How to Compare Calgary Roofing Companies: Licences, Warranties and Estimates

Most people hire a roofer once or twice in their life. You are making a decision worth a good deal of money, about work you cannot see from the ground, using a vocabulary you had no reason to learn. That is why the roofing trade has the reputation it does.

There is no single best roofing company in Calgary. There is the right one for your roof, and a short list of things that separate a contractor who will still be answering the phone in five years from one who will not. Here is what to check.

Start with the insurance, before the price

Alberta's guidance on hiring a contractor is blunt about this. Make sure the contractor and the tradespeople on your property have Workers' Compensation Board coverage, and ask for the WCB number. Ask to see a certificate of insurance showing public liability and property damage cover for everyone on the job.

If someone falls off your roof and there is no coverage behind them, the exposure can land on the homeowner. A contractor who is properly covered will hand over the number without hesitating. Hesitation is the answer. Ask about the crew too, because work often gets subcontracted.

DG Roofing carries WCB coverage and liability insurance. Ask us for the paperwork and you will get it, and ask every contractor you are considering for the same.

Ask whether they need a prepaid contracting licence

This one almost nobody knows about, and it is genuinely useful. In Alberta, a contractor who takes money before the work is finished and who signs the contract away from their normal place of business, which usually means at your kitchen table, is a prepaid contractor. Prepaid contractors have to be licensed by Service Alberta and post a security. If the business is negligent, an affected consumer can make a claim against that security.

Service Alberta publishes a search tool so you can check whether a business holds that licence. If a contractor wants a deposit and signs you up in your living room, ask.

There is a second protection worth knowing. A contract signed at your home is a direct sales contract, and you can generally cancel it within ten days of receiving your signed copy, without giving a reason. If the business was not properly licensed, or the contract is missing required information, that window can extend to a full year. This matters most after a storm, when crews arrive from out of province and want a signature the same afternoon.

Get the scope in writing, in detail

A quote that says re-shingle roof and gives a number is not a scope. It is a number with a word in front of it. You cannot compare it to anything, and you cannot hold anyone to it.

A real scope tells you what is coming off, what is going back on, and what happens if something underneath is rotten. For a roof replacement that means the tear-off, how the deck gets inspected and what the rate is for replacing damaged sheathing, the underlayment, where ice and water shield goes, the shingle make and line, the flashing, the vents, and who hauls the waste away.

Alberta's contract checklist asks for more than most quotes contain: the type and quality of materials, what will be subcontracted, who pulls the permits, an itemized payment schedule, and a statement of all warranties including what is covered and for how long. If a contractor will not put the materials in writing, you are not buying a roof. You are buying whatever is on the truck that morning.

Ask about ventilation, because almost nobody does

Ventilation is the part of a roof that homeowners never ask about and that determines how long the roof lasts. Warm moist air from the house rises into the attic. If it cannot get out, it condenses on the underside of the sheathing in winter and cooks the shingles from below in summer. Both shorten the life of the roof you just paid for.

Intake at the soffit and exhaust near the ridge have to be balanced, and a roof with plenty of exhaust and blocked intake does not work. A contractor who looks in your attic before quoting is doing the job properly. One who never opens the hatch is guessing.

Find out what happens to the mess

A tear-off produces a startling amount of debris and a lot of nails. Alberta's checklist asks for a written statement that the contractor is responsible for removing all debris when the work is finished. Ask where the bin goes, how the landscaping is protected, and whether they run a magnet over the lawn and driveway at the end.

Read the warranty for what it excludes

There are two warranties on a roof and they cover different things. The manufacturer warranty covers the shingles themselves and comes from the manufacturer, not the contractor. The shingles we install carry the manufacturer's limited lifetime warranty (original owner, manufacturer's terms). The workmanship warranty covers the installation, and that one is only as good as the company standing behind it. Ours is fifteen years on workmanship, on everything we install.

The useful question is not how long, it is what voids it. Ask what is excluded, what happens if you need a repair in year eight, whether it transfers if you sell the house, and whether it survives another trade working on the roof later. Get the answer in writing. A long warranty from a company that closes in three years is a piece of paper.

Compare quotes line by line, not bottom line to bottom line

This is where most people go wrong, and it is understandable. Three quotes arrive, you look at the three numbers, and the lowest one wins. But the three numbers are almost never for the same work.

Put them side by side and compare the lines, not the totals. Is the tear-off included, or extra? How many layers are they removing? What is the allowance for replacing rotten sheathing, and the rate beyond it? Is ice and water shield included, and where does it go? Are the vents and flashing new or reused? Is disposal in the price? Is GST in the number you are looking at? What a full roof replacement should include is set out on our own page, which is a reasonable thing to compare against.

Once you line those up, the gap between quotes usually explains itself, and sometimes the lowest number turns out to be the most expensive roof once the extras land.

The storm-chaser test

After a hailstorm, crews appear from out of province, work fast, and leave. If a workmanship warranty is only as good as the company behind it, a company with no Calgary address is not offering you one.

DG Roofing works in Calgary and is BBB accredited with an A plus rating. If you want to see what we would do with your roof, the instant estimate measures it from aerial imagery and gives you a range in about thirty seconds, or we will come and look at it for free. Either way, use the checklist above on us as well.