Are You Influenced by Technology?

[Zinjanthropos]

Case in point…. I need a new roof for the summer cottage (shingled). The roof consists of two identical rectangular sloped halves. New vents and skylight also to be installed. Called two businesses and asked for quotes.

First guy shows up, removes a ladder from his truck and climbs onto the roof. With his tape measure he figures out square footage and how much of this and that is needed to finish the job. With a simple checklist he shows me exactly what will be done, from clean up to capping the peaks. At the bottom is his hand printed quote.

Second guy shows up with no ladder and instead pulls out a drone. Once airborne and at a certain distance high above cottage it takes all the measurements. The information is fed into a computer in his truck and then a printer spits out the quote along with other options that cost more. Both businesses roughly the same price.

All in all the same materials will be used by either business. First guy says his crew can do job in 1/2 day. Second says he’ll only send one guy and would be done in a matter of days. Both owners been in business for about 10 years and both referred to me.

I specifically asked that actual roof caps be used instead of folded shingles for the peak. First guy said yes and second guy no.

I went with first guy. To be honest I was turned off by the drone but impressed by tech nonetheless. Maybe I’m old school but I liked the fact a business owner took the time to go upon the roof and do his thing. It also gave him a chance to walk the roof for any potential soft plywood underneath (none found) that might have to be replaced at added cost. He also told me it would be 10 days before they get at it whereas the drone owner said couple days before one guy would start the job.

Me? I just wanted an honest quote. I don’t think I got that from the second guy. Hands on beat tech this time around. Time will tell.

[Syne]

Our last roof contractor did use a drone to measure, but our roof is pretty complex. I think one we got a quote from used Google maps.
I didn't think a thing about it, positive or negative. They had a large crew and it took several days.

I would be skeptical of just one guy doing it. If the contractor is cheaping out on labor, they might be cheaping out on the quality of that labor as well. Although nothing's a guarantee with contractors.