The roofing contractor is such a broad term that covers every type of roofing contractor there is. Realizing that in Texas anyone – anyone can be a roofing contractor since there is no mandatory licensing often cited as a result of Texas being a Right to Work State it is often confusing for people to determine what type of company or roofing contractors that they are dealing with.

A good looking website doesn’t necessarily mean they are a good company; however, if they appear on the first page of Google organically – meaning they are not a sponsored site that has a paid PPC campaign to be on the top or side of the page as a sponsored site there is excellent chance they are an established company / roofing contractor that has been around for a while and has a domain that is registered for some time, meaning they don’t plan on leaving. Whereas a new site by a roofing contractor that hasn’t been around and is only registered for a year could be a roofing contractor that changes the name of their company at their convenience.

Often the residential client may depend on The Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List or one of many websites to find a referral for a roofing contractor often some of the reference sites also take payment for their referrals sometimes, for instance, Service Magic is one example; however often these sites can only go off the information they receive about a roofing contractor who may not differentiate between a Residential Roofer who only installs Composition Shingles and a top rated roofing contractor / a commercial roofing contractor that installs and is credentialed as a certified applicator for all material types and manufacturer’s, commonly referred to as a tier one roofing contractor.

The tier system is a roofing contractor what a FICA score is to an ordinary person regarding their credentials and certified applicator status. The tier rating system was developed by roofing material suppliers and manufacturers. Typically, you have to earn your tier rating or buy an established company with a high tier rating that has been in business for some time and established their credentials. What is the maximum tier rating for roofing contractors? It is tier one across the board with all material suppliers.

Material suppliers rank their customers, roofing contractors by a tiered system, any roofing contractor that has tier one across the board with all providers, has earned that status over a period, and though becoming credentialed from the material manufacturers as certified applicators and often have a good credit history that enables them (roofing contractors) to buy materials on credit and set up job accounts for employment with coinciding payment terms, sometimes 60 days on commercial jobs requiring large equipment orders.

When it comes to residential, there are some governing and approvals from the shingle manufacturers and other residential roofing product lines as certifying a Roofing Contractor as a certified applicator. For example, any roofing contractor can buy GAF shingles; however, to provide a GAF System Plus Warranty the roofing contractor must have Certified Applicator Status.

Typically, a roofing contractor, who has earned the credential of certified applicators by Firestone, and Carlisle-Syntec, are usually considered tier one roofing contractors across the board. The tier system is a good way to separate the different levels of roofing contractors; however, a residential homeowner will not usually be able to find out the tier rating of the roofer; however, the more lines they have certified applicator status in, the industry associations that they are member of telling a lot about the type of roofing contractor. In sum it never hurts to do your research about any roofing contractor that you may be using before signing on the dotted line of a binding contract that is usually presented as a proposal by your Houston, TX roofing contractor; however, it is a legally binding contract typically.