PETRUS Roofing and Solar

Rock Solid Roofing and Solar in the Greater Houston Area

roofer

Exploitation by Bad Contractors

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The three groups of people whose vulnerabilities shoddy contractors exploit are day laborers, salespeople, and homeowners. These unethical and immoral practices have stained the industry to no end, ruining the reputation of the whole industry. Ethical contractors must work together to overcome the horrible stereotype and build a business worthy of your hard-earned dollars. 

VULNERABLE WORKERS 

We all know that there are a lot of migrant workers in the roofing industry, some with dubious legal status to be in the country. The working poor, even as “aliens and sojourners” in our country, cannot be deprived of their just wages. The Bible lists this as one of four sins that cry out to God for vengeance. Yet, shady contractors will often take advantage of migrant workers and instead of paying them at the end of the day, will ditch them at the worksite and pocket the hard-earned money. After all, most day laborers are not going to go to the police. 

Another issue with subcontractors and the business owners is the phrase you’ve perhaps seen or heard on contractor ads: “Insured and Bonded.” This means that we, Petrus Roofing and Solar, carry liability insurance and worker’s compensation for our subcontractors. If an accident should happen, God forbid, they will be covered and cared for. The type of contractor who would refuse to pay a person for their labor is probably not going to pay for extra insurance for the same workers. 

VULNERABLE SALESPEOPLE

Another vulnerability the unscrupulous contractor takes advantage of is his own salespeople. Often, the best salesperson will actually out earn the owner of the business, which is OK because a strong salesperson means the whole company benefits. But what many bad actors in this industry do is once the roofs start going up, they fire the number one salesman and refuse to pay their commissions. Again, the pocket the money for themselves. 

VULNERABLE HOMEOWNERS

The vulnerabilities of homeowner ignorance are often exploited. You don’t know what a whole roofing system looks like, so they leave out the water and ice barrier or the drip edge, causing water penetration during the next big storm. You don’t know what’s happening on top of the roof, so inadvertent damage is covered up, but not fixed, making your home no longer worry free. They pull you into insurance fraud by suggesting you don’t need to pay your insurance deductible. You think they are keeping more money in your pocket, but they are cutting corners, committing fraud, and drawing you into it. We are also “bonded”, which means that if for some reason our company folds, the bond ensures your project will still get finished.

ETHICAL CONTRACTORS

None of us know everything about everything, so our ignorance makes us vulnerable to exploitation and scams. This is why in the contractor field it is important to go with a company that values education. In our ethical outlook, more knowledge means more agency. You are an informed consumer and now, armed with knowledge, you have significantly more leverage in hiring a contractor. You have expectations that are clearly communicated and must be met.

Those who work on your roof are skilled, compensated, and protected by insurance. Those who sell to you are valued, trusted, and respected members of our company. And we will never cause you to commit insurance fraud, submit a false claim, leave off required materials for a complete roof, or push you into a project or solution you don’t need.

We educate and never manipulate because we plan on seeing you again in the future. A satisfied customer is a returning and a referring customer! Every roof, every time.

Keeping Roofers Safe!

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Three types of workers amaze me every time I see them in action: electrical line workers, roofers, and tree cutters.

A few months back after a storm snapped some of my trees, I hired a company to cut about 7 big oaks down (shout out to Cesar B!). My neighbor came over at 9 o’ clock in the morning with a beverage in hand, popped the top, and said to my kids, “Now this is going to be a better show than the circus!” He wasn’t wrong. Watching them scale up trees, tie ropes, swing branches with surgical precision, and topple huge trunks was impressive, to say the least.

One question I was wondering that morning is the same question that people ask us on the job site: How do you keep them safe up there?

The answer is that we rely on safety technology, OSHA requirements, and general safety best practices to keep your roofer firm-footed on those slanted roofs.

It all starts with their physical fitness, as every Houston roofer is basically an asphalt athlete. Scaling ladders while holding huge bags of shingles or underlayment is incredibly exhausting. An extra 20 or 50 pounds can cost someone their lives, but the reality is that once you do this kind of work, especially in the Houston summer, you’ll find it hard to add weight! But if lifting heavy weight and going up and down ladders becomes too straining, a roofer can get lightheaded and that is a dangerous situation. This includes frequent water breaks during the heat of the day.

Speaking of the weather, the second thing we do to protect our workers is closely monitor the weather. Rains and high winds will put their lives in jeopardy, so we make sure that if the chances are high for bad weather, we will be in communication with you to reschedule your work, usually for the very next day.

Another safety item that is crucial is the right footwear. Shoes or boots must have grip, they must have a thicker sole (remember 10,000 nails are used in a new roof!), they must protect the wearer’s toes from dropped tools and materials, and they must fit snuggly. Also, roofers are close to power lines and cables, so protection from electrical shocks is a must. Many hiking boots and work boots will do the job, but the most popular is the Cougar Paw Performer, especially for high-pitched roofs.

top and bottom of the serious roofer shoe, the Cougar Paw Performance.

The two areas that cause the most fatalities are falls and electricity. Others are extreme temperatures, contact with hazardous substances and chemicals, and power tools.

There are a lot of fall-prevention methods to keep your roofer safe:

  • Inspection of the roof to make sure it is safe to walk on (rot, holes, etc.)
  • Proper training on different roof pitches (flat roofs aren’t magically safe)
  • Harnesses and other “personal fall arrest systems” as they are known
  • Guardrails and professionally installed scaffolding (easy to get wrong)
  • Warning lines and coverings around skylights, atriums, and other roof openings
  • Ladder safety and security (seems intuitive, but stability can be tricky)
  • Toe boards that nail into or use friction with the shingles
  • New tech (like the hilariously named The Goat Steep Assist Ladder)

Taking roofer safety seriously is the table-stakes for being a professional roofing company. They are ones who get the job done so why wouldn’t we protect our own people? Protection starts with training- proper ladder and tool use, pre-inspections, and clear communication. An untrained worker is a dangerous variable to himself and others.

Along these lines, one way you can tell a professional roofer from the unprofessional is the orderliness of the job site. Injuries are more likely to occur when tools, shingles, nails, and other items are haphazardly spread throughout the homeowner’s yard. Things happen: tools fall, nails scatter, boots slip. Smart contractors make sure their crews are trained, healthy, the weather is right, and the job site is organized.