Montclair, CA
Get your Montclair roof looked at properly
Half the people who ask for a replacement need a repair, and a handful of the people who ask for a repair need a replacement. An hour on the roof sorts that out.
Describe the inspection job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Montclair contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Montclair 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 inspection job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- Photographs of anything they flag
- Whether the fee comes off the job if you proceed
- Whether the inspection includes going into the attic
- An estimated number of years left in the covering
- A written report, not a verbal summary
Ask for an estimated remaining life in years, and what would extend it. That answer is the useful part.
Either way, ask for photographs. A report with pictures of your actual roof is worth ten times one with a tick-box condition rating.
Twice a year is the standard advice, and almost nobody does it. Once after the worst weather of the year is a reasonable compromise.
Locally
The second problem is ember intrusion through vents and open eaves. Most houses lost to wildfire are lost to embers arriving ahead of the fire, not to the fire itself.
About inspection here
What warranty should I expect?
Two separate things. The manufacturer covers the material for its rated life, but only if it was installed to their specification. The contractor covers workmanship, commonly five to ten years, and only for as long as they are trading.
Is moss on the roof a problem?
Yes, eventually. Moss holds water against the shingle and lifts the edges as it thickens. Zinc or copper strip at the ridge suppresses it. Pressure washing an asphalt roof strips the granules and does more harm than the moss did.
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.
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Codes in most places allow two layers. That does not make it wise. You lose the chance to see the deck, and the next roofer has twice as much to remove.
Get the roof looked at
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.