How to get roof work done cheap

[Rct851]

It's actually pretty simple.

1. Be nice to the person in the office that takes your initial call. This person may not be the roofer or the estimator, but she/he will be giving the estimator the first impression we have of you as a customer. Unbelievable how people will talk down to the girls in the office but change their tone when i call to make an appointment or am giving a price.

2. When the estimator calls you answer the phone like a decent human being. "Huh" or "ya" tells me a lot about you. I'm experienced enough to have found a pattern of who I do or do not want to do work for based on their communication skills and general common courtesy to another human being.

So you see the trend here. Just don't be an ass. Don't assume every contractor needs every job just to stay above water. You would not believe the range I will price the same job to two people based solely on being respectful and decent to the person you called to help keep water out of your house. If anything when people are respectful I sell small repairs damn near at cost.

I understand with a big storm things can be stressful and you need things repaired quickly. Your attitude will determine not only the price, but if I'm willing to work a little late to get to your house, or if it goes to the end of the line.

This isn't a cry baby rant i love my job. Generally trying to help some of y'all out of you get roof damage from this storm. Those of your that provide a service to the general public know how incredibly rude people are when they feel like you need the job from them more then they need the service from you.

 

[03Sssnake]

We got ours done last year, no out of pocket. The roof had been damaged several weeks before by hail. The salesman/estimator for a roofing company was briefly living with his in-laws down the street from us. Anyways long story short his prized French Bulldog got out and took off, I rescued it. He was very grateful and we hit it off, hooked us up on the roof. Though I am sure he still had plenty of margin after the insurance company wrote their checks.

 

[Rct851]

I'm sure he did. Insurance pays better then what the retail market commands.

 

[03cobra#694]

Roofs here are outta control. Even rumors that the insurance companies may not insure you if your roof is over 10-15 years old or something like that.

 

[DriftwoodSVT]

Metal roof here. Hopefully it lasts a long time.

 

[Blk04L]

Meh, flex seal is cheaper. lol

Had some roof leaks this year, both to shoddy new construction.
Being nice goes a long way, but surprised at the price differences I got on quotes.
First guy I used before on a flashing repair wanted $650 to fix/reseal an attic vent. Added $200 to the quote(initially 450) due to having to break up/re mortar it.
Second guy wanted $375 and had been in the game for a long time. Not some new timer trying to make a name for himself.

 

[Coiled03]

You would not believe the range I will price the same job to two people based solely on being respectful and decent to the person you called to help keep water out of your house.

Word gets around about jackasses like you.

 

[Black2010]

I'm sorry but the problem is your industry (not you). Anytime you need a contractor for work you, as the consumer, are having to be prepared for:
- bull S excuses on why the cost went up after they quoted things
- delays on top of delays
- dicking around with pricing
- not exactly pleasant experiences with the people you sub your work out to

I could go on. I know nothing about you so I'm not saying you our how you run your business is like, but your industry has set the standard. Their are a lot of bad apples out there which cause the consumers to be irritated the min they need help. It's almost like used car salesmen but I feel general contractors get and even worse wrap.

 

[Rct851]

Word gets around about jackasses like you.

And what's that word? "Shit y'all wouldn't believe it, when I called this contractor and I was a real asshole he didn't want to work for me. Just because I come off as a sue happy, irrational piece of white trash I should expect immediate service and bottom dollar prices."

Did you miss the part about doing work at cost for simply being respectful of another human? I don't want to rip off somebody for a little roof leak it doesn't feel right. Customers show me on a daily basis competing quotes for $700-$1000 on the same job I charged $325.

Trust me. Word does get around. That's why our phones ring off the hook and referrals are our number #1 source of advertisement by far.

I bend over backwards for people and I'm happy to do it.

 

[Rct851]

I'm sorry but the problem is your industry (not you). Anytime you need a contractor for work you, as the consumer, are having to be prepared for:
- bull S excuses on why the cost went up after they quoted things
- delays on top of delays
- dicking around with pricing
- not exactly pleasant experiences with the people you sub your work out to

I could go on. I know nothing about you so I'm not saying you our how you run your business is like, but your industry has set the standard. Their are a lot of bad apples out there which cause the consumers to be irritated the min they need help. It's almost like used car salesmen but I feel general contractors get and even worse wrap.

I agree 100%. Some of this could be avoided by not always making the decision on who to use solely on being the cheapest.

 

[Black2010]

Agreed, but you have to go through a dozen people to find one that "seems" honest. Then it's a hope and prayer. Once you find a good one you are golden but until then it's a nightmare. Which can take normally calm people into grumpy old men faster than a new Ferrari.

 

[ZYBORG]

The long lost art of ... common courtesies and human decency...

 

[Stanley]

It's actually pretty simple.

1. Be nice to the person in the office that takes your initial call. This person may not be the roofer or the estimator, but she/he will be giving the estimator the first impression we have of you as a customer. Unbelievable how people will talk down to the girls in the office but change their tone when i call to make an appointment or am giving a price.

2. When the estimator calls you answer the phone like a decent human being. "Huh" or "ya" tells me a lot about you. I'm experienced enough to have found a pattern of who I do or do not want to do work for based on their communication skills and general common courtesy to another human being.

So you see the trend here. Just don't be an ass. Don't assume every contractor needs every job just to stay above water. You would not believe the range I will price the same job to two people based solely on being respectful and decent to the person you called to help keep water out of your house. If anything when people are respectful I sell small repairs damn near at cost.

I understand with a big storm things can be stressful and you need things repaired quickly. Your attitude will determine not only the price, but if I'm willing to work a little late to get to your house, or if it goes to the end of the line.

This isn't a cry baby rant i love my job. Generally trying to help some of y'all out of you get roof damage from this storm. Those of your that provide a service to the general public know how incredibly rude people are when they feel like you need the job from them more then they need the service from you.

Shoot me some contact info. Even without this storm I will need a roof done either next year or the year after.

 

[gimmie11s]

So whats the going rate for a standard 3/2 1800 sf one story house for a full new shingle roof?

Im asking nicely. LOL

 

[SolarYellow]

Word gets around about jackasses like you.

Actually, yes, word will get around but not in the way you think it will.

 

[Kline12]

I worked for a roofing company here in Greenville, SC as a door to door salesman for a few months and that is a job I will NEVER do again lol. The roofing industry is extremely saturated in this area. I would drive into a neighborhood that looked as if a roofing company had never been in before and you would not believe the people when they came to the door. Rude as hell. But I completely understood it. They've been pestered day in and day out by guys like me wanting to "sell" them a new roof.

I will say this though, there is a TON of money that can be made as a roofing contractor or salesman. It's just getting harder and harder to do if you are just now trying to make a name for yourself. The established companies that have been at it since the beginning control the market, and everybody already knows who they are.

 

[Rct851]

So whats the going rate for a standard 3/2 1800 sf one story house for a full new shingle roof?

Im asking nicely. LOL

If you mean 3/12 that's a fairly shallow pitched roof. I'd want to use a water barrier such as storm guard instead of your typical 30lb felt. This is a little more expensive but still your total would be about $5400 for a 30 year shingle


For a simple 1 story that's not too steep or cut up I figure $225 per sq. after ridge and waste are considered. If you have a steep 2 story it would be as much as 255per sq. Typically these house have far more ridge and waste because of more valleys etc.

 

[Iamchris]

I get it.. but it seems kinda shitty to jack the price for some and drop it for others based on how they come across. Plenty of nice and deserving people are jaded, especially to people providing a service because they are used to getting worked over.
I guess the best advice is get multiple quotes and go with the least bipolar.

 

[CobraBob]

A quote from the OP's first post. "You would not believe the range I will price the same job to two people based solely on being respectful and decent to the person you called to help keep water out of your house."

First, I'm all for being respectful to contractors, and everyone else for that matter. That's the way I was raised. But you're saying that depending on your perception of my level of politeness, you may or may not give me an honest and fair quote. IMO, that is as wrong as a consumer who is overly demanding and harsh on the phone in their initial call to you. Here's my concern with your post. When I call a contractor for a quote, unless I know pricing (ie. roof pricing) I'm at the mercy of the contractor's quote as to whether it is fair or not. I'm hoping (and expecting) that the quote will be fair and not inflated. I'm certainly not expecting to be punished for my being less than polite if I'm under a lot of pressure or just having a bad day. To ensure they're being fair and honest, I will usually get 2-3 quotes for the same work. That's routine. Now if one contractor's price is high, it could very well be due to factors completely unrelated to "my politeness". I understand all of that and this is why we get, and should get, competitive quotes. But come on, to outright state that you might give me a higher quote just because you decide I might fall below your standard of politeness is just wrong.

I've dealt with MANY contractors over the years. In well over half, the experiences were less than stellar, where after the work was performed the contractor became difficult to work with or outright rude. When that happens, I'm usually at the mercy of the contractor unless I want to pursue legal action, which I've never done. So let's just say that both the contractor AND the consumer should be fair to each other, honest with each other, and polite to each other. And that includes ALL aspects of a project -- price quote, construction/labor, and post-construction/labor issues, if any.

 

[Rct851]

I get it.. but it seems kinda shitty to jack the price for some and drop it for others based on how they come across. Plenty of nice and deserving people are jaded, especially to people providing a service because they are used to getting worked over.
I guess the best advice is get multiple quotes and go with the least bipolar.

I encourage all my customers to have multiple quotes even if they are adamant on using us already.

And y'all I don't want to misrepresent what my complaint is. I am reasonable and I'm not talking about having my ass kissed by any means. I'm not asking for a customer to be near as respefectul to me as I am to them. There are all kinds of personalities out there. But I would be foolish not to use the experience i a have to keep the company from getting burned.

we do not take any money until the job is complete. There is a clear pattern of who happily pays us for a job well done and who we have to call for months to get a $325 for a job well done. How many office hours need to be wasted hunting down the money were owed?