The tie-breaker: score every bidder out of 100.
Texas does not license roofers. That puts verification on you, so here is the framework we would want a homeowner to use — including on us. Print it, take it to every bid, and make each contractor answer in writing.
How do I choose between two roofing bids that look the same?
Score them, because the total price is rarely what differs — the specification is. Weight the four things that predict the outcome: Track Record (30 points), Transparency (30), Specialization (20) and Local Knowledge (20). In practice: verify the entity age and a permanent physical address, demand an itemized written scope with a change-order policy, confirm UL 2218 Class 4 material and calculated ventilation are in the bid, and check they know whether your permit runs through the county or a city. A bidder scoring above 80 here is a defensible choice at almost any price in the normal range.
Four categories, weighted by how much they predict a bad outcome.
Nothing here is a matter of taste. Every line is a document you can request or a fact you can look up, and every line is one we expect to be held to.
Track Record
Can you verify they existed before this storm and will exist after it?
Transparency
Is the price a document or a performance?
Specialization
Do they specify for hail, UV, and thermal movement — or just install what is cheapest?
Local Knowledge
Do they know what is actually under and around your house?
Track Record — why it carries 30 points
Can you verify they existed before this storm and will exist after it?
| Track Record — 30 points | Pts | How you verify it in one phone call or one document |
|---|---|---|
| Years operating under the current legal name, verifiable on the Texas SOS registry | 8 | Search the entity name at comptroller.texas.gov. A brand-new LLC after a hail event is the single loudest signal in this industry. |
| A physical, permanent local office address — not a P.O. box or a mail drop | 8 | Put the address into satellite view. If it is a mailbox store or a residential lot in another state, the warranty follows them out of town. |
| Named references in your county from the last 24 months you can actually drive to | 6 | Ask for three addresses within 20 miles. A local company can produce them from memory. |
| Manufacturer certification current and verifiable with the manufacturer | 4 | Call the manufacturer or check their contractor locator. Certifications lapse and logos stay on websites. |
| Active general liability and workers' compensation, confirmed by the carrier | 4 | Request the certificate of insurance sent directly from their agent, listing you as certificate holder. |
Transparency — why it carries 30 points
Is the price a document or a performance?
| Transparency — 30 points | Pts | How you verify it in one phone call or one document |
|---|---|---|
| Written itemized scope — materials named by product, quantities, and labor separated | 10 | A one-page total with no line items cannot be compared to anything, and cannot be enforced later. |
| A written change-order policy defining triggers, pricing, and written approval | 8 | Ask what happens if they find rotten decking. The answer should already be in the contract. |
| No deductible waiving, absorbing, or rebating offered at any point | 6 | It is illegal in Texas and it makes you a party to insurance fraud. An offer here should end the conversation. |
| Warranty terms in writing — separate workmanship and manufacturer terms, with durations | 4 | "Lifetime warranty" with no document is a sales phrase. Ask whose lifetime, and what voids it. |
| Payment schedule tied to milestones, with no large deposit before materials are delivered | 2 | Large money up front is the most common pattern in abandonment complaints. |
Specialization — why it carries 20 points
Do they specify for hail, UV, and thermal movement — or just install what is cheapest?
| Specialization — 20 points | Pts | How you verify it in one phone call or one document |
|---|---|---|
| UL 2218 Class 4 impact-resistant material quoted as the baseline, not an upsell | 8 | In Hail Alley, a non-rated shingle is a roof planned around a future claim. Ask why if it is not standard. |
| Ventilation calculated — intake and exhaust sized to your attic volume, in the scope | 5 | Ventilation is the biggest controllable factor in how long your roof lasts here, and the most commonly skipped line. |
| Underlayment specified by type, with self-adhered membrane at valleys and penetrations | 4 | If the bid says "felt" or does not say, it is 15# felt. Valleys and penetrations are where roofs here leak. |
| Flashing replaced rather than reused or painted, itemized by location | 3 | Reused flashing on a new roof is the defect we find most often behind premature leaks. |
Local Knowledge — why it carries 20 points
Do they know what is actually under and around your house?
| Local Knowledge — 20 points | Pts | How you verify it in one phone call or one document |
|---|---|---|
| Knows your permit path — county vs. municipal, and whether aquifer review applies | 6 | Ask who issues your permit. Outside city limits, a wrong answer here stalls a job for weeks. |
| Understands on-site septic setbacks and well systems before scoping any footprint change | 5 | Adding a bedroom can require OSSF re-permitting. This gets discovered after demolition constantly. |
| Handles rainwater catchment compatibility — inert materials, first-flush, no lead flashing | 4 | Common on Hill Country properties. Materials appropriate for a city roof can contaminate a cistern. |
| Accounts for wildfire interface detailing — vent screening, noncombustible zone at grade | 3 | Most of this region is wildland-urban interface. Embers enter through unscreened vents. |
| Familiar with expansive clay and foundation drainage — discharge distance, grade | 2 | Gutters that discharge at the foundation are worse than useless on soil that changes volume. |
80–100 — defensible
Verifiable history, an enforceable document, and a specification matched to this climate. Price differences at this level usually reflect real scope differences.
60–79 — gaps to close
Probably competent, probably under-specified. Ask them to add the missing lines in writing and re-score. Many bidders will.
Below 60 — walk
Whatever the price, you are buying an unverifiable promise on a roof that has to survive hail, 100°F+ UV, and 40°F daily movement.
Six things that should end a conversation.
These are not points-off items. Any one of them is enough on its own, and two of them are illegal in Texas.
Offers to waive or absorb your deductible
Illegal in Texas under the Insurance Code, and it makes you a participant. It also tells you the bid is padded by at least the amount of the deductible.
Wants to file or negotiate the claim for you
Acting as a public adjuster on a property you are contracting to repair is prohibited. You file. The contractor documents and attends.
Door-knocking within days of a storm, out-of-state plates
Storm-chasing crews follow hail across states. The work may be fine; the warranty leaves with the truck.
Pressure to sign today, "price only good now"
Material pricing does move, but a legitimate contractor will hold a written quote for a stated number of days.
Quote produced without anyone going on the roof
A ground-level or purely satellite quote is a starting number. Nobody can scope decking, flashing, or ventilation from the driveway.
Large cash deposit before materials are delivered
The most common pattern in abandonment complaints. Tie payments to milestones you can see.
What you get in writing, before any work starts.
Our own answers to the Transparency category. Hold us to these — they are contract terms, not marketing.
An itemized written scope
Materials named by manufacturer and product, quantities stated, labor separated, and the ventilation, underlayment, and flashing scope written out by location. Not a total on a business card.
A defined change-order policy
What triggers a change order, how it is priced, and that nothing proceeds without your written approval. Where a condition is genuinely unknown — decking under the old roof, framing behind a wall — we disclose it as unknown up front instead of pricing it optimistically.
Milestone payments
Tied to delivery and completion stages you can see. No large deposit before materials are on site.
Warranty terms, separated
Manufacturer material warranty and our workmanship warranty are different documents with different durations and different exclusions. You get both, and we will tell you what voids each.
Your deductible stays yours
We will not waive, absorb, or rebate any portion of it, and we will not file or negotiate your claim for you. Both are prohibited in Texas. We document, we attend the adjuster inspection, and we supplement with evidence.
Completion documentation
Itemized final invoice, the UL 2218 Class 4 certificate for the exact product installed, warranty registration, and dated final photos — the package your agent needs for the impact-resistant roof credit.
Verify us specifically
- Physical office: 3618 Barrington St, San Antonio, TX 78217 — look it up in satellite view
- Direct line to the owner: 512-844-5900
- RCAT accreditation: [RCAT LIC #]
- BBB profile: [BBB PROFILE URL]
- Insurance certificate: requested from our agent, issued directly to you
- Local references: three addresses in your county, on request
Bracketed items above are placeholders in this build and must be replaced with the real credential numbers and profile links before launch.
Ask us the hard questions
Request the insurance certificate, the references, or a written scope you can compare against another bid.
5.0 — and the themes matter more than the number.
Anyone can have five stars. What is useful is what people repeat: cleanliness, communication, and the owner actually being on the roof.
Site cleanliness
Communication
Owner oversight
Written scope clarity
Schedule adherence
“They tarped the flower beds before a single shingle came off, and the magnet sweep at the end took two passes. My wife found zero nails in the driveway.”
“The adjuster initially approved a repair. They sent the drone imagery and the manufacturer bulletin, and it came back a full replacement. I did not have to argue with anyone.”
“I got a text every morning with who was coming and what they were doing. On a three-week remodel that is the difference between trusting someone and dreading the doorbell.”
“They told me my roof had six good years left and to call them back then. Nobody else who came out said anything like that.”
“The septic setback would have killed the addition as drawn. They caught it in the first week, before we spent anything on plans that could not be built.”
“Itemized to the penny, and when they found bad decking the change order came with a photo and a number before they touched it.”
Review disclosure. The testimonials above are illustrative samples written for this build, not verified customer submissions. Before launch they must be replaced with real reviews and a live feed from the Google Business Profile at [GOOGLE REVIEW LINK]. Aggregate rating markup is deliberately omitted from this page’s structured data until the underlying reviews are genuine.
What people ask us about vetting contractors.
How do I verify a roofing contractor is legitimate in Texas?
Texas does not license roofers, which is why verification falls to you. Check the entity name on the Texas Comptroller registry for how long it has existed, require a certificate of insurance sent directly from their agent, confirm any manufacturer certification with the manufacturer rather than the website, put the office address into satellite view, and ask for three job addresses in your county from the last two years.
Is RCAT the same as a state license?
No. Texas has no state roofing license. RCAT — the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas — runs a voluntary accreditation program with continuing-education and ethics requirements. It is a meaningful signal precisely because it is voluntary, but it is an association credential, not a state license. Anyone claiming a "state roofing license" in Texas is describing something that does not exist.
Why is waiving my deductible illegal?
Your deductible is your contractual share of the loss. A contractor who absorbs it while billing your carrier the full amount is misrepresenting the cost of repairs — insurance fraud under the Texas Insurance Code, with the homeowner exposed as a participant. Texas law specifically prohibits contractors from paying, waiving, or rebating any part of an insurance deductible.
Should I use the contractor my insurance company recommends?
You are not required to. Carrier preferred-vendor programs can be efficient, but the vendor has a business relationship with the party paying the claim. You have the right to choose your own contractor, and the carrier owes the same scope either way.
What should be in a written roofing contract?
Itemized materials named by product and quantity, labor separated, ventilation and flashing scope stated, a defined change-order policy with written approval required, workmanship and manufacturer warranty terms with durations, a milestone-based payment schedule, and the total. If a bid is a single number on a business card, there is nothing to enforce.
Regulatory statements reflect Texas law as generally published and are provided for orientation, not as legal advice. Verify current requirements with the Texas Department of Insurance and your own counsel.