When it comes to roofing companies, especially in Miami, you generally get to chose from the following types: 1.Bad, 2. Very bad, and 3. Horrible.
So given what there is to work with, Evans roof is fairly decent - Not perfect for sure, but pretty good.
I've hired Evans roofing for 2 new roofs on 2 of my houses and I'm in the process of hiring them for 2 more roofs.
After a few years of research, and a lot of time spending doing my own roof repairs and analyzing why roofs fail, I'm now basically a roofing expert and often have to spend time educating roofing contractors and workers on the building code and proper procedures.
My advice for someone wanting to hire a roofing company:
1. The incentives of a roofing company are not aligned with the incentives of the customer. You want the best roof possible that will last 50years. The roofing company wants to do the job as cheap as possible, and have it last only 5 years until the warranty is expired, then they can charge you for repairs. So the customer must be educated if he/she wants a good result. Spend a few hours educating yourself on roof types, pros and cons, etc. so much confusion and bad reviews are from home owners just not knowing how the process works, not knowing the normal issues that come with a new roof, that they would get from any roofing company.
2. Get on your roof and figure out why you had problems. Maybe you have a poor quality roof in past? Maybe you have ponding water on your flat roof. Maybe you have a lot of valleys and stacks, and you will need to consolidate stacks, or move them from problematic areas (dont have a stock in the middle of a valley!) Address these concerns with the roofing company. Don't assume they will just fix everything the way you want it automatically.
3. Get everything in writing. Don't make assumptions on how the job will be done. If you need something special or have special concerns, discuss this first. I had a number of special issues and concerns and requested specific processes be used for my roof, and Evans roofing, and the owner, Thierry, was responsive and discussed my concerns and updated our contract accordingly. Few companies will do this.
4. How knowledgeable is the company? Play dumb and ask questions you already know the answer to. You will quickly separate the scammer companies from the legit companies. Sometime it's just the salesman who is bad, but if the company isn't competent enough to send out a good salesman who knows what he is talking about, and has actual experience with roofing, then I don't hire that company regardless. Evans Roofing has generally sent me knowledgeable salesmen with roofing experience.
5. Make sure the company is licensed, insured, and has been in business for a long time. The common scam with roofing companies is that they close up shop every few years and change their company name. This allows them to not have to honor any warranties. Evans roofing has been in business for a long time. And they have all the proper licensing and insurance, etc.
6. Don't expect perfection. It's difficult for a company to hire workers and have them do everything correctly. But you can watch the work get done and make sure it is getting done to your expectations. Often times you can get the desired end goal as long as you guide the process along. It will be a little bit of work on your end if you want the best possible product.
7. Framing is not Evans Roofing strength, and it's not any roofing company's strength. If you have any significant amount of wood damage/rot/termite damage to replace, you probably need to hire a framing expert to come in as well, if you want to get the job done correctly.
8. Issues will come up and you will have to sometimes stop the work and talk to the company reps. Make sure the roofing company will talk to you, listen to you, and work with you to fix your specific issues and so you can get a high quality roof that will last 30yrs. Evans Roofing cares about doing a good job and they will talk to you and work with you until you are satisfied.
-Phil read more