Most advice on this is written by contractors and reads like it. The tells are easy: it lists criteria the author happens to meet, and it's vague about anything they don't.
This one is different. Every item below is something you can check yourself, on any contractor, before anyone sets foot on your roof.
Three checks you can do before anyone comes over
These take about ten minutes and remove a lot of the risk.
- Alberta prepaid contracting licence. Alberta requires one when a business sells work on your home in person away from its own place of business (at your door, at your kitchen table) and takes any money before the work is done. You can check any business on Service Alberta's licensed-business search. A doorstep sale, a deposit request and no licence is a clear warning sign.
- WCB Alberta clearance letter. It shows whether a contractor has WCB coverage and whether their account is in good standing. WCB Alberta says that if you don't have a clearance letter and the contractor hasn't paid their premiums, you may be liable for those premiums, so get one before you hire and before you pay.
- A liability insurance certificate. Ask for the certificate itself, not reassurance, and read the limit and the expiry date on it. The City of Calgary's contractor tips say the same.
Nine questions, and what the answers tell you
Ask all of them. The pattern of answers matters more than any single one.
- "What's the plan for the decking, and is that in the price?" Many older Calgary houses have board (plank) decking, and IKO's application instructions say shingles over board decks aren't recommended because they can buckle, which its limited warranty doesn't cover. A quote that has considered the deck isn't comparable to one that hasn't.
- "Is the flashing being replaced or reused?" Reused flashing is a common source of leaks on a newly replaced roof. "Reused" isn't automatically wrong, but the answer should be a decision, not a shrug.
- "What happens if you find rot?" You want: a signed change order at a price you approve. You don't want: "we'll sort it out" or a number that appears on the final invoice.
- "What's your workmanship warranty, and what's the manufacturer's material warranty?" Two different things covering two different failures. A contractor who blurs them is either sloppy or counting on you not knowing.
- "Who's actually on my roof: your crew or a subcontractor?" Either can be fine. Not knowing which is not fine.
- "Can I see the deck once it's stripped?" That's the one moment the roof is open. A contractor who photographs it as a matter of course is telling you something good.
- "How do you handle nails afterward?" You want to hear "magnet sweep" without prompting.
- "Is the deposit structure in writing, and do you hold a prepaid contracting licence?" These two go together.
- "What's not in this quote?" The best question on the list. A good contractor has a ready answer.
After a hailstorm, three specific red flags
Calgary fills with contractors within days of a major storm. Some are excellent and travelled here to work. The dangerous ones share a script.
- "Your claim is already approved." Impossible. Only your insurer approves a claim, and not before anyone has been on your roof.
- "We'll cover your deductible" / "no out of pocket". Insurers warn that contractors who promise this tend to recover it by inflating the scope billed to the insurer. That's fraud, and the claim is in your name.
- Anything asking you to sign on the doorstep, including an "inspection authorisation", which can turn out to be a contingency agreement tied to your claim. Read anything before signing it, indoors, without someone waiting.
What a cheap quote is usually cheaper about
Materials and labour make up most of a roofing price. When one quote is dramatically lower, the difference is usually scope rather than efficiency: no decking allowance, reused flashing, thinner underlayment, less ice-and-water coverage, no ventilation correction, or a second layer of shingles left in place. Compare the line items, not the totals.
If it goes wrong
Know this before you need it. For contractor conduct, door-to-door sales and prepaid contracting licences, Service Alberta's Consumer Investigations Unit handles complaints. For an insurance claim, start with your insurer's own complaint process, then the General Insurance OmbudService, which is free. The Alberta Insurance Council handles the conduct of insurance agents, brokers and independent adjusters. None of them needs a lawyer to get started.
Should I get three quotes?
Get two or three, and spend the effort on comparing scope rather than collecting more numbers. Five quotes with no line-item comparison tells you less than two quotes read carefully. Ask each one what isn't included.
Is a local contractor always better than one who came for the storm?
No, and that framing is often self-serving when a local says it. Out-of-province crews after a major event include genuinely skilled people. What matters is whether they'll exist when your warranty does. That's a question about licensing, insurance and permanence, not about geography.
How much should the deposit be?
For most repairs we don't take one. You're invoiced on completion. On a replacement we take 30% on signing and the balance on completion. Deposit terms vary legitimately between contractors. What matters is the licence: when a job is sold in person away from the contractor's place of business, taking any money before the work is done requires an Alberta prepaid contracting licence (ours is 360187). That's the check, not the percentage.
What if I already signed something on my doorstep?
Read it carefully now. Look especially for an assignment of benefits or a cancellation-fee clause. Under Alberta's Consumer Protection Act you can cancel a direct sales contract for any reason within 10 days of receiving a copy of the written contract. If you're unsure what you signed, contact Service Alberta's Consumer Investigations Unit.
Do online reviews actually mean anything?
Read the negative ones and the owner's replies. That's the informative part. A wall of five-star reviews posted in the same week means less than one thoughtful three-star with a response that addresses it. Volume matters, but pattern matters more.
Where the facts on this page come from. If a source has changed since we last checked, tell us and we'll fix the page.
- Prepaid contracting business licence · Government of Alberta
- Find a licensed business · Service Alberta
- Clearance letters · WCB Alberta
- Consumer Protection Act, RSA 2000, c C-26.3 (s. 27, direct sales cancellation) · Alberta King's Printer
- Hiring a contractor · Government of Alberta
- Tips for hiring a contractor · City of Calgary
- Cambridge shingles application instructions · IKO
- File a consumer complaint · Government of Alberta
- Insurance consumer complaints · Government of Alberta