How to Choose a Roofing Contractor in Texas: Questions to Ask and Storm-Chaser Red Flags

After a big hail event in Texas, you might get five knocks on the door in a week. A few of those people are legit. Others will be three states away by the time your roof starts leaking. Every spring our storms pull in a wave of out-of-town crews, which is why knowing how to choose a roofing contractor matters more here than almost anywhere.

You're buying one of the priciest things your house will ever need, usually with water on the ceiling and a salesman on the porch. So here's a practical checklist on how to choose a roofing contractor. It covers vetting, what to ask, and the red flags that should end the conversation on the spot.

Start local, and verify it

A local roofer has a reason to care how your roof looks five years from now. They'll still be around, and their name travels through the same neighborhoods you live in. If you only use one filter, use that one.

Don't stop at a local phone number, though. Storm chasers often rent a temporary office or run calls through a forwarding line. Look for:

• A business name and number you can actually look up and confirm, not just a P.O. box or a forwarding line
• A Google Business Profile with reviews spread across several years, not a burst from last month
• Photos of past jobs in your area
• Crews that have worked together a while, as opposed to day labor rounded up after the storm

Read the reviews themselves, not just the stars. Good ones have specifics: names, timelines, how the company dealt with a problem. A stack of vague five-star reviews all posted the same week should make you nervous.

Questions to ask any roofer before you sign

Solid contractors are happy to answer these. Shaky ones get vague, or pushy. You learn something either way.

About the company

• How long has your team been roofing, and where are you based?
• What license or registration numbers do you carry? Texas cities don't all require the same thing, so check whatever you're given.
• Can you show proof of liability coverage, and tell me how your workers are covered if somebody's hurt on my property?
• Who's actually going to be on my roof, and who do I call if something goes wrong?

About the job

• Are you tearing off the old roof or going over it, and why?
• How do you price decking if you hit rotten wood?
• Exactly which shingle line and underlayment are in this quote?
• Does the roof need any ventilation changes?
• Who pulls the permit? Does my city or HOA have special rules?
• How will you protect my landscaping, and how do you clean up nails?

About the paperwork

• Can I get the estimate written out and itemized?
• Which workmanship and manufacturer warranty terms apply, and can I see them in writing?
• What's the payment schedule?

Spend an extra minute on the warranty. Manufacturer coverage often hinges on proper installation and registration, so ask who handles the registration and what the terms really say. Anything they promise, get it on paper.

Storm-chaser red flags

You'll see most of these within days of a big storm. Spot more than one and it's time to walk away.

They offer to "cover" your deductible

This is the big one. It's illegal in Texas for a contractor to pay, waive or rebate your insurance deductible, and Chapter 707 of the Texas Insurance Code says so in plain terms. If a roofer offers to "eat" it, he's either padding the claim or planning to cut corners. You're the one left exposed in both cases.

They want to act as your adjuster

Public adjusters are licensed under Insurance Code Chapter 4102, and that chapter generally keeps contractors from acting as public adjusters on jobs they're doing. Your roofer can document damage, meet your adjuster and explain what's up on the roof. Negotiating your claim for you, like a licensed public adjuster would? That's over the line.

Pressure to sign today

"This price is only good right now." "Our crew's only in the area this week." Real roofers understand that replacing a roof is a big call. Porch pressure is a sales script and nothing else.

Large payment up front

Watch out for anyone who wants most of the money before work starts, or who insists on cash. A reasonable deposit, or a payment tied to material delivery, is normal. Handing over everything before anybody's climbed a ladder isn't.

Vague contracts

A one-line contract reading "replace roof" leaves everything up for argument. Same goes for a contingency agreement that locks you into that company if insurance approves the claim, signed before you've seen a real estimate. Read every page. Never sign anything with blanks in it.

No local track record, out-of-state plates

An out-of-state plate alone proves nothing. Pair it with a knock on your door the morning after a hailstorm and no local history, though, and you're looking at a pattern.

Before you sign anything, take a few minutes with the consumer tips the Texas Department of Insurance publishes on hiring contractors after storms.

How to compare estimates fairly

This is the step of how to choose a roofing contractor that people rush through. Get at least two or three written estimates and lay them out next to each other. The lowest bid isn't always the cheapest roof.

A lot of the time it's just the one that left something out.

Check that every estimate lists the same items: number of squares, layers torn off, decking pricing, underlayment, shingle brand and line, flashing, ventilation, permit and cleanup. When one skips decking or flashing, ask about it. Those costs turn up sooner or later, usually as a change order after the old roof comes off.

Want a feel for typical prices? Our cost guides for roof replacement in San Antonio and roof replacement in Austin go over published ranges and the local factors that push them around. And if you're replacing because the house is about to go on the market, read whether to replace a roof before selling first.

Insurance claims: choose the roofer who knows the process

Insurance pays for part of a lot of Texas roof replacements. If that's your situation, you want a contractor who knows how claims work and documents damage the way adjusters expect, while staying on the right side of the legal line on adjusting.

Three questions to ask. Will you be there for the adjuster's inspection? How do you document damage? (Slope-by-slope photos, test squares and chalked hail strikes are good answers.) What happens if the insurer's estimate misses something, like code-required items or decking?

Former insurance adjusters are part of our team, and we bring 30+ years of insurance claim experience to every roof. We meet the adjuster on site and go over the damage together. Each step is on our insurance claims page and our process page.

Where Texas-RRR fits

Vet us hard. We'd much rather that than have you hire us blind, so here's what you can check. Texas-RRR is veteran owned, registered and insured, and based in San Antonio. Our owner, Charlie Carreon, has 30 years of roofing experience, and many of our crews have worked side-by-side with us for more than 20. We run 8 full crew teams and have finished 2,800+ projects. On Google we're rated 5.0 from 16 reviews, which you can read on our reviews page.

Owens Corning and GAF are the American roofing brands we prefer and install. You can read more about our team, look through our roofing services, or see how we approach roof replacement. Ready to compare? Request a free estimate and ask us every question on this list.