What should I check before I call any roofer in Tampa?
The licence, by number, before anything else. Florida issues two kinds: a certified licence, prefix CCC, is valid anywhere in the state, and a registered licence is valid only in the county that issued it. Ask for the number and type it into the search at myfloridalicense.com. It takes about thirty seconds and shows the status, the expiry and the real name behind the company.
Wayne Gonzalez Roofing Contractor, Inc. holds CCC1325942, a Certified Roofing Contractor licence, active and held since February 2004, registered with Hillsborough and Pasco county contractor licensing. A roofer who will not give you the number over the phone has told you something.
Does it matter whether the crew is subcontracted?
Yes, because it decides who stands behind the roof. Plenty of companies sell the job and hand it to a subcontracted crew they have never met. The work is not automatically worse, but the person who sold you the warranty and the person who nailed the shingles are then different businesses, and when something goes wrong they can point at each other.
The company has never subcontracted a job. Three generations of the same crews, all on the payroll, which also means the owners you talk to at the estimate are the people responsible for what happens on the roof.
What insurance should a roofing contractor carry?
Workers compensation and general liability, both, and ask for the certificate rather than a yes. Liability covers damage to your property. Workers compensation covers the person on the ladder, and if someone is hurt on your property and the contractor does not carry it, that can become your problem.
Every employee at Wayne Gonzalez Roofing is covered by workers compensation and general liability. It is the question most homeowners forget, and the one that matters most on the day something goes wrong.
How long should a roofer have been in business?
Long enough to have been through several storm seasons under the same name in the same county. A roofing warranty is only as good as the company still existing to honour it, and this trade turns over hard after every named storm. Length of trading under one name is the cheapest proxy there is.
Wayne Gonzalez Roofing Contractor, Inc. has been roofing Tampa and Hillsborough County since 1981, family owned for the whole of that time, and BBB accredited since 2008. The yard is at 5625 Patterson Rd in Riverview, which is where it was last storm season and where it will be next April.
What does a manufacturer certification tell me?
That somebody other than the roofer has checked the roofer. Shingle manufacturers put installers through a programme before they let them sell the longer warranties, and they remove people from it. It is one of the few credentials in roofing that is audited by a third party rather than printed on a van.
The company is an Owens Corning Preferred Contractor. What the designation covers, and how to check it, is on the Owens Corning preferred roofers page.
What should be in writing before I pay a deposit?
A written scope, not a price on a card. The scope names the material, says what happens to the decking if rot is found underneath, states who pulls the permit, and says what is left behind when the crew leaves. Most disputes in this trade are not about price. They are about something everybody assumed was included.
From Wayne Gonzalez Roofing you get a written estimate with the scope on it, free, with no follow up call unless you ask for one. The contractor pulls the permit. If anyone asks you to pull your own permit for roofing work, ask why. A deposit against materials is normal; payment in full before work starts is not.
What about the roofer who knocked on the door after the storm?
Be careful. After a named storm, out of state crews work Hillsborough neighbourhoods, and some are fine. The pattern to watch for is pressure to sign today, an offer to handle your insurance claim for you, and a request for money before any work starts.
A local contractor will still be here in April, which is when you find out whether the roof was done properly. The guide to choosing a roofing contractor in Tampa runs through seven checks with the company's answer next to each.
What does Wayne Gonzalez Roofing actually do, and where?
Roof repair, roof replacement, roof inspection, roof maintenance and gutters, for homes and commercial buildings, with shingle, metal and flat roofs installed. The company works Tampa, Riverview, Brandon, Valrico, Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Sun City Center, Wimauma, Lakeland and Bartow directly, and also Mulberry, Zephyrhills, Plant City, Thonotosassa, Wesley Chapel, Land o' Lakes, Lutz, Carrollwood and Clearwater.
The Tampa roof replacement page and the Tampa roof repair page cover the two jobs most people are calling about. The office answers (813) 653-2279, Monday to Friday, 7:00am to 5:00pm.
Questions we get asked
Why does this page not rank the roofers in Tampa?
Because a ranking written by one of the roofers is an advertisement. The five checks above take a few minutes each and apply to any company, including this one. Run them on everybody you are considering and the ranking writes itself.
How do I compare two roofing companies fairly?
Put the same five questions to both and compare the answers in writing. The comparison with Westfall Roofing does that for one pair, using only what each company says about itself on its own site.
Is the estimate free, and will someone try to sell me a new roof?
The estimate is free, and it starts with an inspection. If the roof has years left in it the company will say so and tell you roughly how many. There is no sales team; the owners come out, and there is no follow up call unless you ask for one.
Where do I start?
With a call to the office if you have a leak, or with the roof inspection page if you want to know what an inspection covers first. Either way, have the licence number ready to check before anyone climbs a ladder.
Want a roofer to look at it?
Call the office and tell us what the roof is doing. We will come out, look at it and tell you what it needs.
