Commerce, CA
Roof replacement in Commerce
The price gap between the cheapest and the most expensive quote on the same roof is routinely forty per cent. That gap is not always quality, and it is never obvious from the paperwork.
Describe the replacement job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Commerce contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Commerce is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a replacement job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- Who pulls the permit, and what the inspection schedule looks like
- Tear-off or overlay, and what the local code allows
- How the site is protected, and who cleans up the nails
- A written per-sheet price for replacing bad decking
- Which underlayment, and whether ice-and-water goes on the eaves and valleys
Warranties come in two halves that get deliberately confused. The manufacturer covers the material, and only if it was installed to specification. The contractor covers the workmanship, and only for as long as they stay in business.
Two quotes at the same price can be very different roofs. Compare the layers, not the brand name on the shingle.
A proper replacement is a tear-off, not an overlay. Going over the top of the old roof saves money on day one and costs it back at the next replacement, when there are two layers to remove and no way to inspect the deck.
Locally
Behind it: shaded slopes that never really dry out. Damp that arrives every morning and leaves by lunchtime is worse for a roof than rain, because nothing ever fully dries between one and the next.
About replacement here
What if the decking is rotten underneath?
Expect a few sheets on most older roofs. Get the per-sheet rate in the contract. Open-ended decking charges are where a fixed price stops being fixed.
What should I do to prepare?
Move the cars out, take pictures off the top-floor walls, cover anything stored in the attic, and put pets somewhere else for the loud days. Expect nails in the driveway however careful the crew is — ask whether they run a magnet at the end.
Should I repair or replace?
Rough rule: if the covering has more than about five years left and the damage is confined to one area, repair. If it is at the end of its life or you are patching the third leak in two years, you are paying instalments on a replacement.
Is moss on the roof a problem?
It matters more than it looks. The damage is not the moss, it is the permanent damp underneath it. Kill it and brush it off gently; never pressure wash asphalt.
Ready for a real number?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.