Torrance, CA
Roof storm damage in Torrance, CA
The first hour after a storm is about stopping water, not about getting the best price. Those are two separate jobs and they happen in that order.
Describe the storm damage job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Torrance contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Torrance is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a storm damage job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- Photographs of the damage before any work happens
- A written scope of the work, line by line
- A local address you could actually drive to
- What the emergency tarp costs, separate from the repair
- Whether the contractor is licensed and insured in this state
Photograph the outside, the inside, and the date. Then get a tarp on it. Photographs of the original damage are a record nobody can argue with; a description of what it looked like before the repair is not.
Keep every receipt, including the tarp and the emergency call-out. They are part of the record of what happened and what it cost.
A local contractor who inspects and documents properly is more use to you than a fast one who is already on the roof.
Locally
The second problem is the autumn offshore winds, which find anything already loose. These winds are not constant, which is the problem. A roof gets nine quiet months and then one night at fifty miles an hour, and whatever was marginal goes.
About storm damage here
Do I need a permit?
Almost certainly, for a full replacement. The contractor should pull it, and the fee should be a visible line on the quote rather than a surprise.
How much deposit is normal?
A third at most, and never the full amount. Pay the balance when the job is finished and you have walked it. Some states cap the deposit by law.
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Codes in most places allow two layers. That does not make it wise. You lose the chance to see the deck, and the next roofer has twice as much to remove.
Should I repair or replace?
It depends almost entirely on how much life is left in the material. Ask any contractor who inspects it to give you a number of years and a reason. If two of them independently say the same thing, believe it.
Ready for a real number?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.