How Do You Find a Great Roofing Contractor?
A great roofing contractor is licensed and locally established, carries $1 million in general liability plus workers compensation, is manufacturer-certified, and backs the job with a written workmanship warranty on a new asphalt shingle roof that runs $9,000 to $18,000 installed. Roofing is one of the most fraud-prone home services — storm chasers, out-of-state crews, and pressure-to-sign-today tactics are common, and roofing consistently ranks among the top sources of home improvement complaints — so verifying all of that before signing protects both the investment and the house.
They Are Licensed, Insured, and Local
A roofing contractor should be licensed in your state — roughly 36 states require contractor licensing — and carry general liability insurance of $1 million minimum plus workers compensation. Verify the license through the state contractor licensing database rather than the contractor’s verbal claim, and request insurance certificates and confirm them with the insurer directly. (For more on this, see Questions to Ask a Roofing Contractor.)
Then confirm the contractor has a fixed local address and a real presence in your community. Local contractors have reputational accountability and cannot disappear after the job. A contractor who is hesitant to provide insurance certificates or licensing information should be eliminated immediately.
They Are Manufacturer-Certified
Major shingle manufacturers — GAF, Owens Corning, and CertainTeed — certify contractors who meet training standards, background checks, insurance verification, and volume requirements. GAF Master Elite, Owens Corning Platinum Preferred, and CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster are the top tiers.
Certification matters mostly for warranty access. Certified contractors can offer extended system warranties backed by the manufacturer rather than only by the contractor, such as GAF’s System Plus and Golden Pledge coverage, often as 50-year shingle-plus-workmanship warranties instead of just the shingle material warranty. Certification is not a guarantee of quality, but it is a meaningful signal of commitment to professional standards.
They Warrant Both Materials and Labor
A roofing warranty has two components. The manufacturer’s material warranty covers shingle defects and comes with the shingle purchase. The contractor’s workmanship warranty covers installation errors and is the contractor’s own commitment.
Standard labor warranties run 1 to 5 years. Established, confident contractors offer 5 to 10 years, and manufacturer-certified contractors can offer 10 to 25 years or lifetime workmanship coverage backed by the manufacturer. A contractor offering only a one-year workmanship warranty, or none at all, is not standing behind the installation. Ask specifically about the labor warranty duration and what triggers warranty service, and get it in writing as part of the contract.
They Provide a Fully Itemized Written Proposal
A professional proposal specifies the shingle manufacturer, product name, and grade; tear-off and disposal; underlayment type and coverage; ice-and-water shield application; flashing at each penetration; the ridge ventilation approach; permit; cleanup; and how decking replacement is priced and handled. A proposal that says only “reroof with 30-year shingles” does not define scope, and it protects the contractor rather than you. Require itemized proposals from every contractor you are seriously considering.
They Have Verifiable Local References
Ask for references from roofs installed in the past two years that you can contact and visit. Drive by the completed roofs and look for uniform shingle alignment, proper ridge cap installation, visible flashing at penetrations, and gutters that are clear and reattached correctly. When you call the references, ask about crew professionalism, cleanup, how the contractor handled the decking assessment, and whether the final cost matched the quote.
New Roof Cost at a Glance
Most homeowners replace a deteriorated roof with asphalt shingles, the cost-effective standard for most homes.
| Material | Installed cost, average home |
|---|---|
| Asphalt shingles | $9,000 to $18,000 |
| Metal roofing | $20,000 to $30,000 or more |
| Tile or slate | $20,000 to $30,000 or more |
Cost figures on this page were checked against published pricing on August 30, 2026. How we source cost data.
Overall range: $9,000 to $30,000, averaging $16,000 for a standard asphalt shingle roof on an average home. Wide price spreads between bids on the same house almost always reflect scope differences, not labor rates.
Storm Chasers and Other Red Flags
Storm chasers are transient roofing contractors who follow major weather events and solicit door-to-door in affected neighborhoods. They pressure for immediate contract signatures, often use out-of-state crews, and may disappear before warranty issues arise. Watch for these signals in any roofing contractor: (For more on this, see Questions to Ask Before Signing a Roofing Contract.)
- Knocked on your door unsolicited within days of a storm, or arrived with out-of-state plates and no local track record.
- No fixed local business address.
- No insurance certificates, or hesitance to provide them.
- Quotes from the ground without measuring or inspecting.
- Vague, un-itemized scope, or no workmanship warranty.
- High-pressure tactics, or pressure to sign the day they appear.
- Large upfront payment demanded before any work starts.
- A price significantly below all other bids with no explanation.
Comparing Quotes and Paying the Contractor
Get three site-visit quotes for a job of this size, on equivalent itemized scope: the same shingle grade, the same tear-off, the same underlayment and flashing specification, and permit included in all bids. Compare the specific shingle manufacturer, product line, and grade; what underlayment, flashing, and ice-and-water shield are included; the labor warranty duration; how decking replacement is priced; and the payment schedule. The lowest quote may simply exclude ice-and-water shield or use a lower-grade underlayment. Evaluate on completeness of scope and contractor qualifications, not on price alone. The FTC advises hiring only licensed, insured contractors, getting the full scope in writing, and never paying the full amount up front.
Structure the payment schedule around milestones. Standard practice is no more than a 30 percent deposit at signing, a progress payment when materials are delivered, and final payment after completion and your own walkthrough. A contractor requesting 50 percent or more before any work begins is a risk indicator, and full payment upfront is a red flag in any trade. Before the final payment, confirm shingles are installed correctly, the site is clean with no nails left in the lawn, gutters are reattached, and all debris is removed.
Get the scope in writing regardless of job size. For any project over $500, a written proposal covering materials, labor scope, timeline, permits, cleanup, disposal, and warranty terms is non-negotiable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Verify current general liability and workers compensation insurance by calling the insurer, and confirm state licensing through the licensing database rather than the contractor's word. Choose a contractor with a fixed local address and local references, require a fully itemized written proposal, ask for a workmanship warranty of at least 5 years, and check for manufacturer certification.
A contractor vetted, trained, and certified by a shingle manufacturer such as GAF, Owens Corning, or CertainTeed. Certification requires background checks, insurance verification, and training standards, and it lets the contractor offer enhanced coverage such as GAF System Plus or Golden Pledge warranties that non-certified contractors cannot.
Storm chasers are transient contractors who follow major weather events and solicit door-to-door in affected neighborhoods, pressuring for immediate signatures with out-of-state crews. The signs are an unsolicited knock within days of a storm, no local office address, large upfront payment requests, and pressure to sign before you get other quotes. Use local, established contractors with verifiable local references instead.
No insurance certificates or hesitance to provide them, no fixed local business address, high-pressure tactics or pressure to sign the day they appear, payment demanded before work starts, vague un-itemized scope, no workmanship warranty, and a price significantly lower than all other bids without explanation.
Three site-visit quotes on equivalent itemized scope. Require the same shingle grade, tear-off, underlayment and flashing specification, and permit in every bid, then compare labor warranty duration, how decking replacement is priced, and the payment schedule. Wide price spreads almost always reflect scope differences.
No more than a 30 percent deposit at signing, a progress payment when materials are delivered, and final payment after completion and your inspection walkthrough. A contractor requesting 50 percent or more before any work begins is a risk indicator, and you should never pay the full amount upfront.
A roofing-specific contractor is generally better. Roofing specialists work exclusively in this trade, hold manufacturer certification relationships, and manage crew quality more closely than a general contractor subcontracting the work. Use a general contractor when the roof is part of a larger renovation requiring coordination across multiple trades.
Standard labor warranties run 1 to 5 years, established contractors offer 5 to 10 years, and manufacturer-certified contractors can offer 10 to 25 years or lifetime workmanship coverage backed by the manufacturer. A one-year warranty, or none, means the contractor is not standing behind the installation.