<p>Angie’s list.</p>
<p>Went through this last summer. I like composition shingles and we replaced wooden shakes with it - with the blessing of the homeowner’s association. Most of the other houses around here are tile roofs - and I’m not crazy about them, either in terms of their look or their practicality. A number of my neighbors have had to have tiles replaced, leaks, etc. (Of course, they didn’t have to re-roof like I did.) The modern comp shingles are attractive, IMO.</p>
<p>I second the recommendation to get multiple offers - it’s confusing because it’s hard to get an “apples to apples” comparison - I had to set up a spreadsheet to compare the half dozen bids we got. There was a big discrepancy. I only considered licensed and insured companies with a detectable track record.</p>
<p>They used to rate shingles as “30 year” “40 year” or “50 year” but dropped that a couple of years ago, so they’re all 'lifetime" - whatever that means. I compared the weight of the different shingles being bid on so I was able to compare between different manufacturers to see which shingles from one company were comparable to shingles from another. Even so, there was a significant variation in bids. </p>
<p>We ended up hiring the same company that did the house across the street.</p>
<p>We are having it done in few days. Company promised to be done in 8 hrs. The cost was lower than we have anticipated. The warranty is 50 yers, we got to pick the color. We did not want to spend time on it at all. So, we have hired the first person that we found on Angie’s list. We were impressed with his very timely reponses. Time is what we value the most. We did not do any research, will see what happens.</p>
<p>We walked around the neighborhood, found roofs we liked, and asked people who did their roof. Initially loved the look of the dimensional shingles that resembled wood shakes, especially as we were removing old wood cedar shakes, but two neighbors told us they’d been problematic–one even had to remove the entire shake roof and replace it with asphalt shingles. </p>
<p>I’ll echo posters who said to install radiant barriers and/or insulation, especially as you’re taking off all the old roofing layers. 15 years later and I’m still annoyed that I didn’t think of that (and that the contractor didn’t suggest it!!!).</p>
<p>Finally, can I just say how cool it is to see the roofers at work? Pretty much our entire block was watching as the looooong trailer conveyer backed into our driveway, raised up one end, and then started running. Amazing to see the 80 lb bundles of shingles being thrown onto the conveyer, and then offloaded onto the roof and run over to whatever area needed more supplies.</p>
<p>“Finally, can I just say how cool it is to see the roofers at work?”
-My goal is to never see them on my roof. I want to come from work and see new roof and no roofers on it. Would be great if they are completely done without our presence.</p>
<p>I think we used this product.
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The bids were written differently.
One included everything, another allowed a proviso to add on hours & the per hr was a little steep.
I went with the fixed estimate.
I have put a lot of work into landscaping my yard & my main concern was do not hurt any plants.
I make sure that when we hire workers that one of us is going to be around for at least part of the project. We’ve learned through experience that when we meet the workers, we are happier with the outcome. It doesn’t take much but when there is mutual respect I think they do a little bit better job.
Even if you aren’t going to be available, it is worth making an effort towards making working conditions more pleasant if you can. Having a bathroom available for instance or a pitcher of lemonade.</p>
<p>Roofing is noisy, so I wasn’t around for the whole thing. It also took longer than a day. But they did a great job cleaning up & it looks great. Plus everyone was local & spoke English.</p>
<p>We’ve done several roofs. My personal criteria for roofers include “what music do you listen to?” Country and western coming through the roof is not a pleasure.</p>
<p>"I have put a lot of work into landscaping my yard "
- We hire for that also and ask them to come when we are not at home.
When we are at home, we do not want to be bothered…</p>
<p>LOL I love seeing landscapers doing work in my yard! It means I and my DH are not doing it. 
We can sit around and drink…something.</p>
<p>“It means I and my DH are not doing it”
-By me, you are doing it partially, as you are in the same space so to speak, you hear them talk and might even hear some machines working. It is way too much for us…But I understand that it might be entertaining for some, almost like watching a nice movie…speaking of which, we cannot locate any lately, I rather watch the old ones over and over and over, sometime in a row…entertainment is hard to come by these days, so I fully understand that you figure our yours…</p>
<p>Great advice here!</p>
<p>I’d add that some building supply companies have showrooms open to the public even if they sell only to contractors. The salespersons can explain the advantages of different kinds of roofing and you can go into discussions with roofers with a little knowledge under your belt. Some companies will also recommend contractors. Contractors on whom they get bad feedback are removed from their lists so this can act as a rough screening. If you live in the Northeast:
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<p>MiamiDAP–are you trying to say we watch landscapers instead of movies? Because you are quite mistaken. LOL</p>
<p>"MiamiDAP–are you trying to say we watch landscapers instead of movies? Because you are quite mistaken. LOL "
-Well, it sounds from few posts above, that it is entertaining for some people to watch landscapers. Certainly, not for us, we ask all services to come at the time when we are not at home. But I envy others who find their entertainment. It is hard to come by these days…</p>
<p>^I gather from your sarcasm you still think we find landscapers entertaining. We do like the IDEA of us not doing the work and yet it gets done. Quite professionally, I may add, and faster than we would have done it.</p>
<p>I also like the idea of my teenage son working. But I do not find entertainment in watching him. I happily get my own work done or sometimes…I sit and have coffee.</p>
<p>And back to roofing–some people do put on their own roofs, on a ranch house where the height isn’t a major factor, but this is also something I leave to the professionals!</p>
<p>My dad and his brothers did most our re-roof a few years ago. The only guy they hired was a shingler who showed up every few days when he wasn’t drinking. The shingler seemed like he was a nice guy but he was a rough character…he told us he used to date Aileen Wournos the woman serial killer.</p>
<p>mommusic,
“I gather from your sarcasm you still think we find landscapers entertaining”
-I am not any close to being sarcastic at all. Why?
some people like to be entertained watching others working, we prefer to be left alone and everything done around the house in our abcense. Why you call it sarcasm, I am at loss.</p>
<p>Wow, I would never have thought of putting on a roof as being a DIY project. </p>
<p>I’m always amazed at the knowledge and talents of those on CC.</p>
<p>We put on a new roof when we were preparing our house for sale. We had sustained damage after a bad hail storm, so it was mostly covered by insurance. It took several days, and the noise was almost unbearable at times. The dogs freaked.</p>
<p>When we rented a house while we looked for another one, that owner had to put a new roof on. It was a huge house, took many days, and again, the noise was awful. If I could have left I would have.</p>
<p>I have gotten quotes and they range from $6,600 to $13,500 so I will have to go look at their work. I am still shaking my head at the $13,500. The same exact installation by another contractor is $7,890 and they are also a shingle master.</p>
<p>Also make sure you know local building code and whether you need a building permit for roofing jobs. Here in southern NY you need a minimum 2’ of ice damming protection material under the shingles at the outer edges of the roof.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP–I give up. If it’s not sarcasm it’s willfully choosing to misunderstand, but I’d rather think it’s a language problem. I will give you the benefit of the doubt, ok? </p>
<p>Re the wide variance in prices, I have read that contractors use a sliding scale depending on the neighborhood. In other words, they charge what they think they can get.</p>