Roofing FAQ for San Antonio and Austin Homeowners

Texas-RRR is short for Texas Roofing, Remodeling and Restoration, and those three Rs are the three kinds of work we do. We're a veteran-owned contractor based in San Antonio, running eight full crew teams across the San Antonio and Austin metros. The owner is Carlos Carreon, who goes by Charlie, and he's usually the person you'll talk to first. He brings 30 years of roofing experience to the job. Plenty of our crews have worked side by side with us for more than 20, and together we've completed more than 2,800 projects. Roofing is the core of what we do. The same company also handles storm damage repair, insurance claim paperwork, water, fire and mold restoration, bathroom and kitchen remodeling, and seamless gutter installation, so one call covers the whole job.

Texas doesn't issue a state license for roofing, so here's what we have instead. Texas-RRR is registered with the City of San Antonio as a home improvement contractor, registration #HIC-26-00787, and we're insured. Honestly, you should ask any roofer who knocks on your door after a storm for the same proof. A real local company won't hesitate. They'll hand over their city registration and proof of insurance, a phone number that rings in Texas, and references from jobs nearby. Our business name and phone number sit at the bottom of every page, and our Google reviews are public. Check us out before you ever let us on the roof.

Owens Corning and GAF are our preferred roofing brands, and we only install American-made roofing products. Both make architectural shingles that stand up to Central Texas heat and hail better than the basic three-tab shingles you see on a lot of older homes. Both also offer impact-resistant lines if you want extra hail protection. On metal roofs we install standing seam panels, which do well against hail and last a long time. At your free estimate we'll go over the shingle or panel options that fit your roof, your HOA rules and your budget. We'll also tell you plainly which ones we think are worth the money, and which aren't.

On asphalt shingles, hail leaves round dark bruises where it knocked the granules loose and exposed the black asphalt mat underneath. Press on one. It feels soft, like a bad spot on an apple. You'll probably see granules piling up in the gutters and at the bottom of the downspouts too. From the ground, the easiest place to spot it is the soft metal: dents in gutters, downspouts, roof vents, window screens and air-conditioner fins. Wind damage looks different. You get creased, lifted or missing shingle tabs, usually along the edges and ridges. Rule of thumb: if you can see dents in the metal from your driveway, the shingles above them almost always took a hit too.

Stay off the roof. From the ground, take photos of any dents, missing shingles and debris, and get the date and the size of the hail on camera if you can. Water coming in? Put a bucket under it, move anything valuable, then call us. We'll send a crew to tarp the open roof and stop the water. Next, book a free roof evaluation before you call your insurance company. That way you know what you're dealing with and can describe the damage accurately. And be careful with out-of-town roofers who show up that same afternoon. Before you sign anything, verify the business name and phone number, and ask about their local track record.

Most Texas homeowner policies cover sudden damage from hail, wind and fallen trees. They don't cover wear and tear, neglect, or a roof that just reached the end of its life. Two details on your policy matter more than anything else. One is your wind and hail deductible. In Texas it's often written as a percentage of your dwelling coverage, commonly one or two percent, instead of a flat amount. The other is whether the policy pays replacement cost value or actual cash value, since that decides whether you get the depreciation back after the work wraps up. Bring your declarations page to the evaluation. We'll read through it with you.

No. If someone offers, walk away. In 2019, Texas passed House Bill 2102, which makes it a crime for a contractor to waive, absorb, rebate or otherwise pay a policyholder's insurance deductible. It also lets the insurer refuse to pay the recoverable depreciation until you show proof you paid the deductible. And that old trick of inflating the estimate to cover the deductible? That's insurance fraud, and the homeowner is on the hook right along with the roofer. We'll give you a receipt for your deductible payment that you can forward to your adjuster. We'll never write an estimate that hides it.

On a replacement cost policy, an approved claim usually gets paid in two pieces. The first check is the actual cash value: the replacement cost, minus depreciation for the age of your old roof, minus your deductible. Whatever depreciation the insurer held back is the recoverable part. You get it after the roof is complete and you've sent in the final invoice and proof of completion. A lot of homeowners never collect it, simply because nobody told them to ask. Our in-house staff includes former insurance adjusters, and the last step in our six-step claim process is the final inspection and the recoverable depreciation request. That money doesn't get left on the table.

Your lender has a financial interest in the house. So most policies list the mortgage company as a loss payee, and above a certain amount the insurer writes claim checks to you and the lender together. The lender has to endorse the check before you can deposit it. Every servicer does it a little differently, but it usually means mailing the check in with a claim packet: the adjuster's estimate, our signed contract and sometimes a W-9 from the contractor. Some lenders release the money in stages after an inspection. We deal with this on most claims and we'll supply every document the lender asks for. Our advice is to start the endorsement the day the check shows up.

It isn't over. The adjuster may have missed damage, measured the roof wrong, or left out items like decking, drip edge or code upgrades. Our first move is meeting the adjuster on the roof (that's step two of our process), so everyone looks at the damage together. If the estimate still comes up short, we put together a supplemental report with photos, measurements and the line items the adjuster missed, and submit it for review. You can also ask for a reinspection or a different adjuster. One more thing: you aren't required to get three estimates in Texas, even if an insurer suggests it. One detailed estimate from a contractor who knows claims makes a difference.

One day, for most single-family homes in San Antonio and Austin. A full crew shows up early and tears off the old shingles. They inspect the decking and replace anything bad, lay underlayment, and have the new roof on before dark. Then they run magnets through the yard for nails. A bigger house, a steep pitch, several layers of old shingles or a lot of decking replacement can push it into a second day. So can rain, because we won't open a roof with weather on the way. Customers have written about single-day roof replacements in their reviews, and that's the schedule we plan around.

You call or send the contact form, and we set up a free evaluation. We measure and inspect the roof, photograph what we find and send you a written estimate. If it's an insurance job, we meet the adjuster, audit the estimate and file any supplement before scheduling the work. Once you approve, we order Owens Corning or GAF materials. The supplier drops them in your driveway a day or two before the crew gets there. Install day is tear-off, decking repair, underlayment, flashing, shingles or panels, and cleanup. We wrap up with a walkthrough. On insurance jobs that includes the final inspection paperwork that releases your recoverable depreciation. Our Process page has every step in detail.

That depends on the city and the scope of the work. The rules change, too, so we confirm the current requirement with the city's Development Services department before we start. Austin publishes a list of work that's exempt from a building permit, and like-for-like residential re-roofing has appeared on it. Structural changes, like new decking framing or a change in roof pitch, do require a permit. San Antonio reviews residential re-roofs based on scope and material. In either city, a home in a historic district may also need a design review before the roof's appearance changes. Whatever applies at your address, we handle the paperwork and work the permit timeline into the schedule.