Resources

Have Your Roof Inspected

Perhaps you are selling your house and have asked The Jack Caton Team to inspect your roof before it ever goes on the market. That’s smart because it allows so much more time if there are issues with the roof. Perhaps you have a contract on the house and the home inspector’s report indicates that the roof may have wind or hail damage or that the roof is old and deteriorated and you ask us to inspect the roof. It could be that you experienced some heavy and possibly damaging hail or wind in the recent past and believe that having your roof inspected is a good idea. It is.

Of course, you or your agent can call us or email us or you can use our new Website to order the inspection. You will receive an automatic reply via email that we have received your request and that we will contact you soon with the specifics as to the date of the inspection and who it is that will be doing the inspection. The Jack Caton Team is the only roofing contractor in the country using the JCRT Online Job Tracking System. It was specially designed to make the roofing experience more comfortable and seamless for everyone involved.

When we set the inspection time an email will be sent to you and your agent letting you know that the inspection date has been set or you my schedule the date and the time when you use the JCRT System to request the inspection.

We are pleased to let people know that their roof is free of defects and are happy to provide a 5-year roof certificate upon request.

Initiating an Insurance Claim

When you call the insurance company to initiate your claim we strongly recommend that you call your insurance company’s claim department directly, not your insurance agent. You will find a list of all the major insurance company’s and their toll free claim lines among these resources. The claim department is there for a reason, the insurance company has systems in place to help expedite claims and they start with trained representatives in the claims department.

Along with the report and photos, a brief outline of what to say to the person on the claims desk when you call will be uploaded onto your dashboard in the JCRT system. You will want to have your policy number and member number, if applicable at hand when you call. The claims processor will ask what type of damage or the cause of the damage. If it is hail then just tell them hail, if it is just wind then just tell them wind. There are some instances when the damage was caused by a combination of hail and wind and if that is the case then tell them that it is damage from hail and wind. We don’t want you to incur two claims; one from hail that happened last week and possibly one from wind that happened a few months ago. If there are two claims there will be two deductibles and that’s not what you want.

Surprisingly, many insurance agents do not know much about the claims process. Some will suggest that you get several bids for the work you anticipate having done. This is not a requirement of any insurance company and it is a waste of everyone’s time. Most roofing contractors will agree to do the work for what the insurance company ultimately agrees to pay to put the roof, gutters and other parts of the property back into the condition it was prior to the even that caused the damage.

Calling in the Claim

1) For the best service and fastest response from your insurance company call their customer service claim line.

2) Explain that the roof has been inspected by your roofing contractor, The Jack Caton Team and that sufficient damage was found to warrant initiating a claim.

3) They will ask when the damage occurred? If you do not know for sure ask us or tell the claims representative that it was only discovered when the roof was inspected recently. They may ask what was damaged? The roof for sure but there may be some damage to the siding, paint and possibly the gutters and downspouts. They may set a date and time for an adjuster’s inspection right then or the adjuster may call you later to arrange the it. It is important to get the adjusters information: Name, Phone #, Time, and Date of adjuster’s meeting.

4) Magic words you need to mention: “I want my Contractor, The Jack Caton Roofing Team to be present at the adjuster’s inspection.” Reason for us to be there: You want to have representation for you as the home owner. We’ll get on the roof with the adjuster to make sure he or she is aware of all the damage as well as walk the property with them making certain that all the storm damage is noted. It is our experience that a homeowner gets a more complete claim when we are there at the time of the adjuster’s inspection. They will have to stick to the time they said they will be there. They can’t change the time unless they contact the contractor first.

5) Call Amy at The Jack Caton Roofing Team with adjuster’s meeting info (719) 338-1441 or enter it into the convenient JCRT Online System.

6) We will meet the adjuster and make sure that a thorough inspection is completed of the roof as well as the other components of the house that may have been damaged in the storm. When the adjuster’s inspection has been completed we will contact you regarding his or her findings as will the adjuster.

Preparing for the Installation

After we have received the approved paperwork and the deposit, our office sends purchase orders for the material and the roofing crew. If this is a job for which we will be paid at closing, we may ask for a deposit depending on the circumstances. When our team receives copies of the purchase orders we post the dates for the delivery and installation on the appropriate dashboard in the JCRT Online System and advise the homeowner and referral partners via email that both have been scheduled. To the best of our knowledge we are the only Colorado Springs roofing contractor to have an interactive system like the JCRT Online Job Tracking System

It is common practice for roofing company suppliers to use a conveyor belt to unload the material and stack most of it on the roof. The installation crew appreciates this because it eliminates the need for the workers to carry the heavy bundles up a ladder onto the roof and it prevents theft. When the material is delivered it is best that there not be any vehicles parked in the driveway. Their presence may hinder the unloading and we wouldn’t want anything to fall off the conveyor onto a vehicle. It is also smart to take fragile or delicately hung items off the walls so that they don’t fall off during delivery of the material or installation. Each bundle of material can weigh as much as seventy-five pounds. When the material reaches the end of the conveyor belt the unloader takes it by hand and drops it strategically on the roof. They do try to be as delicate as the process allows but it isn’t unusual for a slight jolt to occur that can vibrate through the house when the bundle is dropped. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Many jobs include new roof vents and pipe jacks. These are delivered in a big box that isn’t very heavy. Instead of placing it on the roof where it may be vulnerable to the wind, it is generally left on the ground to the side of the house or garage. We have an arrangement with our suppliers that upon delivery of the material they will take photos of the material on the roof or ground and email them to us. We in turn upload the photos to the appropriate dashboard in the JCRT system and advise the homeowner that the photos are available for viewing. We do business with quite a few people who don’t occupy the property that is being re-roofed, so they don’t have the convenience of simply looking on the roof to see that the material has been delivered.

In many homes that were built prior to the 1950’s we find that the underlying decking is not plywood but what is referred to as Space Decking. Before the advent of plywood and more recently OSB or particle board for external use, roofers needed something to nail the shingles to and used one-inch thick wood in widths from four inches to eight inches. It isn’t unusual for this space decking to have gaps between the boards of up to two or three inches. Clearly it makes no sense to try to nail shingles into areas where there may be nothing for the nail to penetrate and hold. When the gaps between the boards is greater than 3/8 of an inch regional building code requires roofing companies to installed solid decking over the existing space decking. When this is the case the material will be unloaded onto the ground so that the new OSB decking can be installed prior to the installation of the shingles. Hand loading of the material is then required.