Rolling Hills Estates, CA
Replacing a roof in Rolling Hills Estates: what it takes
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 Rolling Hills Estates contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Rolling Hills Estates 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.
- Tear-off or overlay, and what the local code allows
- A written per-sheet price for replacing bad decking
- How the site is protected, and who cleans up the nails
- Which underlayment, and whether ice-and-water goes on the eaves and valleys
- Ventilation: what is there now, what it should be
Insist on knowing what happens to decking that turns out to be rotten. The good answer is a per-sheet price agreed in writing before the job starts.
Two quotes at the same price can be very different roofs. Compare the layers, not the brand name on the shingle.
Ask how long the crew has been together. Roofing is a trade where the same company name can mean an entirely different set of hands from one season to the next.
Locally
Then, less dramatically: shaded slopes that never really dry out. The north side of a house here ages years faster than the south side, and almost every roof gets replaced because of it.
About replacement here
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Often you legally can, and it is usually a poor idea. Overlaying hides the condition of the decking, adds weight, shortens the life of the new shingles by trapping heat, and doubles the cost of the next tear-off.
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.
How long does a re-roof take?
Two days is typical for asphalt. Add days for steep pitch, multiple layers to strip, tile work, or a roof with a lot of valleys and penetrations.
Do I need a permit?
Almost certainly, for a full replacement. The contractor should pull it, and the fee should be a visible line on the quote rather than a surprise.
Ready for a real number?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.