Roofing repair cost policy.

Looking for a little insight on repair policy's. I have been charging a minimum for repair that take less than an hour and find myself going back on a few jobs trying to trouble shoot. This being done without additional charge. Does someone out there have a policy on trial and error repairs?

Thanks

Ty

Repairs - We have a minimum assessment/possible remedy charge - then it's hourly + cost of materials thereafter.

We have all our repair cost written down so you know the neighbor is paying the same as you.

If we are not positive about the cause of a leak. We ask them if they want to go thru the process of elimination or just redo the whole section of roof. If they choose the process of elimination, we tell them any repair we do needed to be done and is the most likely cause. If that does not fix the leak, we will go to the next likely thing cause and there will be a new invoice for that repair. Any repair is guarranty for a year.

According to the roof repair cost policy you should charge according to the type of roof,material of roof and area of roof. The estimate of roof repair should be fair and unbiased.

I only do roof repairs, I work alone. I charge $100 an hour plus materials. No guaranties, unless I installed the roof. I make that perfectly clear, ON THE PHONE, before I go to the job. I don't give estimates, except over the phone and that's all it is. I have 30+ years experience, so I can diagnose most problems over the phone without even looking at the problem.

You can't run it this way unless you have the experience and knowledge to back it up. and you can't have that kind of attitude unless you have enough jobs to be able to let one or two cancel and not have it mess up your schedule or jobs. most of the time if they decline, they'll call back and set up an appointment when the prior roofer can't find the problem.

One of the common questions homeowner wonder is "Will my insurance cover the cost of my roof replacement or repair?". Remember a small damaged section of your roof can lead to flooding & wasted energy. TIP: Even if there is not any visible damage, but your roof has expired its warranty, you should get an immediate inspection of your roof. Well the cost of roof replacement depends largely on the extent of the damage to your roof. Before getting this done get an estimate from a professional roofing contractor in your area.

Repairs are a whole different animal versus replacements. To do them properly with few to no call backs requires a LOT of experience especially in the initial diagnosis.

The time to "trouble shoot" is on the initial inspection. You need to know all causes of roof leaks and all solutions to these causes. I will only set up a repair job one of two ways.

A) I am able to determine the exact problem and eliminate all other possibilities from contributing to the problem. In this case I can often bid much lower as in a minimal charge as you mentioned ( $250 usually ) because I know the problem will not reoccur so I won't be needing to make a return trip.

B) I am unable to determine the exact problem because there are several possibilities that exist and no evidence ( in the attic or on the roof ) that any single one thing is the problem. In this case I will only set up the job to completely redo all of the existing possibilities and give a big price accordingly.

Never let potential clients talk you into doing less than what you, the expert, just determined needs to be done. This is the fast track to a warranty issue and a negative impact on your company's reputation. No one is perfect so in the event a warranty issue does arise, a speedy return to the client's address will still get you good referrals in the future and save your reputation as well.

I would like to point out that while being good at diagnosing roof leaks, knowing how to set up a job/bid properly and being a good roofer are priceless attributes, never forget that being a good salesman is also of utmost importance.

Before pix which led me to believe the pan was the issue.

Good diagnosis?

You can't see it, butt he pan ran at least 2" hgher than the keyway tops, and I cut tabs off a single and put a starter under that shingle.

I hear they are planning on rebuilding the chimney next year if budget allows. It's active and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Another pic. You cna see the starter and seal strips in this one, along with it's lower edge in this pic.

If I had been using slate, I would have shortened the exposed pan another 1" or 3".

Oh, this was the rd. or 4th. repair I've done on this roof. Shingles blow off, 10' BIG pans splitting at the mid point, soldered seams popping. I tink I started making repairs in it's 3rd. year. Maybe the second.

Well, a minimum cost would be $250. for that 1st. hour, plus material. If there are many issues, but I'm making trouble shooting repairs instead of going 'whole hog', I charge about $150. for 1st. hour on second trip, but those are rare. :) Most times, I'm able to explain plan A, through plan G, and give approximate price structure covering the different things and each plan has a cost.

An example. Many issues on this chimney and owner wanted cheap fix, which I believed was the back pan. I replaced the tight cut back pan for $250., and gave prices for a complete reflash and price for re-point.

Evidently, the back pan with correctly turned tinner's wings solved the issue. It's been 2 years and he says all is fine.

You can't see it behind the folded counter flashing, but the tab of the pan folded behind the CF, completely closed the corner off from any and all wind driven rain. Didn't think to take that pic. Any water going pass the CF tinner's wing will run into metal at least an inch away from the penetration itself.