Roofing
Hiring a Contractor - Pros & Cons
Hiring a Contractor – Pros & Cons
There are advantages and disadvantages to fixing or replacing your roof yourself and hiring a contractor. Besides the issue of costs, factors also include: experience, guarantees, contacts, and time.
Experience
Do It Yourself – Obviously the contractor wins hands down on experience. The only time when that isn’t true is when you have an unscrupulous contractor, which is why you must always ask for references.
Contractor - A good contractor should be able to tell you about other jobs that they did for other clients. This experience will save you money by doing the job right the first time. If that doesn’t happen, the contractor is responsible for fixing the job at the cost he quoted you in the majority of cases.
Guarantees
Do It Yourself – You screw up the job, you have to re-do it. There is no guarantee for a do-it-yourselfer and people typically don’t take out insurance on themselves or the job. If you get hurt on the job, it comes out of your health insurance costs.
Contractor – Contractors not only should carry insurance on their workers and themselves, but also on the quality of the job. For instance, a roofing contractor should guarantee the roof will not leak after the job for a set period of time and should return to patch any areas of trouble without paying additional monies.
Contacts
Do It Yourself – Without working a long time in the construction industry, you won’t have many contacts when it comes to looking for the best price on materials.
Contractor – A contractor not only has good contacts for materials but also is buying labor at reduced prices too. They can steer you towards materials that are less costly but as effectively and aesthetically pleasing as higher priced options. They buy in bulk and at a discount, sometimes passing some of that to buyer if you pay cash.
Time
Do It Yourself – Without the experience, you’re bound to take more time than a contractor to finish the same job. You might save money but it will cost you in time. If the job is small and time is not an issue, then this can be justified as a decent trade.
Contractor – For larger jobs, the time factor becomes crucial. How long do you want your house to be without a complete roof? When a contractor quotes a job, they also quote you a timeframe for the job.
Do it once, do it right. Hire a pro.