It doesn’t take much for fluffy, billowing clouds to turn into dastardly  cumulonimbus clouds capable of pelting our roofs with shingle-damaging hail. And if not hail, then gale-force winds can — and often do — send shingles flying.

Although weather events are among the most common reasons for replacing a roof, by no means are they the only ones. Sometimes roofs wear out. Sometimes they leak. And sometimes it’s simply time for a cosmetic overhaul.

Whatever the reason, sooner or later you’re going to want to find a roofing contractor in Colorado and Wyoming. 

When you’re in need of roofing repair, your Better Business Bureau warns that you should never pay for a job up front and you should never sign a contract until you are ready to hire a roofing contractor. 

What should you do? The BBB, along with the National Roofing Contractors Association, offers the following tips:

• Obtain bids from several contractors and check them out first by requesting BBB Business Reliability Reports at wynco.bbb.org, 970-484-1348 or 800-564-0371. Look for a company you can trust and that has a proven track record complete with client references and a list of completed projects. Call referrals and ask if they were satisfied with results.

• Check for a permanent place of business, telephone number, tax I.D. number and business license. If the roofer arrives at your doorstep unannounced and operates from a pickup with out-of-state license plates, tell him you’re not interested. Itinerant roofers spend warm-weather months traveling state to state and many cheat hapless homeowners out of thousands of dollars supposedly for upfront costs of the job. They take the money and never come back to do the job.

• Insist on seeing copies of the contractor’s liability insurance coverage and workers’ compensation certificates. Make sure the coverages are in effect through the duration of the job.

• Make sure the roofing contractor is properly licensed or bonded.

• Insist on a written proposal and examine it for complete descriptions of the work and specifications, including approximate start/finish dates and payment schedule.

• Check to see if the roofing contractor is a BBB Accredited Business and/or a member of regional or national industry associations, such as NRCA.

• Be skeptical of low bids. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Although price is important, professionalism and quality workmanship should also be considered.