Before Anybody Tears Off, It's All on the Page

The problem in one breath

The fight you have on day three — the gutters, the second layer, the start date — was already decided on day one, by what was or wasn't on the page the homeowner signed. Go read the page you hand out. Does it say more than "install roof"?

Why it happens

Nobody enjoys paperwork, so the contract you hand out is the one you've printed for years. It covers the price and almost nothing else. Then the crew pulls a second layer nobody priced, the wife swears the gutters were included, and it rains four days straight. Now the only record of what you promised is what the two of you remember, and the roof is already open.

What follows is a checklist of what has to be settled on the page — not a contract, and not legal advice. Your own attorney and your state set the wording.

The play

1. Name the parties like a court would. Every owner of the house, full legal names, and the property address. Your company's legal name, address, phone. If your state licenses or registers roofing contractors, that number belongs on the page — ask your attorney what else yours wants near the signature.

2. Write the scope in roofing words. "Install roof" is not a scope. Squares. How many layers come off. The underlayment by name. Where the ice-and-water goes. The ventilation you're actually installing — ridge vent and how many feet, or the box vents you're swapping. Step, wall and chimney flashing, drip edge, valley metal, pipe boots. The gutters: protected, reset, or left alone. Haul-off and the magnet sweep. If your crew couldn't build the roof off your scope, it isn't one yet.

3. Say what is NOT included, out loud. One short list under its own heading: gutter replacement, skylights, fascia wrap, the satellite dish, interior paint, tree trimming — whatever you know people assume. It ends half the arguments you'll ever have.

4. Put a price on what you can't see yet. Nobody knows what's under the shingles until the deck is open, so set those unit prices first: decking per sheet, a second layer per square, rotten fascia per foot. Agreed in advance, a bad discovery becomes a signature instead of a fight (Play 17, "Found Rot at Two O'Clock?").

5. Spell out the money, dollar by dollar. The total price, what's due at signing, what's due when (Play 7), and what the deposit buys. On a storm job, name who pays what: the carrier's money lands in stages (the carrier money path), the deductible is the homeowner's (Play 16), and whatever the policy won't cover comes out of his pocket (Play 21).

6. Give dates you'll hit, and say what rain does. A start window and a finish window, not one date: "tear-off the week of the 14th, three working days once we start." Then the weather line — rain moves it, and here's how we tell you. A window you hit beats a date you miss.

7. Write both warranties down, then the line that holds the page together. Yours covers workmanship, for as long as you say. The manufacturer's covers the material, on their terms and their paperwork. Two promises, and homeowners hear one, so put both on the page with what voids each. Then the sentence the rest leans on: nothing verbal changes this page — changes ride on a signed change order.

One part we won't write for you: permits and who pulls them, lien notices, a cancellation window, any insurance-claim language your state regulates. Take this checklist to your own attorney for the wording.

Do this this week

Print the checklist below, lay it beside the contract you hand out today, and tick only what is truly on that page. Twenty minutes at your own kitchen table. Every empty box is a hole you close yourself or a question for your attorney.

The tool

No spreadsheet — a one-page checklist. It is not a contract and not legal advice; it's what has to be settled before a crew touches the roof. Lay it beside the paperwork you use now, tick what's really there, then read the blanks: some you close yourself, the rest go to your attorney.

WHAT'S ON THE PAGE — a checklist, not a contract
Lay it beside the contract you use now. Tick only what is really there.
Empty boxes are holes to fix, or questions for your attorney.

Job: ____________________________   Date: ______________

WHO
[ ] Full legal names of every owner    [ ] Property address
[ ] Your legal company name, address, phone
[ ] License / registration line, if your state has one

THE SCOPE, IN ROOFING WORDS
[ ] Squares          [ ] Layers coming off      [ ] Underlayment
[ ] Ice-and-water: where it goes
[ ] Ventilation: what kind, how much
[ ] Flashings: step, wall, chimney          [ ] Drip edge
[ ] Valley metal     [ ] Pipe boots
[ ] Gutters: protected / reset / not touched
[ ] Haul-off         [ ] Magnet sweep before we leave

NOT INCLUDED
[ ] Its own short list, in plain words: ________________________
    ______________________________________________________

WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE YET (agreed before tear-off)
[ ] Decking $________ per sheet    [ ] 2nd layer $________ per square
[ ] Rotten fascia $________ per foot
[ ] Other: ____________________________________________

MONEY
[ ] Total price $________     [ ] Due at signing $________
[ ] Rest due when: ______________________________________
[ ] What the deposit buys
[ ] Storm job: carrier stages, deductible, out-of-pocket said out loud

DATES
[ ] Start window     [ ] Finish window     [ ] What rain does to both

WARRANTY
[ ] Yours, on workmanship: how long ________   [ ] What voids it
[ ] Manufacturer's, on material: how long, whose paperwork

THE LINE THAT HOLDS IT
[ ] Nothing verbal changes this page - changes go on a signed
    change order

FOR YOUR ATTORNEY AND YOUR STATE
[ ] Permits, and who pulls them    [ ] Lien notices
[ ] Cancellation window            [ ] Insurance-claim language

If your crew is 1099

Your sub's written scope has to match what you promised the homeowner on the parts that matter — the underlayment, the ice-and-water, the ventilation, the haul-off, the magnet sweep. You can't direct a sub on the roof like an employee, so it gets settled in his agreement before he rolls. Any gap between the two pages is yours to eat.

One more thing: this play is how we run a shop — it's not legal advice. Rules change by state and by contract, so before you act on the legal-sounding parts, run them past your own attorney or accountant. It's your business, and what you do with any of this is your call and your responsibility.