We're a roofing company writing about picking a roofing company. Weigh that, then use the checklist on us.
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.
So here's the disclosure. We're Big Boy Roofing, we're in Calgary, and we want your work. Everything below is a check you can run on us as easily as on anyone else — and a couple of them we currently fail, which is noted where it happens. If a checklist never costs the author anything, it isn't a checklist.
These take about ten minutes and eliminate most of the risk.
Ask all of them. The pattern of answers matters more than any single one.
Calgary fills with contractors within days of a major storm. Some are excellent and travelled here to work. The dangerous ones share a script.
Roofing costs are dominated by materials and labour, both of which are roughly market-rate for everyone. When one quote is dramatically lower, the difference is nearly always 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.
Applying our own checklist honestly. Our Alberta prepaid contractor licence is pending registration rather than issued. We are not currently ARCA members, and our IKO ROOFPRO enrolment is unconfirmed. We have 17 Google reviews, which is a small number next to established competitors. All of that is on our credentials page, listed as pending or absent rather than quietly omitted — and you should weigh it. A checklist that made its author look perfect would tell you nothing.
Know this before you need it. For contractor conduct and prepaid contractor licensing, Alberta's Consumer Investigations Unit handles complaints. For an insurance claim dispute, it's the Alberta Insurance Council and the General Insurance OmbudService. Both are free to contact and neither requires a lawyer to start.
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.
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 — which is a question about licensing, insurance and permanence, not about geography.
For a repair, we don't take one at all — you're invoiced on completion. For a replacement, deposit terms vary legitimately, but any deposit means the contractor needs an Alberta prepaid contractor licence. That's the check, not the percentage.
Read it now, carefully — particularly for an assignment of benefits or a cancellation-fee clause. Alberta consumer protection law provides cancellation rights for certain direct-sales contracts, and the timeline is short. If you're unsure what you signed, contact Alberta's Consumer Investigations Unit; that's what they're for.
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.
Drop your name and a way to reach you. We'll follow up with next steps — no pressure, no sales call.
