How “cheap” is a cheap roof?
How cheap is a lower-priced roof? That really depends.
Here’s the problem:
What do most people want from a new roof or repair? No leaks. No need for repairs. No early replacement. That’s what most people want. But what most people get is something very different.
Think about this: more than 70% of the roofs we are called out to repair were installed by someone else less than 10 years ago. The reason? The roofer cut corners on installation to give the customer a low price.
Truth is… the most expensive roof you will ever buy is the one that needs to be replaced or repaired early.
That’s why a Zimmerman’s roof is guaranteed to not leak. We also guarantee it will last longer. We guarantee that no one can install your roof the way the manufacturer designed it to be installed for less than we can. And we guarantee you 100% satisfaction, or your money back.
Here’s what far too many homeowners have discovered:
The most expensive roof you can buy is the one that has to be repaired or replaced early.
A roof is not cheap. Even a cheaply installed one costs thousands of dollars at today’s prices. But a roof that doesn’t last or perform as promised is even more expensive.
Roofing prices are soaring along with the price of oil. Any roof you replace at today’s dollars could easily cost two to three times as much in just a few years. That means you don’t want to have to touch a roof again after you have invested in replacing it.
Here’s a frightening fact: More than 70% of the roofs we are called out to repair were installed by someone else less than 10 years ago. In almost all of those cases, the homeowner chose a “cheaper” roof option and suddenly discovered leaks or other problems that should not have occurred for decades. That just added significantly to the real cost of that roof.
We see examples every day where the most expensive roofs become the least expensive options within less than 10 years. That’s right. They are less expensive, because they don’t need repairs or early replacement.
The fact is that roofing materials cost what they cost. A cheap roofer who thinks he has to compete with a lower price can only beat that quality roofer’s price by cutting corners. They have to use cheaper materials that don’t perform as well, they don’t install everything the way they should, or they just don’t do what they promised. We see it all the time.
- They use cheap underlayment that doesn’t protect your home, when water gets behind the shingles (which happens regularly even with the best shingles).
- They re-use old drip edge, underlayment, or other materials that cannot protect your home against leaks.
- They use lower quality shingles that don’t hold up to weather as well.
- They only use three or four nails instead of the six nails that top manufacturers demand in order to get the full warranty on their product.
- They use untrained people who cost less, but don’t know how to install a roof to last.
- They carry the minimum $50,000 of insurance required of a registered contractor (or they don’t become a registered contractor at all), which is not enough insurance to cover any serious accident, leaving the homeowner responsible for medical or property bills even though it was the contractor’s fault.
Choosing a cheap roof can easily cost you far more than the original cost of the roof. Is it worth it to you to take that risk?
Here’s are two ways to avoid this problem:
- Demand that you talk to past customers who have lived with that roofer’s work for three or more years.
- Read the roofer’s guarantees. (Not the manufacturer’s warranties.) The manufacturer’s warranties are not even in effect on most roofs we see, because even the smallest error in installation voids the manufacturer’s warranty. It is the roofer’s guarantees that really make the difference. Read them carefully, and don’t accept a verbal guarantee under any circumstances. (add link here to our guarantees page)
Only then can you be sure that you are talking to a roofer you can really trust both to do a good job AND to stand behind it when there are minor issues.
SEE OUR GUARANTEES and know what you could be getting with your new roof.
If you want a fair price on a roof that we guarantee won’t leak, will last longer, will cost you less than any other properly-installed roof, and will satisfy you 100%…, then give us a call at 717.354.3737, or click the box below to set a no-obligation appointment with one of our highly-qualified roofing specialists.
