If your roof isn’t very reliable, your house as a whole can’t be. The roof is your biggest source of comfort and security. When it fails, everything below does too, and most rooftops don’t last very long before growing weary.

Since it can be very complicated to maintain, let alone construct, a roof on your house, it only makes sense to leave the hard work to a professional contractor. However, like the rooftops themselves, contractors vary widely.

Here’s a quick list of boxes to check when looking for professional help:

• References:

Typically, when someone is wondering where to go out for a meal or which new movie to see, they—either in person or distantly—will seek an opinion from at least one other person who’s already had the experience.

People enjoy hearing about the experience the other person got out of a particular option, because it saves them from wasting time on what could prove to be a disappointment. Ask a contractor which three people they served most recently, that way you’ll get a clearer picture of their current quality of work.

• Insurance:

Now and then in life, incidents occur without fair warning, even when people make every possible effort to make careful choices. That’s the essence of insurance: to provide efficient healing from the inevitable burdens of life. Most contractors include a document with their project ideas, confirming they are insured in case something goes wrong.

• Specifications:

By looking over official blueprints from the company that made the roof, you can thoroughly understand how your rooftop was built and what specific supplies were used. If your roofer has copies of those papers, they must know what they’re doing.