9 Questions To Ask St. Louis Roofing Contractors

Before you sign any roofing contract in St. Louis, ask these 9 questions. What to look for, what answers should concern you, and how to protect yourself.

A roof replacement is a $10,000–$20,000 decision on most St. Louis homes. The contractor you choose determines whether that investment holds up for 25 years or starts showing problems in three. Asking the right questions before you sign separates contractors who stand behind their work from those who won't be reachable when you need them. Here are the nine questions that matter most.

Question 1: Are You Licensed and Insured in Missouri?

Missouri does not require a statewide contractor license, but many St. Louis municipalities require a local license or registration to pull permits. What you must verify: (1) General liability insurance — at minimum $1 million per occurrence. Ask for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) with your name listed as the certificate holder. (2) Workers' compensation insurance — if a crew member is injured on your property and the contractor has no workers' comp, you could face liability. (3) Local registration or license where required — your municipality's building department can confirm this.

A legitimate contractor hands you a COI without hesitation. If there's resistance, delay, or the document lists a different company name, those are flags worth investigating before you proceed.

Question 2: Do You Hold Manufacturer Certifications?

GAF Certified Contractors, Owens Corning Preferred Contractors, and CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMasters have completed manufacturer training programs, met insurance requirements, and agreed to installation standards. These certifications matter for one reason above all: they're required to issue the manufacturer's enhanced warranty (system warranty vs. shingle-only warranty). Without a certified installer, you may get a limited shingle warranty but not the workmanship or full-system warranty that adds real protection.

Ask specifically: which manufacturers are you certified with, and what warranty tiers are available through your certification? The answer tells you whether the contractor is current with manufacturer programs or coasting on old relationships.

Question 3: Is Your Crew In-House or Subcontracted?

Many roofing companies sell the job and then subcontract installation to a crew they don't employ. This isn't automatically a problem — large national brands often work this way — but it affects accountability. When the crew that installs your roof is a subcontractor, the installing entity may be a different legal entity than the one you signed a contract with. If there's an installation problem, the chain of responsibility gets complicated.

Ask: Will the crew installing my roof be your direct employees? If they're subcontractors, how do you ensure installation quality and who do I contact if there's a problem? A contractor who can't answer this clearly probably doesn't know who will be on your roof.

Question 4: What Warranties Do You Offer — and What's Excluded?

There are two distinct warranty types: manufacturer material warranty (covers shingles, underlayment, accessories if installed per spec) and contractor workmanship warranty (covers installation errors — improper flashing, missed nailing patterns, ventilation mistakes). Material warranties are largely standard across manufacturers for a given product tier. Workmanship warranties vary enormously by contractor.

Ask for both in writing before signing. Ask what specifically is excluded from the workmanship warranty. Ask what the claims process looks like. 'We stand behind our work' is not a warranty — a written document with specific terms is.

Question 5: Will You Pull the Required Permits?

Most St. Louis County municipalities and the City of St. Louis require a permit for a full roof replacement. The permit is pulled in your name as the homeowner — the contractor acts as the licensed party on the permit application, but you're the property owner of record. A contractor who suggests skipping permits 'to save money' is saving their own administrative time at your expense. An unpermitted replacement can void your homeowners insurance coverage and create complications at sale.

Ask: Will you pull the permit, and is the permit fee included in the estimate? If the answer is 'we don't do permits for roofing,' verify whether your municipality actually requires one — and if it does, walk away.

Question 6: Can You Provide Local References?

References from customers in the St. Louis area who had similar work done in the last 12–24 months are the most relevant. Google reviews and BBB ratings give aggregate signal, but direct references let you ask specific questions: Did the crew show up when promised? Was the final invoice close to the estimate? Did they find anything unexpected mid-job, and how did they handle it? Would you hire them again?

A contractor with genuine local work history will produce references without reluctance. A contractor who gets evasive, references jobs from three years ago, or offers national review links instead of local contacts deserves more scrutiny.

Question 7: Is the Estimate Written and Itemized?

A verbal quote is not an estimate. A one-line written quote ('replace roof — $12,400') is barely better. A legitimate written estimate specifies: shingle brand and product name, shingle grade (architectural/impact-resistant), number of tear-off layers, underlayment type (synthetic felt or ice-and-water shield coverage), ridge cap style, flashing material and scope, ventilation work, decking repair allowance, permit, cleanup and haul-away, and payment schedule.

Without these line items, you cannot meaningfully compare bids. Contractors who provide vague scopes have more room to cut corners mid-job because they never committed to the spec. Make itemized, written estimates a non-negotiable requirement before any contractor gets serious consideration.

Question 8: What Is the Deposit, and When Is Final Payment Due?

A reasonable deposit for a residential roofing project is typically 20–33% of the total contract. This covers material procurement and confirms your spot on the schedule. Requiring 50% or more upfront is unusual and gives the contractor most of the project payment before any work is done — a structure that does not incentivize completion quality.

Final payment should be due after the job is complete, the cleanup is done, and you've had a chance to walk the property. Never pay in full before the project starts. For insurance-funded projects, be aware that paying the contractor more than the insurance settlement less your deductible may constitute insurance fraud under Missouri law — the contractor should understand this boundary.

Question 9: What Does Cleanup Include, and What's Your Completion Timeline?

Roofing generates significant debris: old shingles, underlayment, nails, and packaging. Your estimate should explicitly include haul-away and disposal. Ask whether they use magnetic nail sweeps on the lawn and driveway — a nail in a tire or a child's foot is an avoidable problem. Ask how they protect landscaping and HVAC equipment during tear-off.

On timeline: a standard residential roof replacement is a one-to-two day job for an experienced crew. Extended timelines on simple roofs may indicate a stretched schedule or understaffed crew. Get a written expected start date and completion date in the contract.

One More Thing: Verify Before You Sign

After asking these questions, spend five minutes verifying independently: confirm the COI by calling the insurance carrier listed (the agent's name and number are on the certificate), check the BBB listing, and run a quick search for the company name and 'complaints' or 'problems' in St. Louis. Thirty minutes of due diligence on a $15,000 contract is time well spent.

Revolve Construction carries full general liability and workers' compensation insurance, holds GAF Certified Contractor, Owens Corning Preferred Contractor, and CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster certifications, employs in-house crews, and pulls permits on every qualifying project in the St. Louis metro. We welcome any of these questions — and we'll answer them in writing. Call (314) 400-8006 or request a free estimate online.

Why These Questions Matter in St. Louis Specifically

St. Louis has no statewide roofing contractor license, which means the bar to call yourself a roofing contractor is low. After every significant hail event, the metro is seeded with out-of-state contractors who have no established local presence, no local permit history, and no accountability when a problem surfaces 18 months later. The nine questions in this guide are specifically calibrated to identify contractors with genuine local roots, appropriate insurance coverage, and a track record that can be verified independently — not contractors who pass the friendly handshake test and then become unreachable when you need a warranty repair.

How to Read a Certificate of Insurance

A Certificate of Insurance lists the insurance carrier, the named insured (which should match the company you are contracting with exactly), the policy types and limits, and the policy effective and expiration dates. The general liability limit should be at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Workers compensation should be listed with statutory limits. The certificate holder line — where your name should appear — indicates the COI was issued specifically for your request. Call the insurance carrier's customer service line listed on the certificate to verbally confirm the policy is active. Anyone can produce a fraudulent COI quickly, but a phone call to the carrier takes the risk off the table entirely.

The Right Answers: What a Good Contractor Says

On license and insurance: Here is our COI — call the carrier directly to confirm. On certifications: We are GAF Certified and Owens Corning Preferred — here are the certification numbers. On in-house vs. sub: Our installation crew are direct employees; here are photos from recent jobs in your area. On warranty: Workmanship is warranted in writing for X years; here is the document. On permits: Yes, we pull the permit and it is included in the estimate. On references: Here are three customers in your zip code from the last six months. On written estimates: We will have a line-item estimate to you within 48 hours. On deposit: We take 25 percent down when materials are ordered. On cleanup: We do a magnetic sweep at the end and will show you before we leave. Any contractor who answers all nine questions confidently, in writing, with evidence, has earned serious consideration for your project.

Timing Your Contractor Search

The best time to identify and vet a roofing contractor is before you need one urgently. A hail event in June gives you a two-to-four week window before your schedule fills — but storm season volume means reputable local contractors book fast. Homeowners who approach this process after a storm under time pressure make worse decisions than homeowners who thought through the questions before the storm arrived. Spring is the right time to do your research: get a free inspection, ask these questions, and have a contractor relationship established before a major event hits. The preparation cost is zero. The value of being prepared when a storm hits is significant.