Questions to Ask a Roofer Before Hiring One in Toledo, Ohio
Before hiring a roofing contractor in Toledo, ask for proof of insurance, confirm whether the crew on your roof is the contractor’s own employees or a subcontractor, verify they pull the permit, get the warranty terms in writing, and ask what happens if a problem shows up after the job is done. These five questions filter out storm chasers and underinsured contractors before a single shingle goes on your roof.
Most homeowners who end up with a bad roofing job did not get a bad contractor by accident. They skipped the questions that matter and went straight to price. A low bid feels like a win until the flashing fails in the first freeze-thaw cycle or the phone number on the invoice stops working six months later.
Pro Craft Home Products has been roofing in Toledo since 1952. We are an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred Contractor, BBB A+ rated since 2005, and we have installed more than 10,000 roofs across northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Every question below is one we answer directly, in writing, before a contract is signed.
Are You Licensed and Insured?
Ohio does not issue one statewide residential roofing license, and some contractors use that gap to operate without proper coverage. What actually matters in Lucas County is active general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage.
Ask for the certificate of insurance itself, not a verbal answer. General liability should sit at $1 million per occurrence or higher, and workers’ compensation is not optional. If a crew member gets hurt on your property and the contractor carries no workers’ comp, that liability can land on your homeowner’s policy or on you directly.
A legitimate contractor hands over the certificate the same day you ask. Pro Craft carries full general liability and workers’ compensation coverage and provides documentation before anything gets signed.
Who Actually Installs the Roof?
A large share of roofing companies in the Toledo area sell the job and then hand the install to a subcontracted crew. The name on the truck is not always the crew on your roof, and when something goes wrong, the contractor points at the subcontractor while the subcontractor points back.
Ask directly whether the installers are employees or subcontractors. If they use subs, ask how those crews are vetted and who carries liability if the work is defective.
Pro Craft’s residential roofing crews are Pro Craft employees. We do not subcontract installation work, so accountability stays with the same company whose name is on your warranty.
Do You Pull the Required Permit?
Most roof replacements in Toledo and Lucas County require a permit through the City of Toledo Building Inspection division. Skipping it saves a contractor time and paperwork, but it can void insurance coverage on a future roof claim and it means the work was never inspected against current Ohio code, including ice and water shield placement.
If a contractor suggests skipping the permit to save money or speed up the job, that shortcut tells you how they handle every other part of the project too.
Pro Craft pulls the required permit on every roof replacement across Toledo, Maumee, Perrysburg, Sylvania, and Oregon, and the fee is built into the written estimate rather than added on later.
What Materials Do You Install, and Are You Certified?
Manufacturer certifications like Owens Corning Platinum Preferred are not a marketing badge. They require documented installation training and a minimum job volume, and they unlock warranty tiers a non-certified contractor cannot offer, including enhanced coverage for wind resistance and non-prorated material replacement.
Ask what certifications the contractor holds, what warranty tier that certification unlocks, and whether you can see the written warranty before you sign.
Pro Craft holds Owens Corning Platinum Preferred status, a tier fewer than 1 percent of roofing contractors in North America carry. That means enhanced SureStart Plus coverage on every asphalt shingle roof we install, and manufacturer-certified installation on metal roofing as well.
What Does the Warranty Cover, and What Voids It?
Every roofing job carries two separate warranties. The manufacturer’s material warranty covers defects in the shingles and components, and it usually requires certified installation to stay valid. The workmanship warranty is the contractor’s own promise on the installation itself, and it varies enormously from one company to the next.
A one-year workmanship warranty is the bare industry minimum, and in a climate with Toledo’s freeze-thaw cycling, installation defects at valleys and penetrations often take two or three years to surface as a leak. Ask how long the workmanship warranty runs, what it covers, and what voids it, and get every answer in writing.
Pro Craft provides written warranty documentation on every roof replacement and roof repair. Nothing gets adjusted verbally after the fact.
Do You Inspect the Decking Before Reinstalling?
Once old shingles come off, the decking underneath is the best chance in the entire project to catch rot, soft spots, or fastening that no longer meets code. Toledo has a large stock of older homes, and decking problems on a 60 or 100 year old roof are common, not rare.
A contractor who is not planning to inspect the full deck during tear-off is skipping the single most important diagnostic step in the job. Ask whether they inspect and photograph the full decking, and how decking repairs get priced so nothing shows up as a surprise on the final invoice.
Pro Craft photographs the complete decking on every roof replacement and gets your written approval before any additional repair work is authorized.
How Do You Handle Ice and Water Shield?
Toledo sees 40 to 60 inches of lake-effect snow most winters, and the freeze-thaw cycling that follows drives ice dam formation along roof edges. Once an ice dam forms, water backs up under the shingle line and finds its way into the attic and ceiling below.
Ohio code requires ice and water shield in the first 36 inches from the eave. A better installer extends that further through valleys and around penetrations, and on steep or north-facing sections that hold snow longer.
Pro Craft installs ice and water shield to current code as standard practice and extends it on roof sections with higher ice dam exposure. We also flag attic insulation and ventilation gaps during the same inspection, since blown-in insulation is part of preventing the ice dam in the first place, not just the roof surface.
What Are the Payment Terms?
Standard, legitimate payment terms in Toledo run 10 to 30 percent down at the start of the job, with the balance due after your walkthrough confirms the work matches the agreed scope.
A contractor asking for full payment upfront has no remaining incentive to finish the job to your standard. Ask how additional work discovered mid-project, such as decking repair, gets communicated and approved, since a legitimate contractor documents that as a change order rather than adding it to the final bill unannounced.
How Long Have You Worked in Toledo, and Can I See Local References?
Storm chasers show up after every major hail or wind event with trucks, uniforms, and a pitch. Most are gone from the area within weeks, which is a problem if an issue surfaces on your roof six months later and there is no local office left to call.
A contractor with a verified Toledo address and references from jobs completed in the last year is a different kind of company entirely. Ask how long they have operated in Toledo specifically, and ask for references from Lucas or Ottawa County homeowners.
Pro Craft has operated from 1622 Coining Dr, Toledo, OH 43612 since 1952, and we serve Toledo, Maumee, Perrysburg, Sylvania, Oregon, Rossford, and Bowling Green year-round, not just after a storm.
What Happens If There Is a Problem Later?
Ask who you call if an issue shows up months after the job, how fast they respond to a warranty inspection, whether that visit costs anything, and who decides if the issue is covered under workmanship warranty. A contractor who gets vague on this is showing you exactly how they will handle a real problem before you have one.
Pro Craft answers the same phone number, 419.475.9600, 24 hours a day, for warranty calls, emergency repairs, and general questions. That covers roof repair, roof replacement, gutter installation, and every other service we perform.
