Choosing a Nashville roofing company is the biggest decision you’ll make for your roofing project. Making the wrong hire leads to stress and costly problems that won’t go away until you get a new roof.
Because of this, choosing a Nashville roofing company is a decision that can’t be taken lightly. Unfortunately, the Nashville area is saturated with companies.
It’s overwhelming to weed through all the options, plus you still have to determine which ones are reputable. I want to turn this overwhelming, frustrating experience into a positive one.
For over 30 years, the team at Bill Ragan Roofing has provided long-lasting roofing solutions to homeowners in Nashville and surrounding Middle Tennessee areas. We believe in complete transparency and honesty, even if it means we don’t win your business.
This article breaks down the following signs of a great Nashville roofing company:
- Local and established in Nashville
- Have the appropriate paperwork to work in Nashville
- Offers long-term protection
- Isn’t afraid to provide you with references
- Goes over your roof estimate with you
- Doesn’t hide anything in the fine print
1. The roofing company is local and established in the Nashville area
The first sign of a great Nashville is that they’re local to the Nashville area. Any potential roofing company must have a physical office address in the area and a phone number with a Middle Tennessee area code.
A local Nashville roofing company knows local installation codes, paperwork required, and everything else needed to ensure your roof complies with Tennessee’s state requirements. While being local is crucial, you should also look for a well-established roofing company with a strong history in Nashville.
This ensures they’ll still be there to take care of your roof investment and honor their workmanship warranty if problems show up. Just know that newer Nashville roofing companies most likely have cheaper prices.
Unfortunately, most don’t know how to price jobs correctly to have retained earnings to get them through the slow months, which leads to shutting down. That's not to say there aren’t good young companies in Nashville who will be around for the long haul.
However, this is a common problem homeowners in the Nashville area run into frequently.
2. The roofing company has the appropriate paperwork to work in Nashville
The next sign of a great Nashville roofing company is that they are properly licensed, bonded, and insured in the state of Tennessee and local counties (if applicable). These three pieces of paper protect you and ensure the job is done correctly.
If a Nashville roofing company doesn’t have them, you literally have zero recourse if something goes wrong, someone gets hurt, or the business shuts down. But what does it mean to be licensed, bonded, and insured?
Licensed
For a contractor to get a license, all they have to do is register with the Tennessee State Board of Licensing Contractors. A project over $3,000 requires a home improvement license, and anything over $25,000 requires a general contractor’s license.
Because a new roof is a large investment, Nashville roofing companies should have a general contractor’s license.
Bonded
Being bonded means that a bonding company knows that a Nashville roofing company does business correctly and ethically. This bond protects you if they go out of business during the middle of a job or if there's a problem they won't fix.
If a Nashville roofing company isn’t bonded, either they didn’t get it or the bonding companies don’t trust the roofer’s work.
Insured
Every Nashville roofing company should be fully insured with general liability, workman's comp, and a company vehicle insurance policy on all owned and unowned vehicles. General liability insurance and workman’s comp limits depend on the size of the jobs and the state.
If all they do is small residential work, their general liability will be less than a company that does larger jobs.
If a roofing contractor isn’t licensed, bonded, and insured in Tennessee, don’t even think about hiring them. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you will have zero recourse.
3. A great Nashville roofing company offers long-term protection
Every Nashville roofing company should offer you some kind of workmanship warranty in the event of installation errors. This could be anywhere from one year, two years, three years, five years, 10 years, 25 years, or even a lifetime.
However, a great Nashville roofing company isn’t afraid to offer long-term protection with at least a 10-year workmanship warranty. Some companies, us included, even offer lifetime guarantees.
The length of the warranty is a good indication of a Nashville roofing company’s installation quality. For example, a company that relies heavily on caulk will give a two-year workmanship warranty because the caulk will fail within a couple of years.
But if a Nashville roofing company takes pride in their work, believes in the products, and follows all installation instructions, they’ll provide you with a lifetime warranty or close to it.
4. The Nashville roofing company isn’t afraid to provide you with references
Whether it’s for a service or product, getting references is one of the best ways to narrow down or make the right decision. A great Nashville roofing company isn’t afraid to give you references to previous work when you ask for them.
By talking to references, you’ll learn about their experience (good or bad) and what problems they had during the entire process. Every Nashville roofing company that gives you an estimate should happily provide references from jobs completed in the past 3 to 6 months.
After all, every reputable company wants to show off the quality of work and the customer experience. If they’re unwilling to give you references, don’t even think about hiring them.
5. The Nashville roofing company goes over your roof estimate with you
Every roof estimate (quote, proposal, etc.) should be as specific as possible with an itemized list of everything that will be done during your roof replacement. This shows transparency on everything you’re paying for, from the roofing materials to the roofing contractor’s labor and more.
Once you get an estimate, a great Nashville roofing company will go through it with you so you fully understand what you’re about to sign. This is also the perfect opportunity to ask questions and raise any concerns.
Going over the estimate is actually the most important part of getting a final quote or proposal. Even if the estimate and its line items are laid out perfectly, it’s a huge red flag if a Nashville roofing company isn’t willing to go over it with you.
6. A great Nashville roofing company doesn’t hide anything in the fine print
Just like most contracts, a roof estimate includes some fine print. A great Nashville roofing company will be upfront about anything in the fine print on your contract.
If anything, they’ll review it when going over your estimate. But unfortunately, the fine print is where a lot of companies hide exclusions or “not responsible” clauses, thinking homeowners won’t read it.
This usually revolves around responsibility for damage to your property, like landscaping, gutters, windows, light fixtures, sprinkler heads, and even things hanging in your home. If something ends up broken or damaged, they’ll just point to the fine print that clears them of any responsibility.
This isn’t how a reputable Nashville roofing company does business. If the fine print isn’t there or you find it hidden deep in your estimate (like on the back of a page), don’t think about hiring them.
What questions should you ask a potential Nashville roofing company?
Now you know 6 signs of a great Nashville roofing company. But even if you find one that checks all the boxes, you need to dig a little deeper before making a decision.
The best way to do this is by asking any potential Nashville roofing company some crucial questions. Not only does this build trust, but you’ll also be able to determine if they have your best interest in mind and do things the right way.
That’s why I made a 16-question checklist with the main questions (answers also included) every homeowner should be asking a Nashville roofing company. With the checklist, I’m confident you’ll hire a great roofer in the Nashville area.
But did you know that we’re a Nashville roofing company thousands of homeowners have trusted for over 30 years? Bill Ragan Roofing provides high-quality workmanship with a customer experience to match, which is why we proudly offer a Lifetime Craftsmanship Guarantee.
If you think we’re the right Nashville roofing company for you, don’t hesitate to Contact Us today and never worry about your roof again.
Whether it’s us or another roofer, get the Checklist of Questions to Ask a Roofing Contractor to help you find the right Nashville roofing company for your roofing project.
