1. "Are you an Owens Corning Platinum Preferred contractor?"

Why it matters: The Owens Corning Platinum-level limited-lifetime warranty can only be installed and registered by a Platinum Preferred contractor, and it has to be registered shortly after the install. It is not something you can add later, buy later, or upgrade into once a roof is on. If the roof goes on without it, that tier is closed on that house.

What a straight answer sounds like: Yes or no, plus what warranty they can offer and for how long, material and workmanship separately.

What a vague answer tells you: "We use Owens Corning shingles" is not the same answer. Every roofer can buy the shingles. The designation is about who is allowed to register the warranty.

Our answer: Yes. AK Certified Roofing is Owens Corning Platinum Preferred. We register the warranty as part of the job and you get the paperwork.

2. "What’s on the wind mitigation form when you’re done, and who fills it out?"

Why it matters: Florida’s uniform wind mitigation form is what your insurer reads to decide your credits. It has specific lines on it: roof covering compliance, deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, secondary water resistance. What gets built determines what can be checked. Those credits recur every year for the life of the roof, which makes this the quietest money on the table and the easiest to lose.

What a straight answer sounds like: They know the form by name, they can tell you which lines your new roof will improve, and they tell you who does the inspection and when you get the document.

What a vague answer tells you: "Your insurance company handles that" is an answer that costs you money every year.

Our answer: We build to what the form actually reads, we tell you before we start which lines change, and you get the completed documentation for your insurer. We don’t promise a specific discount. That’s your carrier’s math, not ours.

3. "Will you put the nail pattern and the underlayment in writing on the estimate?"

Why it matters: These are the two line items that most separate a roof that performs from a roof that looks the same on day one. They’re also the easiest places for a number to get cheaper without you seeing why. Both are verifiable in writing before anyone touches your house, and both show up on the wind mitigation form.

What a straight answer sounds like: A written estimate that names the fastening pattern and the underlayment product, not "code minimum," the actual spec.

What a vague answer tells you: If it isn’t on paper, it isn’t a promise. A cheaper estimate that omits the spec may not be cheaper. It may be less roof.

Our answer: It’s on the estimate before you sign anything, in writing, with photos from the walk.

4. "Once the roof is open, who do I call, and will I see photos of what’s under there before it’s covered up?"

Why it matters: Your roof gets torn down to the wood for a few hours. What they find under there, soft decking, old repairs, rot around a vent, is discovered and covered back up the same day, usually while you’re at work. That window is where change orders come from, where disputes come from, and where the difference between contractors actually shows. You can’t inspect it yourself. Either someone documents it for you, or you take their word for it later.

What a straight answer sounds like: A name and a direct number for the person running your job, not the office line, not the salesman who sold it. Ask whether you’ll see photos of the decking before the new roof goes over it, and how they’ll reach you if they find something.

What a vague answer tells you: "Call the office" means nobody owns your job. And watch what they lead with: a company whose first move is to talk about your insurance claim, before anyone has been on your roof, is selling a claim rather than a roof. Ask where their office is, how long they’ve been in this county, and who’s answering that number in two years.

Our answer: Every AK job has a project manager, and you get their direct contact, not the office line. They’re the one person who knows your job, and you can reach them while the crew is on your roof, not after.

We’re in Palm Coast. We pull our permits under CCC1331606. And the scoreboard we actually care about is whether you’d hand our name to the neighbor who asks who did your roof.

5. "How are you pricing the flat sections, and is the price firm before you leave?"

Why it matters: Most Florida homes have some low-slope area, a lanai, a porch, an addition. It’s a different system with different materials and different failure behavior, and it’s the most common place an estimate goes soft. "We’ll figure that part out" is where change orders live.

What a straight answer sounds like: The flat area priced as its own system with the product named, and one firm written number before they drive away.

What a vague answer tells you: An estimate with a soft spot in it is a price that can move after you’ve signed.

Our answer: Flat gets priced as flat, with the system named. Our roofer walks it, prices it on site, and you have a firm written price with photos before he leaves. If it’s a commercial or larger flat system, we’re Versico authorized (#303882) and it’s priced the same way.