Property damage happens, no matter how careful your roofing crew is. You likely know this firsthand. Use these tips to reduce the dings, scrapes, and shatters that damage the bottom line and scuff your reputation.
Prevent Property Damage in Roofing
1. Do a pre-work inspection.
A pre-job worksite inspection does more than reveal hidden property damage you may need to address during roof replacement; it can also identify previously existing damage to a customer's home or property. Examine the roof as well as features like attics, gutters, flashing, siding, shutters, chimneys, skylights, and vents for signs of existing damage that the homeowner is responsible for fixing.
2. Document trouble spots.
Take photos and notes. After the inspection, review documentation of pre-existing property damage with the client. Save the images and a record of the conversation in the client’s file so you can refer to them if property damage accusations arise later. If you don’t use a CRM that can store photos in client files, consider using platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox to save pics and make them easily accessible to your team if necessary.
3. Conduct a post-job inspection.
Ensure the roofing replacement process has gone smoothly with a follow-up inspection and documentation photos. As with the pre-job inspection, keep these on file so you can access them later if the homeowner accuses your company of property damage.
4. Use tools designed to prevent property damage in roofing.
Even when you move or cover every property feature possible, falling debris and cumbersome equipment can ding or destroy siding, trees, HVAC units, and more. But you can decrease the risk by investing in professional-level equipment.
For example, top roofing tools like a magnetic nail sweeper will reduce the risk of injury for residents, pets, and tires after the job is done. For more thorough damage prevention, check out the RB4000 by Equipter. It’s a compact, drivable, raisable dump container that significantly reduces the risk of property damage by streamlining material and debris handling.
5. Train employees in property damage prevention techniques.
Train new hires on your company’s process for protecting homeowners’ properties. It’s also a smart idea to regularly review how to prevent property damage with crew members—it’s easy for an important step to get lost over time, especially during peak roofing season when everyone’s working crazy-long hours. Listen to input from crew members, too. Since they’re on the job day in and day out, your crew may have insight into how to more effectively reduce or prevent property damage for long-term savings.
What’s been your company’s best money-saving technique to prevent property damage in roofing? Let us know at Equipter on Facebook.