Hiring guides
Every The Roofers Guide guide tagged hiring. Practical, vetted, written for homeowners hiring a roofer rather than for search engines.
Arkansas roofing contractor registration: the $15,000 bond behind every legitimate residential roofer
Since January 2022, Arkansas residential roofers have had to register with the Contractors Licensing Board and post a $15,000 bond you can claim against. How to run the check in Fort Smith, Rogers, Hot Springs, Van Buren, and Mena, and what the registration does not prove.
Arizona roofing contractor license: what an ROC number proves and the $30,000 recovery fund you lose without one
Arizona roofers need a Registrar of Contractors license, and hiring one who has it is what keeps a $30,000 state recovery fund available to you. The CR-42 classification, the two-year complaint deadline, and the Paradise Valley permit detail most homeowners never hear about.
Kansas roofing contractor registration: how to check a roofer before you sign
Kansas requires every roofing contractor to hold a registration certificate from the attorney general. Here is how to check one, what it proves, what it does not, and the expiration date that gives away an out-of-state crew after a Wichita or Topeka hail storm.
Missouri roofing contractor rules: no state license, and the two laws that protect you instead
Missouri issues no statewide roofing license, so the checks that matter are local. The city-by-city picture in Kansas City, Springfield, Joplin, and St. Louis, plus the deductible law and the five-business-day cancellation right in every storm contract.
How to hire a roofer: the checks that actually predict a good job
The single most predictive signal is local presence under the same name for multiple years. Here is the full list of checks, in the order to run them, and the answers to listen for.
Questions to ask a roofing contractor (and the answers to listen for)
The disqualifying questions, the scope-clarifying questions, the insurance-claim questions, and the red-flag answers that should end a call. In the order to ask them.
Signs you need a new roof (and the ones that just mean a repair)
Most roofs do not need replacement when homeowners think they do. The list of visible signs, the ones only a roofer can see, and the actual lifespan numbers by material and climate.