Please understand that I AM NOT THE ROOFER. I am a former client 2015.
This is written as a reference on a job that turned out much better than
expected. Understand that I am a very demanding client, unreasonable
and with little patience. I do recommend JW Roofing, Jason at 605 760
1782, HIS CREW IS ALL AMERICAN. He services the Yankton Crofton area.
You may text me with a first name and telephone number if you want to
talk and I will call you back. I will not email back as the spammers do
that to steal email addresses. text me at 515 657 7879
Here are the pros and cons.
Pro 1. Jason let me choose my materials and pay direct. I paid actual
cost for everything direct to the roofing supply company. Jason returned
the unused material for which I collected refunds. He even left the
coil nails not used. I gave them back to him for the next job. In the
end I paid actual cost for exactly what was installed. Not one penny
mark up. Jason made suggestions as to quality of shingles but let me
choose. He is not a decorator, but he did help me narrow the material
choices.
Con 1. If you don't know roofing materials you might buy sub quality
product. I was unsure of the small things like felt, ice dam barrier and
vent pipe covers so I bought it all at Jason's recommendation.
Pro 2. Jason charges for labor at a flat fee. You can do this or have
him estimate and get a global bid. Talk it over and make your own
decision. In the past I have had roofers give me a super low bid but
doubled the square footage thinking that I would not get up on the roof
and measure it out. This does happen. I measured and then fired them
quickly.
Con 2. The actual cost will vary depending on the squares installed. In
the end you should expect a 10% install over actual footage due to waste
and maybe more with a Hip roof. That is what mine ran and the bill was
exactly as bid.
Pro 3. Carpentry work. This is a big one. Many roofers will give you a
low dollar quote on roofing and then tell you that they charge extra for
carpentry. The real cost will be in the bloated carpentry charges. So
you are giving them a blank check. My house is 100 years old and needed a
lot of wood replaced. Actually much of the wood could have been left as
is but I wanted everything done perfect so I went all the way. Jason's
crew, are skilled in carpentry, so the wood work was included in the
bid. The carpentry work was exacting. I mean perfect.OMG, I wish I could
do the whole house that way. Cleanup was perfect as shown by the ground
photo.
Con 3. Sometimes you just don't know what is under the shingles until
you tear them off. My roof had excellent wood under the shingles. It
looked like new with the exception of 5 problem areas. Thus, a bid on
carpentry may not be accurate once a tear off occurs. Just be really
afraid of a roofer with a low ball bid followed by the statement, "I
will have to do a lot of wood work." I knew my roof like the back of my
hand. I could see the rafters from under the house so I knew what was
there. If you can get into an attic, take the roofer up and show them
what it is, that will give you a better estimate on wood replacement.
Timing, like most good contractors Jason is busy. Don't expect him to be
there tomorrow, expect to wait a week or so, but it is worth it. I got
lucky and caught him at the end of a job. If you have an immediate leak
he will do a temporary patch until he has time to finish the job. Don't
be shy. Just tell him what you need.
Price. Ok, we all want to know the price and that is what sells the job.
NO, NOT REALLY. As I told you above, some bids are too good to be true
as hidden costs exist in that carpentry stuff and square footage
exaggerations. Joe was not the low bid. He was the most accurate bid in
my opinion. I had bids about 10% lower but with the caveat of, "lots of
wood work." I also had bids that were almost double my actual cost. You
will find many roofing companies that run a very high profit margin and
look only for that low hanging fruit. Thus, do get multiple bids so you
don't pay double. Jason was in the range of the reasonable roofers.
Reasonable but not cut rate. If you want to choose just one roofer,
Jason is your best bet.
Conclusion, if you want a roof installed to industry standards without
huge markups on materials Jason is the man. Talk to him and make your
own decision.
Disclaimer, this is roofing information, not advice. Like most things on
the internet it is free and worth what you paid for it. Please make an
informed decision after careful research. Your needs are certainly
different from mine. Carefully analyze all the pros and cons.
Godspeed