At Northmen Roofing we are committed to our loyal clients in central Florida first and foremost. If we learned anything from the two major hurricanes that hit last year is that our local contractors will flood to the disaster areas on the coast and leave central Florida without adequate support. We saw an incredible volume of new service request last year which made it more challenging to prioritize our existing clients. Even worse, some friends, family and clients fell victim to some preventable predatory practices.
Pre-Hurricane: In preparation for this season, we kindly ask you to consider the following:
- If you have any concerns, lingering repairs needed, or due for maintenance (broken tiles, backed up gutters, etc.) now would be the best time to schedule this work.
- When you call the office, please note that you are an existing client so we can provide priority service (it does get hectic on the phones so we appreciate the help!)
Post-Hurricane: As a general reminder, especially after a hurricane, please *do not panic*. Here are a few notes to consider:
- It’s very common for leaks to arise that are only caused by the extreme weather event. Roughly 50% of post storm service request resulted in a diagnosis of “temporary water intrusion” such as rain blowing in off ridge vents. Image above demonstrates what a perpetual leak at a ridge vent will look like with wood damage. Water alone does not necessarily mean a repair is needed.
- If a leak or damage has occurred know that the scope of the repair will not change in a day, week or month. In most cases the area was already compromised and took some time or an extreme event for it to become noticeable. The only exception is catastrophic damage such as a tree falling on your home. We encourage you to wait for a trusted service technician to repair your leak (even if it is not Northmen Roofing!).
- There will inevitably be predatory contractors (out of state, unlicensed and/or under insured) attempting to coerce homeowners into insurance scams, overpriced repairs or unnecessary “emergency” tarps. We highly recommend not entertaining anyone that would knock on your door.
- Regarding tarps, Northmen Roofing as a company policy does not “emergency” tarp. There are very few situations where a tarp is an effective tool. For the time, effort, and cost we believe the appropriate solution is to simply fix the leak and apply the “tarp money” to replacing damaged drywall and insulation.
- Consider ramifications of calling your insurance company first. Post hurricane deductibles are usually MUCH higher than standard so there are very few cases in which an insurance claim will lead to a payout that makes sense.
- If you do have legitimate storm damage, we HIGHLY recommend contacting a public adjuster who will represent you against the insurance company. This is NOT the same as utilizing the in-house adjuster that works for a roofing company.
As always, we want to thank you profusely for your continued support! We are here to help in any way we can so please call anytime for assistance.
