The single most common complaint we hear about other contractors is communication. The roof is on, things are happening up there, the homeowner can hear but not see — and then suddenly there is a question about a change order, or a delay, or a deviation from spec, and the owner feels they have lost the thread.
We solved this in 2017 by formalizing a documentation system that costs us about 90 minutes a day on every active project and produces a closeout package that the owner's insurance carrier accepts as the most thorough they have ever received.
What we send daily
At the end of each work day on your project:
- A short text message — three to four sentences — describing what was done
- 8 to 15 photographs, captioned, of the work completed
- Any change-order or material decision that needs your input within 24 hours
The text goes to the owner directly. The photos and captions are uploaded to a shared cloud folder that the owner, the architect (if any), and the carrier (if relevant) can access.
What we send weekly
A written summary on Friday afternoon covering:
- What was completed this week
- What is scheduled for next week
- Any open items requiring decisions
- Material deliveries expected
- Inspection schedule
What we deliver at closeout
The final package, delivered within seven business days of completion:
- Full photographic record of the project, organized by phase
- Material approvals (NOA, FPA) for every component
- Specifications as installed
- Manufacturer warranties for every product
- Wind-mitigation report from the third-party inspector
- Permit close-out documentation
- Our limited workmanship warranty
This package is bound in a folder for the owner and delivered digitally for the insurance file. We have had several owners tell us they used the package five and ten years later — for resale documentation, for insurance claims unrelated to the roof, for HOA submittals. The documentation has a longer useful life than most owners expect.
Why we do this much
Two reasons.
The first is that the work deserves the documentation. A slate or custom-tile roof is a 75-year material commitment; the paperwork should match the longevity.
The second is selfish: in the rare cases where there is a dispute — over an insurance claim, over a leak two years later, over an HOA question — the documentation is the answer. We have not lost a dispute that started with our documentation in front of an arbitrator. The photographic record is the difference between an opinion and an argument.
What this costs
About 90 minutes of foreman time per day, plus 30 minutes of office time weekly to prepare the summary. On a typical 9-week project, it is roughly 90 hours of labor distributed across 18 weeks of total project time. We absorb that cost in our overhead.
If you have ever had a contractor who responded to "how is it going" with "almost done," you understand why the documentation is worth what it costs.
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