Commercial Roof Repair and Replacement in Allentown, PA
Allentown, PA and the surrounding area has a plethora of roofing contractors – both residential and commercial. Narrowing down a short list of which contractors will perform the best work within budget is important. If you know which criteria to look out for, you should be able to near-expertly narrow down the most reputable contractors that will stay within budget while delivering high-quality work. And most importantly, will deliver the final roofing product with a strait-forward type of honesty and integrity that give’s you true piece-of-mind.
In this article, we’d like to give you a range of considerations to take into account when choosing the best commercial roofing contractor in Allentown, PA
The Element of Pricing
One mistake commercial building owners (and residential owners as well) can fall into is making a buying decision purely based on price. Nobody wants to be taken advantage of, but be wary of these though process leading you down the road to accepting the cheapest commercial roofing bid. The cheapest bid out of a variety of contractors should never be the deciding factor. The highest quality contractor with the best reputation may not present you the lowest bid, but the extra dollars spent are almost always worth it. Usually, the most pragmatic and cost-effective bid should fall somewhere in the middle.
Check Online Reviews
When it comes to choosing a building contractor (no matter what type), one of the greatest assets a consumer has is their ability to read company reviews from past customers. This new internet-age functionality gives potential customers a quick and helpful insight into any company that may potentially be doing business with.
The first place to start would be Google Business Profiles (formerly called Google My Business). Google goes to great lengths to verify the authenticity of the various businesses listed with the Google Business Profile network. This can even include verifying LLC docs, EIN numbers, address’s, phone numbers, etc. Do yourself a favor and read the customer reviews of each contractor, and generally speaking, a good rule of thumb would be to avoid company’s who have less than 4 stars (5 stars being the highest).
Other review sites such as Angie’s List, Yelp, Homeadvisor, and Foursquare can also give you added insight into the quality and integrity of the company you are considering doing business with.
Verify their Credentials
In modern times, it should be completely standard practice for any roofing contractor to be licensed, bonded and insured. Certain state laws make this a requirement. Roofing contractors should also have accreditations, memberships, and certifications. You can check with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) to verify some of these credentials as well as view any complaints filed against the company.
Estimates
Most commercial roofing contractors will come out to your property and provide you with a free estimate. Afterwards, a professional contractor should send you a detailed report, including pictures – of the type of repair or replacement they recommend on your roof. Nothing should be left up in the air or vague. After reading the estimate, you should know exactly what will be done, as well as a good ballpark in pricing.
Warranty
Just as with your estimate, your roofing contractor should provide you with a clearly laid-out understanding of the type of warranty that will come with your new roof or coating project.
While many building owners will be concerned about the length of their roof’s warranty, it’s also important to understand other details of the warranty – what’s covered and what is not. The typical commercial roofing warranty will carry with it two types of warranty’s, the manufacturer warranty and the labor or “workmanship” warranty. The manufacturers warranty is a warranty on the actual product or materials that went into your roofing system. The labor warranty creates a legal responsibility for the roofing contractor that installed your roof to correct and repair any damages or issues related to the roof installation itself. These two warranties also fall within a specific time period, so make sure you have a good understanding of what the warranty entails before you sign on the dotted line!
For a more detailed understanding of roof warranties, we highly recommend you read our previous article, “A Guide to Commercial Roofing Warranties”
Project Highlight - City Garage, Allentown, PA
City Garage was one of the many projects J Smucker Contracting has done for the city of Allentown over the years. Located adjacent to Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport, City Garage is a large facility owned by the city of Allentown where the city stores various motor equipment and township resources.
What made this project unique is the half-cylindrical, convex shape of the roof as well as the large sizing of the project. The project size was approximately 50,000 square feet in roofing surface. This particular job was a new roof coating, which took 8 weeks to complete.
One of the challenges with large roof coating projects is that the long time period (again, 8 weeks in this case) gives you potential exposure to more weather events. To overcome this hurdle you have to be very exacting in your scheduling and your approach at the job site every single day. This includes exact timing at the end of the day to allow the sun to dry the finished coat if, for instance, a rain storm is coming the next morning at 8 am.
The first step with every coating job is washing the surface with specialized formulated cleaner that’s specifically designed to remove all of the debris and particles that have been caked and baked into that roofing surface for years on end. The washing is done with a high power pressure washer which, along with the chemical cleaner, agitates any particulate that is not supposed to be there.
The next step is going through the 1000’s of membrane seams that City Garage had – we then run through every seam with Kevlar fabric to ensure an air-tight connection. After which we back-roll the roof membrane with the fiber and then two coatings are placed over top. The project was another fantastic success and we look forward to providing expert services to the city of Allentown, PA for many years to come.
Your roofing contractor should send you a detailed report, including pictures of all the necessary issues or repairs to be addressed.
A beautiful shot of the completed project
Why Choose J Smucker Contracting as Your Roofing Experts?
J Smucker Contracting has been the leading commercial roofing contractor for years in not only Allentown, PA but the surrounding tri-state area. Years of large, industrial roofing projects have given us the expertise to handle any large project and tackle any problem. Through our years in roofing, we have stayed true to our core principles of Honoring God, Integrity, Commitment to Excellence and Growth, and Total Customer Satisfaction. J Smucker Contracting is also committed to using the best roofing products in the industry, hands down – including Firestone, GAF, Conklin, and Versico roofing products. We are absolutely commited to being the top commercial roofing contracting in Central PA
If you’re in need of commercial roofing repair, replacement or a regular service and maintenance package, we’d love for us to give us a call. Give us a rundown of your situation and we’ll send a certified inspector out to provide you a free estimate. Even if you don’t choose us, you’ll come away in a more knowledgeable position than where you started. If you’re searching for the “best roofing company near me”, give us a call. We’d love to hear from you!