How to Vet a Roof Coating Contractor in Ottawa Before You Sign

Are roof rejuvenation coating companies in Ottawa legit?

Some are, and you can tell which by whether the company is open about the limits of the treatment, because roof rejuvenation is a real treatment with real limits. A rejuvenating treatment penetrates an asphalt shingle that has dried out and started shedding granules, rebuilds flexibility in it and slows the drying. It can add years to a roof that is still whole. It does not fix a leak, rebuild a shingle that has cracked through, or change what a hot, damp attic is doing to the shingles from underneath.

Not every roof qualifies, and a company that says so before it quotes is behaving the way a legitimate one should. The warning sign is a company that sells the treatment as a cure for everything on the roof: a leak, an ice dam, a slope that has already gone bald. Those are repair or replacement jobs, and coating over them wastes your money. The guide to roof coating versus replacement sets out where that line sits.

Should I trust a roof coating company with few Google reviews?

Yes, if it passes the same checks you would run on an established company, because a review count measures how long a company has been collecting reviews, not whether it will do your roof properly. Reviews accumulate with time and with the number of jobs done. A company in its first seasons has few of them whatever the quality of its work, and a company with hundreds can still give you a price before anyone has seen the roof.

Reviews are worth reading for what customers say happened. They are no substitute for checking the company's certification, insurance and paperwork yourself, and all of it can be done in an evening.

What should happen before anyone quotes your roof?

Someone should get on the roof, photograph it and tell you whether it qualifies, before a number is attached to it. A coating is only worth buying on a roof that is still sound, and nobody can tell that from the street or from a satellite image. Condition, access and the repairs needed only show up in person.

Expect the visit to produce photographs of your roof that you keep whether or not you book, a plain answer on whether the roof qualifies, and the name of the product that suits it if it does. On GoNano treatments the roof also gets a Roof Health Score, which GoNano assigns at the assessment and which decides the product tier.

A price before a visit, or a quote that never mentions that the roof could fail, tells you the company is selling a product rather than assessing a roof. We inspect at no charge, you keep the photographs, and some roofs fail. We say so rather than treating them.

Once a quote is in your hand, the checklist for reading a roof coating quote covers what the document itself should contain, from the measured area to who issues the warranty.

How do you check that a GoNano applicator is certified?

Ask the company to show its certification, then check GoNano's own dealer finder, because the manufacturer's warranty is only issued on work done by a certified GoNano contractor. Certification is the check that matters most on a GoNano coating, and it does not depend on how long the company has existed. If the applicator is not certified, the warranty is not available on that work, however good the spraying looks.

GoNano publishes a dealer finder at gonano.com/en/find-a-dealer. Look the company up there rather than taking a logo on a van or a website as proof. We are a certified GoNano contractor and are listed there.

Who issues the warranty, and what should be in your hands before work starts?

On a GoNano roof treatment the warranty comes from GoNano, the manufacturer, not from the company that applies it, and you should have the written terms before anything goes on the roof. GoNano issues a manufacturer's warranty of 3 to 20 years. The term depends on the Roof Health Score GoNano assigns your roof at the assessment and on the number of coats applied.

A company that quotes one flat warranty figure for every roof is promising something the manufacturer does not. Ask for the warranty document itself and read what voids it before you sign anything, from anyone. We put the full document in front of you before anything is applied.

A life-extension figure is a different number from the warranty term. A treatment can add up to 20 years with NuRoof Fortify, up to 12 with NuRoof Revive and up to 10 with NuRoof Boost on a full treatment, and the warranty is a separate, shorter number set by the Roof Health Score. A company that drops the "up to" has turned the manufacturer's hedge into a promise. The roof nano coating service page explains the three tiers.

On your shingle maker's own warranty, GoNano's position, from a legal review by its law firm, is that the treatment does not void the warranties of IKO, Owens Corning, BP or GAF. Ask your shingle maker as well. A company that answers that question with a flat "it does not affect your warranty" has gone further than GoNano itself goes.

What else should you check about the company itself?

Check that the business exists on the public record, that it is insured, that it is registered with the WSIB, and that it can give you references.

• The Ontario Business Registry. Anyone can search it free of charge for basic information about a business. The name on your quote should be a business you can find there.
• Insurance. Ask for proof of liability insurance and check that the company named on it is the company on your quote. The work is high up over your house, and if something goes wrong the insurance is what pays. We are Ottawa based and insured.
• WSIB clearance. Ontario requires workers and independent operators in construction to carry workplace safety and insurance coverage. A clearance is the WSIB's own number showing that a business is registered and up to date with it. Ask for it.
• References. Ontario's consumer guidance says to get at least three references and check them, even when someone you know recommended the company.

What does Ontario law give you if you sign at home?

Ontario gives you a 10-day cooling-off period if you sign the contract at your home, during which you can cancel for any reason without paying a cancellation fee.

Ontario's guide for home renovation and roofing businesses also recommends that deposits are not more than 10% of the total project cost, and says a business cannot charge more than 10% above its estimate unless you ask for more work and sign a change. Measure any quote against those figures. A deposit demanded before anyone has looked at the roof, or a price that is only good today, falls outside them.

Where do we stand on this checklist?

We get on the roof before we quote, name the product in writing, hand you GoNano's warranty terms before work starts, hold a GoNano certification you can look up, and are Ottawa based and insured. Item by item:

• Before the quote. We get on the roof at no charge and photograph it, GoNano assigns the roof a Roof Health Score, and you keep the photographs whether or not you book.
• The product. We name it in the written quote, with the reason. GoNano NuRoof Fortify, NuRoof Revive or NuRoof Boost, decided by the Roof Health Score rather than by the budget.
• The warranty. GoNano issues it, and you read the full terms before work starts.
• Certification. We are a certified GoNano contractor, listed in GoNano's dealer finder.
• The company. We are Ottawa based and insured.
• Roofs that fail. Some roofs do fail the assessment. We tell you, nothing is applied, and you keep the photographs to take to a roofing contractor.

Ask us for anything else on the list when we visit, and check the items you can verify without us first. Book the free on-site assessment when you are ready to have the roof looked at.

Common questions