Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
A new roof in Rancho Santa Margarita, priced honestly
A re-roof is the second-largest cheque most homeowners write on their house, and the one they have the least information about.
Describe the replacement job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Rancho Santa Margarita contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Rancho Santa Margarita 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.
- Ventilation: what is there now, what it should be
- How the site is protected, and who cleans up the nails
- Tear-off or overlay, and what the local code allows
- Who pulls the permit, and what the inspection schedule looks like
- Which underlayment, and whether ice-and-water goes on the eaves and valleys
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.
Two quotes at the same price can be very different roofs. Compare the layers, not the brand name on the shingle.
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.
Locally
The second problem is morning fog that sits on the roof until mid-morning. Damp that arrives every morning and leaves by lunchtime is worse for a roof than rain, because nothing ever fully dries between one and the next.
About replacement here
Are the contractors licensed and insured?
Contractors have to give us their state licence number and proof of liability and workers compensation cover before they can receive requests. You should still ask to see current certificates yourself before work starts — a licence can lapse between checks.
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.
Should I take the cheapest quote?
Not automatically. Put the quotes side by side on layers, not on totals — underlayment, ice-and-water, drip edge, valley treatment, ventilation, decking allowance, warranty. Cheap usually means less of those, not the same roof for less money.
It is leaking right now. What do I do?
Contain the water, photograph everything, and get the request in marked as an emergency. A tarp is the right first job. The permanent repair is a separate conversation and a separate price.
Start with a free estimate
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.