Stand outside your New Jersey house and ask yourself a question: “Am I happy with how my house looks?” If you're hesitant to answer in the affirmative, the problem may be old, gross siding and roofing. The need to replace your roofing or siding is doubly compounded if they're failing to serve their primary function of protecting your home from weather.
Realizing you have to have new roofing and siding in New Jersey can be stressful on its own. It can be an expensive proposition. Adding in to the stress is realizing you have to make detailed decisions on the type of siding or roofing. And then you have actually picked roofing New Jersey and siding contractor.
It's enough to make your head spin. But here are a few good tips for increasing your chances of finding a good contractor to fill your needs.
Don't Be Hasty
One popular scam relating to siding in New Jersey is where a roaming contractor representative will ring your doorbell and offer a free estimate on replacing your house's siding. They'll invariably give you a “great deal” which leads to several possible outcomes: either the good deal is more expensive than their competitors, or their actual bill ends up being much more than was quoted to you. A hasty decision never ends well.
Research, Research, Research
This can range from getting recommendations from friends to reviewing customer complaints through the Better Business Bureau. The point is to get a feeling for the quality of the contractors you're considering. Keep in mind that even excellent businesses can get negative reviews; use good judgment in deciphering the presented information.
Get the Contractors to Submit Bids
Whether you choose roofing NJ shingles or vinyl siding in NJ, putting your project up for bid is the best way to collect estimates from multiple contractors. The bid should include not just the price for the project, but how long they it will take them to do it. Bid submission process forces the contractor to give you the best possible price. However, carefully examine low bids—unsavory contractors may leave crucial things out of the bid to artificially make their offer appear lower.
Remember—a bid isn't a guaranteed price until a contract is signed.
Cheapest Isn't Necessarily Best
Good contractors that do siding and roofing in New Jersey will do quality work and use materials that will withstand years of weather. Bad contractors for siding and roofing in NJ don't care about that—they just want the job and are willing to sacrifice quality to do get it. It doesn’t mean to say that the lowest bid is the worst bid—just exercise caution and, as stated above, do your research.