do those trades, they should be done by contracted skilled sub-contractors during the roofing process.

Your roofer should have a list of qualified subcontractors or associates he can trust and depend on when work to be done is not what your roofer is licensed to do.  It is just a better job to have one chief since these jobs have better results when done together by contractors that are familiar with each other. Then if for some reason, there is an issue, you will not have the pointing of fingers as to who is at fault.

When our jobs are done together the end results are great for the customer and will even save them money because of not doing things twice.

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