If the job is your roof, hire a roofing contractor directly. A general contractor earns his fee when the roof is one piece of a larger project with interior, structural or addition work, and even then a roofing crew usually does the roof under him. That is the short version of the roofing contractor vs general contractor question, and it is the same advice we have given Pittsburgh homeowners since 2003. Below is when each makes sense and how to vet whoever you call, us or one of the other roofing contractors in Pittsburgh.
Short answer: For repairs, leaks, storm damage and full replacements, go straight to a roofing contractor. Bring in a general contractor when the roof is part of an addition, a structural change or a big interior remodel.
Roofing contractor vs general contractor: what is the difference?
A general contractor, or GC, is a project manager. He signs the contract with you, schedules the trades and makes sure the carpenter, electrician, plumber and drywall crew show up in the right order. Much of the work goes to subcontractors.
A roofing contractor runs crews that tear off, install and repair roofs every working day. The person who looks at your roof, the crew that does the work and the company that stands behind the warranty are all the same outfit.
Many homeowners do not know that Pennsylvania has no separate state roofing license. Roofers and general contractors who do home improvement work both register with the state under the same law, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s home improvement contractor registration page explains who must register. The Attorney General also notes that registration is not an endorsement of anyone’s skill. So the registration number tells you a company is on file, not that it knows roofs.
| Question | Roofing contractor | General contractor |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the roof work? | Its own roofing crews | Usually a roofing subcontractor |
| Who inspects your roof? | A roofer who sees roofs daily | Often the GC, then the sub |
| Best fit | Repairs, leaks, storm damage, replacements | Additions, structural work, whole house remodels |
| Effect on cost | One company’s overhead | The roofer’s price plus the GC’s management fee |
This is the part of the job a roofer lives in. Old shingles come off down to the deck, and the crew sees what the last roof was hiding: soft wood, rusted flashing, nails that missed the rafters.
A crew that tears off roofs every day makes those calls fast and gets the deck covered again before weather moves in. A general contractor who schedules a roof a few times a year depends on whoever he hired to make the same calls.
Old shingles coming off a Pittsburgh roof during tear off, Alan Construction.
Who actually installs the roof when you hire a GC?
In most cases a roofing company does. The GC finds a roofer, sets the date and adds his management fee to the roofer’s price. That is not a scam. Coordinating trades is real work. On a roof only job, though, there is nothing else to coordinate, so you pay for a layer you do not need.
Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act helps here. A home improvement contract has to list the names, addresses and phone numbers of the subcontractors known when you sign. If a GC hands you a roof contract, look for that list and ask who the roofing crew is. Then ask yourself why you would not call that crew directly.
The details that decide how long a roof lasts are the ones you never see from the street. Drip edge at the eaves and rakes, underlayment laid in the right order, ice and water protection where our winters hit hardest, and flashing that is bent and set for your walls, valleys and chimney.
A specialist sweats these every day because a missed one turns into a call back. That habit is what you buy when you hire a roofer.
Underlayment and drip edge going down on a roof in East Pittsburgh, Alan Construction.
When a roofing specialist is the better call
Leaks and repairs
Who is the best person to fix a leaking roof? A roofer. Water runs along decking and rafters before it drips, so the source is rarely where the ceiling stain shows. A GC will usually send a roofer anyway, just later. Our roof repair crews handle flashing failures, missing shingles, worn pipe boots and rubber flat roof leaks.
Full roof replacement
A replacement is one trade, one crew and, on most houses we do, one day. There is no sequencing problem for a GC to solve, and the person who wrote your estimate works for the company whose crew shows up.
Storm damage and insurance claims
After wind or hail, a roofer can document the damage and meet your insurance adjuster on the roof. We do this regularly, and a GC who does not climb roofs is at a disadvantage in that meeting.
Once the old roof is off, decisions happen in minutes. Is that board solid enough to keep, or does it get replaced before underlayment goes down? When you hire a roofer directly, the person making that call answers to you, and nothing waits on a GC to approve it by phone.
Any change should still be written down. Pennsylvania law says the specifications in your contract cannot change without a written change order signed by both you and the contractor.
Drone view of a Pittsburgh house mid tear off with the roof decking exposed, Alan Construction.
When a general contractor makes sense
We are not against general contractors. There is a clear lane where a good GC is worth every bit of his fee:
- An addition or dormer, where framing, roofing, electrical and finish work all have to happen in order.
- Structural repairs, such as sagging rafters or a roof line that needs to be rebuilt by a framer before any roofer touches it.
- A whole house remodel where the roof is a small slice of the budget.
- Interior damage after a long leak, when ceilings, drywall, flooring or electrical need repair once the roof is fixed.
In those cases one person managing the schedule and permits keeps the job moving. Still ask the GC who will do the roof and check that roofer yourself. Our list of questions to ask a roofing contractor works for vetting that roofer too.
Roof, siding, gutters and windows: one contractor or several?
This is the question we hear most from homeowners planning a bigger exterior project. You do not need a GC to tie exterior work together if your roofing company already does the rest of the outside of the house. We install roofs, vinyl siding, soffit and fascia, gutters and gutter guards, and replacement windows, so the sequencing stays inside one company.
Sequencing matters. Gutters hang off the fascia and work with the drip edge. Siding has to meet the roof at step flashing and kickout flashing. When different companies handle each piece, the seams between their work are where water gets in and where finger pointing starts. Our post on timing a roof and siding replacement together goes deeper.
J W., a customer who had both done with us, put it this way in a Google review: “Just recently did a roof and siding job with them. They were very professional, punctual, and reasonable. Wish all contractors were this easy to deal with.”
This roof is at the halfway point: old shingles gone, deck checked, underlayment on. One crew owns the whole job, so the next step starts right away.
That is why most of our roof replacements are finished in a single day, with a magnetic nail sweep before the crew leaves. When we also do your gutters or siding, those crews are scheduled around the roof, not against it.
Aerial view of a Pittsburgh roof covered in underlayment mid project, Alan Construction.
How to vet any contractor before you sign
Whether you hire a roofer or a GC, the checks are the same. Do them before you sign anything:
- Look up the registration number on the Attorney General’s contractor search. A Pennsylvania home improvement contract must show it. Our guide to the Pennsylvania HIC number explains what it does and does not prove.
- Ask for a certificate of insurance sent straight from the agent, not a photo of a card.
- Get a written contract with start and finish dates, the materials and shingle line, a description of the work and the subcontractors.
- Know your three business days. State law lets you cancel a home improvement contract without penalty within three business days of signing.
- Watch the deposit. On larger contracts, Pennsylvania caps the deposit at one third of the price, plus any special order materials listed in the contract.
- Ask who will be on your roof and who you call if something goes wrong a year from now.
A few habits help too. Do not mention a rush before you have estimates in hand, never agree to changes out loud, and be wary of storm chasers with no local address.
Why Pittsburgh homeowners hire us directly
We are a roofing company first. Alan Construction has served Pittsburgh since 2003, holds Pennsylvania HIC registration PA#126638, is licensed and insured, and carries an A+ rating as a BBB Accredited business. Owner Alan Landy still looks at roofs himself, James handles estimates, and crew lead Fernando runs installs. We install Atlas shingles, including Pinnacle Pristine, and we do metal, slate, tile and EPDM rubber flat roofs, plus skylights and ice dam work.
Homeowners notice the difference. Greg J. wrote: “Alan construction was the only company that actually came to our house to give us an estimate, not just driving by or looking at google images.” Ken P. summed it up: “Very fair price from a local owner run contractor.”
Cost comes down to roof size and pitch, layers to tear off, decking condition, the material you pick, and details like chimneys and skylights. A free, in person estimate covers all of it, and financing is available if you want to spread payments out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually not. A roofer specializes in roof installation and repair and runs crews that do that work every day. A general contractor manages whole projects and hires trades, often including a roofer. In Pennsylvania both register as home improvement contractors with the Attorney General, so the registration alone does not tell you which kind of company you are talking to. Ask what share of its work is roofing.
No. Contractor is a broad word for anyone hired to do construction or home improvement work, including roofers, electricians and siding installers. A general contractor takes responsibility for an entire project and coordinates the subcontractors. Every general contractor is a contractor, but most contractors, including most roofing companies, are specialists.
A roofing contractor. Water often travels along decking and rafters before it shows up on a ceiling, so the leak source can be several feet from the stain. Roofers trace leaks every week and know where flashing, pipe boots and valleys tend to fail. A general contractor will usually send a roofer anyway. Call the roofer first, then bring in other trades for interior damage.
If one company does all three well, yes. Roof edges, gutters and siding meet at drip edge, fascia and flashing, and those seams are where leaks start when different crews point at each other. A roofing company that also installs siding, soffit, fascia and gutters can sequence the work without a general contractor. Ask to see photos of each type of work before you decide.
A roofing contractor is a company that inspects, repairs and replaces roofs with its own crews and handles the whole roofing job, from estimate and materials to tear off, installation and cleanup. In Pennsylvania it should hold a home improvement contractor registration and carry liability insurance, and a good one stands behind its workmanship.
On a roof only job, usually yes, because the GC adds a management fee on top of the roofing subcontractor's price. On a larger project that fee pays for real coordination, so it can be worth it. Either way, the main cost drivers are roof size, pitch, tear off layers, decking repairs and the material you choose. A free written estimate is the only way to compare fairly.
Not sure whether your project needs a roofer or a GC? Request a free estimate and we will look at the roof in person and give you a straight answer.
