Choosing a roofer in Allentown comes down to a handful of checks you can make yourself before anyone sets a ladder against the house. Look up the company’s Pennsylvania registration, see its insurance on paper, find out what past customers say, and get more than one price in writing. A good ad isn’t proof of quality work.
Ask for the registration number first
Get the number on the first phone call, so you can check it before anyone comes to see the roof. The Attorney General’s office runs the search, and our post on what a roofing estimate should include explains how to use it, along with what being registered does and doesn’t tell you.
Ours is PA134395. It’s in the footer of every page on this site.
See the insurance on paper
A crew spends the whole job on your roof and around your house, so ask what insurance the company carries and for copies of the certificates. The Federal Trade Commission’s guide to hiring a contractor names personal liability, workers’ compensation and property damage coverage. Check that each certificate is current. If it isn’t, you could be held liable for injuries or damage during the job.
If part of the work goes to a subcontractor, ask the same of them.
What past customers say
Ask neighbors and friends who’ve had a roof done which company they used, and whether they’d hire it again. If you can, go and look at the roof.
Online, read the reviews with a critical eye. Look for the same praise, or the same complaint, coming up from different people. It’s also worth searching the company’s name alongside words like “scam” or “complaint.”
Then ask the roofer for references from customers who had a job like yours, and call them. Ask whether the work finished when they were told it would, whether any costs turned up that nobody had mentioned, and how the crew left the yard.
Our own customers’ reviews are on our reviews page, word for word.
Get more than one written price
Ask several roofers for a written estimate, and don’t take the lowest just because it’s the lowest. Where the prices are far apart, ask each company to explain it, to see whether there’s a real reason for the gap.
Tactics scammers use
Some signs of a home improvement scam are easy to spot. Think twice about anyone who:
- turns up at the door because they’re “in the area,” or has materials left over from another job
- presses you to decide on the spot
- wants cash only, or the whole price up front
- asks you to get the building permit yourself
- suggests you borrow the money from a lender they know
Pennsylvania law also caps the deposit a contractor can take on a bigger job.
We’re a roofing contractor in Allentown, at 871 N Fenwick St. Put any of these questions to us on the phone at (484) 553-0213. The written estimate is free, and we give it once we’ve seen the roof.