How the business runs

A roofing business that does its own paperwork

This is a roofing business working Reading and the towns that abut it, north of Boston. The work is residential: replacement, repair, ice damming, cedar shake, flat roofing and gutters, on the colonials, capes, antiques and post-war infill this part of Middlesex County is built from.

It is organized around a piece of Massachusetts law that costs homeowners real money every year without their knowing. The Guaranty Fund and the OCABR arbitration route are worth up to $25,000 and they are attached to the contractor's registration -- and a homeowner who hires an unregistered contractor, or who pulls their own permit, loses both. Pulling the permit is our job under c. 142A. We do it, we say why, and we would rather you checked our registration than took our word for any of it.

Roofing only -- no siding, windows or general contracting
No storm-damage paperwork of any kind
We pull the permits; we will not ask you to do it
No price without walking the roof and the roof space

Clay roof tiles and timber rafters seen from inside an attic — **During the job**Survey before any price is given

How it runs

Four steps, no surprises

Free inspection, a written contract, and the permit pulled by us rather than you.

Call or message

Tell us the address and which town it is in. The permit comes from that town's building department and each has its own fee schedule and diary -- though the registration that actually protects you is statewide and does not change at the town line.

Survey, roof and roof space

Both together. Outside: the slope and the details that fail. Inside: the layer count, the deck type, and the things a New England roof space tells you -- old water tracks above the wall plate, frost on the deck, insulation flattened and dark in one patch.

Written contract, then the price

In writing, as this state requires over $1,000, with the registration number on it. Decking as a rate per sheet. Ice barrier coverage and ventilation stated rather than assumed. Read it before you sign anything, and check the number if you want to.

We pull the permit, then the work

Obtaining the permit is the registered contractor's job under c. 142A and doing it ourselves is what keeps your Guaranty Fund eligibility intact. Then the work, the inspection, and a before-and-after set of photographs that is yours whatever happens next.

Before you choose

Five things worth asking of every quote, including this one

The first two are free, checkable, and worth $25,000 between them.

What is your HIC registration number

Not the reassuring adjectives every advert in this trade carries -- the registration NUMBER, on the document you were handed. It is what your Guaranty Fund eligibility and your arbitration route hang on.

Who is pulling the permit

The answer should be the contractor, without hesitation. If somebody suggests you pull it because you are the owner, they are asking you to give up your recourse under c. 142A to save an afternoon.

How far does the ice barrier run

Past the wall plate, into the heated envelope -- not a token strip along the eaves. This is the detail that decides whether a new roof solves your winter problem or simply looks better while it continues.

Is the decking priced per sheet

Nobody knows how much deck has softened until the covering is off. A rate per sheet is honest; a lump sum gets revisited upwards once the roof is open.

What is being done about ventilation

If the roof has been damming, the covering was probably not the cause. A quote that replaces shingles and says nothing about the roof space is quoting for the symptom.

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