Long Beach, CA
Fix the leak before it costs you a ceiling
Most roofs that leak do not need replacing. They need somebody to find the eighteen inches that failed and put it right.
Describe the repair job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Long Beach contractors who do this work.
Your request is in.
We are matching it now against roofing contractors working in Long Beach and the surrounding area.
- Today, usually within the hour. The first contractor calls or texts the number you gave us. ASAP requests go out first.
- Up to three of them, no more. We cap it at three so you can compare without your phone melting.
- They come and look. Estimates are given after somebody has been on the roof, not over the phone.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
If you do not hear anything today, check your voicemail and spam folder — contractors often call from a mobile number.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a repair job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- What it would cost to replace instead, so you can compare like for like
- Where the water is actually getting in, not just where it is showing up
- What the repair does to any remaining manufacturer warranty
- Whether the surrounding material has enough life left to be worth tying into
- Whether matching material is still available in your colour
The usual culprits, in order: flashing at a wall or chimney, a cracked pipe boot, a valley that was never lined properly, and a nail that backed out. Actual holes in the field of the roof are uncommon.
Expect the contractor to want to look before quoting. Anybody willing to price a leak repair over the phone is guessing, and the guess will be high.
Repairs on a roof with five years left are money well spent. Repairs on a roof with two are usually a deposit on the replacement you are about to buy anyway.
Locally
Behind it: morning fog that sits on the roof until mid-morning. Damp that arrives every morning and leaves by lunchtime is worse for a roof than rain, because nothing ever fully dries between one and the next.
About repair here
What time of year is best to re-roof in Long Beach?
Here, the long dry run from May to October is the easy window. November through March is when the phone rings hardest, which means less flexibility on dates and less room on price.
How quickly will someone call?
Usually within the hour during working hours. If you marked the job as an emergency it goes to the front of the queue and is normally picked up faster than that.
Why three quotes and not one?
Because one price tells you nothing. Three tells you where the middle is, and the outliers are informative in both directions — the very cheapest is usually leaving something out, and the most expensive should be able to say what you are getting for it.
Are the contractors licensed and insured?
We require a licence number and current insurance from every contractor in the network. Verify it yourself anyway. Your state licensing board has a free lookup, and it takes two minutes.