What should I ask about cleanup before hiring a Calgary roofer?

Cleanup is one of the most common sources of post-job disputes in Calgary, so it deserves its own conversation before you sign anything.

What to ask and why it matters

Start with the magnet sweep. A full tear-off on a typical Calgary house scatters hundreds of roofing nails across the lawn, garden beds, driveway and any gravel areas. Ask specifically whether the crew uses a rolling magnetic sweeper and how many passes they make. One pass along the driveway is not the same as a systematic sweep of the entire property including the side yards and the area around the air conditioner or heat pump.

Ask where the debris goes and how fast. Shingles are heavy and a full tear-off produces several tonnes of waste. A reputable crew loads directly into a bin or trailer as they strip, rather than piling torn-off material on your lawn for days. Ask whether the bin is included in the quote or billed separately, and who is responsible for the bin permit if the City requires one for placement on the street.

Find out who is responsible for your eavestroughs and downspouts during the job. Granules, felt scraps and broken shingle tabs wash into the eavestrough system and can block downspouts, which matters a great deal in Calgary where a summer thunderstorm can dump 30 to 50 mm of rain in an hour. Ask whether the crew flushes the eavestroughs at the end of the job.

Ask about protection for landscaping, windows and vehicles. Dropping shingles from a two-storey roof onto an unprotected garden or a parked car is avoidable with plywood sheets or tarps. If you have solar panels, a deck, a hot tub enclosure or anything else close to the house, name it and ask how it will be protected.

Get the cleanup scope written into the contract. Alberta's Consumer Protection Act requires that a prepaid or direct-sales roofing contract include a detailed description of the work and materials. That description should cover debris removal and disposal, the nail sweep, eavestrough flushing and protection of the property. If a roofer's written scope says nothing about cleanup, that is a gap worth closing before you sign.

Ask what happens if something is damaged. A clear answer, backed by proof of liability insurance, is what you want. A roofer who deflects this question or says "we've never had a problem" is not giving you useful information.

One more thing worth checking before you hire: confirm the contractor holds an Alberta prepaid contracting licence through Service Alberta's online lookup, and ask for a WCB-Alberta clearance letter showing their account is in good standing. If a worker is injured on your property and the contractor has no WCB coverage, WCB-Alberta says you could be responsible for any outstanding premiums.