How to Choose a Roofer in Chester County, PA

Choosing a roofer in Chester County mostly comes down to checks you can run yourself, starting with the contractor's Pennsylvania home improvement registration and a written contract that carries what state law requires. Insurance and manufacturer certification get confirmed with the insurer and the manufacturer. We're a roofing contractor in West Chester, and our own registration number is in here so you can check us the same way.

The short version

• Registration first. Pennsylvania requires home improvement contractors to register with the Attorney General's office before they do the work. Search the legal name, which isn't always the name on the truck.
• The contract has a legal checklist. A home improvement contract in Pennsylvania isn't enforceable against you unless it's in writing, legible and carries the contractor's registration number.
• Three business days. You can cancel a signed home improvement contract without penalty within three business days.
• Check at the source. A certificate of insurance should come from the insurer, and a manufacturer certification should show up in that manufacturer's own contractor directory.

Start with the Pennsylvania registration

Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires home improvement contractors to register with the state before they take on the work. The registration is held by the Attorney General's office, which keeps a public lookup online and a toll-free number you can call to confirm a contractor is registered.

Search the legal name, because plenty of roofing companies trade under a brand that isn't the name on the registration. We do business as Clear Roofing & Exteriors, the registration is held by Clear Exteriors LLC, and the number is PA179710. If the name a roofer gives you doesn't turn up, ask which company the registration is under before you assume the worst.

The number belongs on the paperwork too. Under the same law a home improvement contract isn't valid or enforceable against the owner unless it carries the performing contractor's registration number, so look for it on the contract.

Who pulls the permit

The state registers contractors, but the building permit comes from your own township or borough. Ask who pulls it. When we pull a permit for a roof replacement in West Chester or elsewhere in Chester County, the township wants our contractor credentials on file.

Read the contract against what the law requires

The same act spells out what a home improvement contract has to contain. The main items:

• Registration number and signatures. In writing, legible, with the contractor's registration number, signed by you and by the contractor or their salesperson.
• A real address. The contractor's name, address and phone number. A post office box alone doesn't count as an address under the law.
• Dates. The date of the transaction, plus an approximate start date and completion date.
• The scope. A description of the work and the materials, with specifications that can't change without a written change order signed by both of you. On a roof we'd want to see the shingle line, the underlayment and the flashing named, not implied.
• The money. The total price, or a time-and-materials provision with a written initial estimate. Any down payment and any money advanced for special-order materials are listed separately.
• Subcontractors. Names, addresses and phone numbers of the subcontractors known when you sign.
• Insurance. The contractor's agreement to carry at least $50,000 of liability insurance for personal injury and $50,000 for property damage, and the amount of coverage actually in force at signing.
• Your rights. The Attorney General's toll-free number and a notice of your right to cancel.

Three business days, and the clauses that don't hold

You can rescind a signed home improvement contract without penalty within three business days of signing it, wherever it was signed, with a narrow exception for certain emergencies. You're also owed a completed copy of the contract, notices attached, at the time it's signed, at no charge.

Some clauses make the contract voidable by the owner just by being in it: a hold harmless clause, a waiver of building code requirements, a confession of judgment, a waiver of your right to a jury trial, or a provision that the contractor gets its attorney fees. If a roofing contract has one of those in it, ask for it to be struck.

Check insurance and certifications where they're issued

The contract has to state the insurance, but a line in a contract isn't proof. Ask for a current certificate of insurance and have the insurer send it to you directly. Our guide to comparing roofing quotes in West Chester covers that request and the rest of what a bid should spell out.

Manufacturer certifications get checked the same way, on the manufacturer's site. GAF lists its Master Elite contractors on its own contractor locator and reviews that standing every year, and CertainTeed keeps its own directory of certified contractors. We're GAF Master Elite and a CertainTeed ShingleMaster, and our registration and certification details sit on one page so you can check each of them.

Questions worth asking before you sign

The registration and the contract cover the legal side. For how the job will actually run, ask:

• Who is on the roof, and who do you call. On our jobs, project manager Zach runs the crews and keeps you updated through the job.
• What happens if the decking is rotten. Nobody sees the plywood until the old shingles are off, so the good answer is a per-sheet price agreed ahead of time and your approval before anything gets added.
• What warranties you get in writing. Two of them: the manufacturer's warranty on the materials and the contractor's warranty on the workmanship.
• How cleanup works. We run a magnetic sweep for nails and haul off every scrap of the old roof. Whoever you hire, get it written down.

We had several issues with our roof that were overlooked by previous contractors, and they took the time to inspect everything, explain the problems clearly, and fix them the right way.

Storm season red flags

After a big hail or wind storm, out-of-town crews tend to start knocking on doors. Some of them are fine, and the registration search sorts a lot of it out fast. Be wary of anyone who can't give you a Pennsylvania registration number or a street address, or who wants a signature today before the adjuster has even been out.

If a storm caused the damage, get the roof documented before you sign anything and read how a roof insurance claim works in Chester County so you know what the adjuster will be looking at.

Our roof replacement page walks through how one of our jobs runs, from the first inspection to the final walk-around.

Hiring a roofer in Pennsylvania: common questions