El Monte, CA
Find out what you are actually dealing with
An inspection is the cheapest thing on this site and the one that saves the most money, because it turns a guess into a number.
Describe the inspection job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three El Monte contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in El Monte is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a inspection job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- A written report, not a verbal summary
- Whether the fee comes off the job if you proceed
- Photographs of anything they flag
- An estimated number of years left in the covering
- Whether the inspection includes going into the attic
Twice a year is the standard advice, and almost nobody does it. Once after the worst weather of the year is a reasonable compromise.
Ask for an estimated remaining life in years, and what would extend it. That answer is the useful part.
Free inspections are tied to an estimate, which is fine as long as you know that going in. Paid inspections buy you a written report that is not attached to somebody wanting the work.
Locally
Then, less dramatically: ember intrusion through vents and open eaves. Most houses lost to wildfire are lost to embers arriving ahead of the fire, not to the fire itself.
About inspection here
Do I need a permit?
Yes, in nearly every jurisdiction a re-roof is permitted work. A contractor who suggests skipping it is telling you something useful about how they work.
What should I do to prepare?
Move the cars out, take pictures off the top-floor walls, cover anything stored in the attic, and put pets somewhere else for the loud days. Expect nails in the driveway however careful the crew is — ask whether they run a magnet at the end.
Do you cover the whole Los Angeles County area?
We match across El Monte and the neighbouring communities in Los Angeles County. Put the ZIP of the property in and it will route to whoever actually covers it.
It is leaking right now. What do I do?
Move what you can out of the way, put a bucket under it, and if there is a bulge in the ceiling put a small hole at its lowest point to let the water out in one place rather than bringing the whole panel down. Then mark your request as an emergency — those go out first.
What is it going to cost?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.