Are you in need of a new roof but stressed about finding a roofing contractor you can trust to install your roof correctly? Worried that if you choose the wrong roofer you’ll have to pay thousands of dollars to fix mistakes that could’ve been avoided the first time?
At RoofSmart, we know it’s tough to find a roofer you can trust, especially if you’ve never had your roof replaced before. We install and repair hundreds of roofs every year all over the Seattle area that are prematurely damaged due to poor workmanship.
We don’t want any other homeowners to shell out thousands of dollars for a roof that should still be in good condition. That’s why we’ve created this article to walk you through 9 ways bad roofers cut costs and sacrifice the quality of your roof.
By the end, you’ll know what to bring up when meeting with a roofer to make sure that they’re not cutting corners on your roof just to keep their costs down.
Want to know how much it should cost to replace your roof? Use our Instant Estimate tool to get a ballpark estimate of how much your roofing proposals should be.
What are the 9 ways roofers try to save money on roof work?
The average roofer knows that the homeowner who will climb up to the roof to check out their work is rare and easy to spot. These roofers know they can do almost anything they want during an installation so long as you can see a shiny new roof from your driveway.
Unfortunately, the fit and finish of your roof installation are 100 times more important than any other remodeling project – especially for homes dealing with Seattle’s endlessly wet climate, because it’s about LEAKS. “Water will find a way,” as the saying goes.
While poorly placed boards and skipped steps on your basic remodel can cause cosmetic issues after only a few years, the same actions with a roof installation can spell disaster within months.
1) Is My Roofer Rushing The Job To Save Money?
Roofing has always been a fast-paced environment, but there’s such a thing as going too fast. When all that matters is speed, mistakes don’t get fixed. In fact, mistakes are bound to happen if your roofer is rushing through the job just to get it done.
A typical roof replacement takes about 3 days. If your roofer finishes in one day, then you’re probably going to have issues.
Some Seattle area roofers feel pressure to move fast to avoid running into rain or bad weather while the roof is exposed. It’s important to keep your roof dry, but they should tear off the roof in sections, not try to do everything faster.
Some roofers go fast just to save on labor. The results, however, can leave much to be desired. Here’s an example of all the issues we caught during an inspection:
As you can see in the above images, pushing for only speed can cause serious errors to become acceptable.
At RoofSmart, we’ll take “behind schedule and done right” before we’d ever accept “on schedule and sloppy.”
2) Did my roofer use the right kind of underlayment?
Your roof needs to fight off several enemies – water is the obvious one in a wet, rainy area like Seattle. And in that battle, ice and water shield is a roofer’s best friend.
Ice and water shield isn’t cheap and takes a little time to install properly. And since the leaks the it prevents are usually slow to show, those roofers prefer to save money and might even shorten their warranties accordingly to leave you on the hook for repairs.
Some roofs or areas of the roof are extra vulnerable to leaks. However, ice and water shield can provide extra reinforcement in those areas so that no water can get underneath your shingles.
In both of these images, you can see how moisture is allowed to slip under the shingles to wreak havoc on your decking over time.
We prefer to err on the side of caution and place ice and water shield wherever it may be needed. It might cost a little more, but it’s a small price for peace of mind.
3) Are Cheap Pipe Boots And Roof Vents A Problem For My Roof?
Neoprene pipe boots and plastic vents are the lowest price option. But, after they’ve failed in six to ten years, they cost YOU thousands of dollars in repairs.
Over time, sunlight breaks down neoprene and plastic, allowing it to crack and deform and ruin the water-tight seal. With the constant rain your Seattle area home faces, this is guaranteed to lead to mold and rotting wood in your roof.
This pipe boot has broken down and is allowing water to pour into the roof.
This high-quality silicone pipe boot is clamped to the pipe while its design allows it to move with the pipe. It will never rip or wear down.
At RoofSmart, we use silicone pipe boots and metal vents, which are impervious to sunlight and will last over 50 years with no trouble at all.
4) Did My Roofer Even Order Enough Roof Material?
Ordering the right amount of material for a roof replacement takes foresight and some careful math. Any mistakes in that process can leave an installer short on materials.
Unfortunately, some roofing contractors operate so close to the bone that your deposit has already been spent buying material for the next job when they realize they need more.
Their answer to this little difficulty is to make do with what they have – which is no answer at all.
Lack of material will lead to gaps in the roof and cause leaks that will cost you thousands of dollars to repair.
The roofer ran out of valley flashing, so they simply filled the gap with random shingles guaranteed to cause leaks.
Our Egghead roof designs are carefully planned, so we rarely run short on materials, but if the improbable happens, we don’t just ‘make do’ – we go get what we need.
5) Should Roofers Reuse Old Flashing Or Replace It?
Except for rare occasions when there is no choice, roofers should avoid reusing old flashing. After decades of wear and decay, that old flashing will never last as long as the new roof.
Plus, removing and reseating the old flashing ruins its structure, forcing the worker to use caulking to cover gaps that wouldn’t exist if new flashing were installed.
While high-quality caulk is an acceptable tool for creating a seal, it’s not nearly as resilient as sheet metal, so we limit its use as much as possible. Sun and caulk aren’t friends!
No, this isn’t a ‘before’ picture – this is what some roofers consider a finished installation. Beyond unacceptable!
At RoofSmart, we always fabricate new flashing. To be honest, the expense is so small and the required effort so low that reusing the old doesn’t make sense on any level.
6) Did my roofer use the right kind of underlayment?
Felt paper underlayment has been used in roofing for decades and decades, but it is a woefully out-of-date material, especially in a wet climate like Seattle. Yet, its relatively low expense makes it a favorite among many cheap-o roofing companies.
Those same companies are also more likely to sell you the cheapest possible shingles as well.
Synthetic underlayment offers better protection from Seattle rain because it repels water instead of absorbing it. There really isn’t a strong argument to choose felt paper over this in a rainy environment.
Different types of roofs have regulations for what kind of underlayment is required. The bottom line is that your roofer should choose the one that gives your roof the right protection, not the one that’s easiest for them to install.
This is a young roof and a prime example of what will happen when you use felt paper and cover it with the type of shingles sold by those who use felt paper.
We always use polypropylene synthetic underlayment. It does a better job of protecting against moisture and will never buckle.
7) Why Should My Roofer Use Starter Shingles?
The first thing you need to know is that all shingles have adhesive on the undersides to seal them to the next row and keep the wind from peeling shingles off your roof.
Starter shingles are specifically designed with shortened tabs to maintain the shingle pattern while sealing the leading edges of your roof. They are used on all roof edges, including gable edges.
But many roofing contractors hate the expense of specialty starter shingles and just cut down standard shingles to make their edge. This process removes the adhesive portion of the shingle, leaving your roof edges completely vulnerable to the wind.
This puts your roof at a much higher risk of losing shingles during a windstorm. Missing shingles leave your roof vulnerable to damage from leaks.
Not only are there no starter shingles along the gable edge, but they also used cut-down shingles at the roof edge. This roof will fail with the first big storm.
It feels silly to need to say it out loud, but we place starter shingles at all open edges of our roofs. We’re just crazy that way. It’s in the directions (we read those).
8) Is My Roofing Contractor Properly Trained in Roof Installation?
Many Seattle roofing contractors are just grateful they have bodies to throw at their roofing projects and aren’t concerned about whether they know more than how to press the trigger on a nail gun.
So, when these poor workers come across anything the least bit challenging, they just guess their way through as best they can. The results of near-zero training range from comical to dangerous – but the real loser is you, the homeowner.
Paying full price for work like that shown below is not fun, especially when you’ll be paying for it again when your roof fails immediately, but the effects don’t show up for a few years.
Nothing to seal the bolt holes and nothing to keep movement from destroying the shingles under the bracket. Either they don’t know, or they just don’t care.
You can bet your bottom dollar that any member of any RoofSmart crew knows how to handle the occasional curveball, much less something as simple as an awning support bracket.
9) Is My Roofer Willing to Fix Unexpected Issues on My Roof?
When a contractor only cares about finishing on time so they can move on to the next roof, pointing out problems can cost a roofer their job.
So, when a roofer for one of these companies sees a problem, they’re far more likely to cover it up than fix it. And if they accidentally put a tear in the underlayment or a pipe boot, it’s a safe bet that they’ll hide it before ever considering admitting their error.
Eventually, you end up with a company culture where nobody, even their own inspector, is willing to mention anything that might hold up the job or cause an extra expense.
Unfortunately, this happens all the time. For example, we uncovered these rotten joists when we had to redo a full roof installation.
We uncovered these rotten joists when we had to redo a full roof installation.
This is why we were replacing the decking on the roof above. The previous crew hid the rotten decking instead of reporting it and making sure it got fixed.
At RoofSmart, our culture demands excellence at all times, no matter the expense or time it takes to resolve an issue. And our inspectors SEARCH for errors, no matter how slight, before they sign off on a roofing project.
We’ve torn off entire roofs and had them reinstalled rather than allow one of our customers to live beneath a substandard roof. We guarantee our work for life, and we mean to stand by that guarantee no matter what, so covering up mistakes or ignoring errors is totally unacceptable.
How Can You Make Sure Your Roofer Won’t Cut Corners?
At the end of the day, avoiding costly roofing mistakes starts with choosing a roofer you can trust—one who doesn't take shortcuts, hide errors, or gamble with your home’s long-term protection.
We’ve seen firsthand how quickly poor workmanship can turn into major repairs, especially here in Seattle’s damp, leak-prone climate. Now that you know what red flags to look for, you’re in a much stronger position to make the right hiring decision.
Wondering how you’re supposed to find a trustworthy, reliable contractor? Use our Qualified Roofer Checklist to quickly and easily evaluate your roofing contractor options.
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