From Roof Inspection to Warranty Paper: One El Paso Job in Kern Place

The estimate reached Marisol the following day, inside the 48 hours the company allows. The clock runs from the inspection, not from the call. It's free, and an owner may keep it whether or not she hires Lifetime. Marisol laid hers beside a second quote and phoned Daniel Smith with questions about the underlayment, the flashing, and the deck work. Those questions matched what the crew lead had photographed: the flashing by the chimney, the soft boards, and the underlayment that would cover the deck. Up to that point she had paid nothing and signed nothing. Then she hired Lifetime.

If an insurance claim is involved, the estimate has a second use. Lifetime doesn't negotiate with insurance companies. Its help is documenting the damage and writing the estimate. An owner can hand that estimate to the insurer or set it next to another roofer's. The company's guide on what a roofing estimate should say lists the lines to look for.

Not every inspection ends in a new roof. Lifetime also handles a repair when a repair will do. The written estimate is where an owner finds out which of the two the roof needs. The free inspection comes first either way. The roof walk, the attic check, and the photographs are the same whether the result is a patch or a tear-off.

On tear-off day the old roof came off down to the decking, layers and all. With every layer gone, the crew could see the whole deck. It checked the decking for soft, wet, or rotted boards before anything new went on. On Marisol's roof, it replaced the soft ones. Lifetime sends its own crews, not subcontractors, to install the new roof, so the people on the roof work for the company named on the estimate.

Part of the roof was still open when the crew left for the night, so the crew tarped it. Any open roof at Lifetime is tarped each night, and the company calls the owner if the crew is running late.

One city rule applies to a replacement here. Kern Place is inside the City of El Paso. A residential roof covering permit is required there when 25% or more of the roof is replaced, a rule from City of El Paso Planning and Inspections. A full replacement is over that line, and the company's permit guide covers the details.

At the end, a magnet sweep of the yard and driveway picked up the nails, and the warranty paper went into Marisol's hand. The ring on the hallway ceiling was the last thing she painted over.

Owners comparing roofers in Kern Place can check four points: the person on the phone, the written estimate, the overnight tarp, and the warranty paper. Each is easy to ask on the first call.

Lifetime Roofing of El Paso serves Kern Place and the wider El Paso area, based at 8900 Gateway Blvd E, El Paso, TX 79907, phone (915) 353-3934. Its crews work in El Paso, Socorro, Horizon City, Canutillo, Anthony, San Elizario, Clint, Fabens, Vinton, and Fort Bliss. Financing is available on full roof replacements, and veterans get a 5% military discount.