Bell Gardens, CA
Roof storm damage in Bell Gardens, CA
Storm work attracts two kinds of contractor: the ones who live here, and the ones who followed the weather in. Only one of them will answer the phone next spring.
Describe the storm damage job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Bell Gardens contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Bell Gardens is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a storm damage job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- Whether the contractor is licensed and insured in this state
- A local address you could actually drive to
- A written scope of the work, line by line
- What the emergency tarp costs, separate from the repair
- Photographs of the damage before any work happens
Photograph the outside, the inside, and the date. Then get a tarp on it. Photographs of the original damage are a record nobody can argue with; a description of what it looked like before the repair is not.
Keep every receipt, including the tarp and the emergency call-out. They are part of the record of what happened and what it cost.
Damage that matters is often invisible from the ground. Bruised shingles, lifted seals and hairline mat fractures fail years later, long after the storm is forgotten.
Locally
The second problem is morning fog that sits on the roof until mid-morning. Damp that arrives every morning and leaves by lunchtime is worse for a roof than rain, because nothing ever fully dries between one and the next.
About storm damage here
How much deposit is normal?
Ten to thirty per cent is ordinary, and is often used to order material. A demand for full payment up front is a reason to walk away.
Is moss on the roof a problem?
Yes, eventually. Moss holds water against the shingle and lifts the edges as it thickens. Zinc or copper strip at the ridge suppresses it. Pressure washing an asphalt roof strips the granules and does more harm than the moss did.
Can I stay in the house while it is done?
Yes, though it is loud, and things will fall off shelves in the garage. Move cars out of the driveway and take anything fragile off the walls of the top floor.
Do I need a permit?
Almost certainly, for a full replacement. The contractor should pull it, and the fee should be a visible line on the quote rather than a surprise.
Get the roof looked at
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.