Getting a new roof can be a daunting task, not to mention an investment in your home. We were…read morereferred to Burns Roofing by The Paine House Museum as they did the replacement roofs on both the museum and the barn as well as being a company sponsor to the museum.
We sent requests for quotes out to five roofing companies. Burns got back to us the same day by phone and email. One company called back same day but took 5 days to email a quote, another took 6 days to call back and a third over a week to send an email response. The fifth company never got back to us. We had referrals for three of the five companies from neighbors and associates. The other two we chose based on Yelp reviews.
I expected quick turn around on the quotes and based on promptness of contact, quality of product and quoted price, we decided to go with Burns. As it turned out, one of the later quotes we received from another vendor was for the same roofing system at a slightly lower price. We talked to our contact at Burns Roofing and he matched that other quote price after verifying they were a fully licensed and insured contractor. It always feels good to save a bit of money doesn't it? And with all the projects that need doing around here, that money will definitely be well spent!
Burns is a licensed general contractor AND specifically for roofing, which is a thing in RI, so be sure who ever you hire for roof work has that specification. They are insured: be sure to ask for a copy of the insurance certificate before work begins, and guarantee the quality of their craftmanship.
Burns was able to get to our roof replacement in less than two weeks. Day of, the crew showed up bright and early! Tarps were nailed to the roof to 'slide' the old materials off the roof, into the yard below. One employee had the task of raking up the old material and cart it to the mobile dump truck they drove in that morning. He spent the entire day keeping the yard tidy. Sadly, some of my plants suffered from the materials coming off the roof, but only a couple of rather fragile herbs and they'll grow back.
The crew of seven were up on the roof as early as possible scraping off the one layer of shingles and underlayment. This is an extremely noisy procedure. My SO was outside with the onsite supervisor watching the workers and taking photos for me. I was inside drinking tea (did I mention it was *early*!?) and reading the news and wow these guys are on it! They work as a team, everyone knows what their part of this ballet is and they just get to it. Toot-sweet and the old roof was off.
Brief pause in the noise as they examine the plywood under the shingles, all is well so on with the new. From inside I can hear them attaching the new underlayment, and making fast work of it! At the same time, bundles of new shingles are being hoisted onto the roof and the nailing begins. Again, loud inside, but much less so than the scraping off.
New drip edge, new flashing on the chimney, new flanges around the roof vents and a breathable roof ridge are all included in the work. (Some of the later quotes I got either re-used the old flashing and flanges or added a charge for those items, so buyer beware, a lower quote may end up as more expensive in the end). This is a complete Certain-Teed roofing system.
They took a break to cool off under a tree and eat lunch after the roof was complete, then began cleaning up the yard. Picking up remaining detritus scattered around, using the magnet to pick up nails in the yard, putting away tools and sweeping the driveway. We found a few nails on the back deck (second story) where the magnet could not go but they swept it up nicely with just a bit of material left on the lower cross portion of the deck railing and the top. Tiny bits, easily swept up. I have come across some very small pieces of old shingle in the yard but all in all, it was a very thorough clean up.
Whoever you choose for your roofing needs, please be sure they are correctly licensed. Check the state's website to verify if the license is active and if they have any violations. Through that site we found one vendor (handyman we were thinking of hiring) who's license was no longer active due to violating workmen's comp requirement, so do check first. Also, be sure to get a copy of their insurance certificate. If anyone is hurt on your property, and the contractor doesn't have enough insurance, the injured party can sue you/your homeowners insurance.
After clean up was done my husband walked the property with the supervisor. When satisfied with clean up, he received our payment, signed off on the work order as paid in full and gave us the permit information just in case we receive any inquiries. We love the look of the new roof and the peace of mind knowing we are well protected (literally) and covered by both the Certain-Teed and Burns Roofing warranties