Unless people understand a bit about the building or contracting business, it may be difficult to know what to look for when you’re looking for professional Michigan roofing companies. When you want a roof built or perhaps a roof replacement, this is really a serious matter that needs to be handled by only those who are truly professional and experienced.

My first experience with a roofing contractor was twenty some years ago. A storm had damaged and even tore away many of my asphalt shingles. I was a lot younger at the time and I knew nothing about chimney flashing, ventilation, fascia boards, asphalt rolls, or metal roofing.

I won’t go into a lot of detail, but let’s just say that it turned into a bad experience. Fortunately, it was covered by my homeowners insurance, so they handled the investigation.

Fast forward to today. I had to have my roof replaced again recently, so I started call around. I’m older and wiser now, so no sweat, right? Let me say that I had some very intriguing encounters.

Apparently little has changed. I actually had a couple of companies wanted to charge me to come to my house to give an estimate. That’s a red flag if I ever saw one. Still another contractor simply wrote some numbers on the back of a business card and left it in the mailbox. Red flag two. Obviously, they didn’t want the job.

I called one of those big name companies that you see advertising on TV, but I found out that they are little more than a broker. They simply sell you the service for a significant fee, hire out local contractors to do the work, and keep the difference. The one that came to our house really applied the pressure to get me to sign up on the spot.

The company I eventually hired was family owned and had been in business since 1986. That was important to me. I figured that for them to be around that long, they must be doing something right.

Normally you don’t want to go with the lowest bid. What corners are they cutting to get the price that low. I don’t know if my instincts were telling me it was a good move or if I was just being cheap, but I felt at the time that this was the company I wanted to hire.

The guy who came out was the actual owner of the business. He didn’t send some flunky salesman. He went over every detail, made a few recommendations, and even came up with a remedy for a problem I wasn’t sure had one. I will not go into details, but it had to do with the electrical lines.

Anyway, we sat down and had a cup of joe, and he explained my options. He was a genuinely nice guy and my instincts were telling me that I was able to trust him. I know, that isn’t quite scientific, but sometimes instincts are all we have to go on, so I hired them.

It was a very good move. They did everything they stated and more. They ran into a few unanticipated issues when they tore off the old roof, but he covered the cost of most of them. The only additional I had to cover was for our rotting deck boards underneath, but even that was relatively inexpensively, all things considered.

They had to remove my satalite dish, but they reinstalled it and, believe it or not, I’m receiving a better signal now than I received before. Yes, that’s only a coincidence, but it indicates they are thorough.

They did a great job at a very reasonable cost. Since they are technically a home improvement contactor and also do various other work, I’ll likely to end up hiring them again real soon.

The guy I am referring to is Joe Miller and he is the owner of A.S.I. Improvement. They are based in Lapeer, Michigan, but they cover a large portion of southeast Michigan.

If you want it done correctly the first time for a fair price, give Joe a call at 800-491-5115 or visit their website at http://www.asiimprovement.com/.

Your Last Roof Ever