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Qualifying Commercial Roof System Contractors
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Pre-Qualifying contractors invited to bid on your roofing project
is a critical step in the overall bid process because its similar
to dating before getting married. "Is there a compatible match
between the project and contractor(s)?
It’s important to qualify roofers "before" inviting contractors to bid
on your project.
The most important step is inviting roofing contractors that are skilled
with the Type of Roof System
selected. Obviously we wouldn't call on a sloped roofing professional to
work on a low-slope roof.
You can also pre-qualify: measure the performance, skills and proficiency
of contractors. Qualifying contractors is an ongoing process for CRS Roof
Consultants and the following criteria is a sample of what we review.
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 Note:
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Customer references are not enough to quantify the performance of
roofing contractors because we naturally list our best clients.
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Best practice contractor qualification includes two types of reviews: a General Review and
Practical Review (accomplished in the field) of prior works.
What we should know about a contractor (suitable matching)
- Skills with the Type of Roof System Selected*
- Installation Certifications
- Years of Experience with that System
- and/or, Experience of the Crew
- Quality Control & Supervision Policies
- References Works & Review*
- Financial Data (on Bonded Projects)
- Handling of Previous Challenges
- Litigation (Prior, Current or Pending)
- Unique Skills & Certifications**
*Mandatory
** For example, handling and removal of asbestos-containing materials.
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CRS Roofing Contractor Qualifications
The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) offers a four page guideline;
informational questions (presented in the format of
AIA Document A-305) outlining
the minimum details buyers need to know about roofing contractors.
CRS Roof Consultants expanded the NRCA/AIA requirements in developing our own
Roofing Contractor Qualifications to include information that can help
us evaluate roofing firms, their proficiency and review prior works before
they are invited to participate in the Bidding Process.
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Do a Web Search on "Selecting a Roofing Contractor". You'll find
the most popular suggestions include review of prior work (references)
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Unfortunately, property owners, operators and managers are with faced two
barriers. First, absence the necessary skills, how does someone evaluation a
roofers work. Second, recommendations from any roofing firm are going to be
biased - meaning, the roofer is going to provide their best references.
In contrast, CRS wants to know what a firms biggest challenges have been, how
were they resolved and how much time resolution took. So, our supplemental
forms dig into the hurdles firms have overcome by asking them to identify
the challenges and what their crews did to overcome these obstacles. This requires
frank honesty of the roofing firm and direct communications with prior customers.
Why Go Through So Much Effort?
Simple! The Actual Serviceable-Life of roof systems in California is
between twelve (12) to sixteen (16) and on occasion eighteen (18) years
for a twenty (20) year roof. That's as low as 60% of a property owners'
life-cycle expectation. Such low numbers places extraordinary pressures
on property owners and management Return on Investment (RIO) objectives.
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