"Certifications aren't everything, true, but they can at least filter out some of the basics."
Yeah, exactly. Had a guy once who proudly showed me his binder full of certificates and then proceeded to install flashing backwards...guess he skipped that page in the manual. 😂 Real-world experience counts for a lot, but sometimes you just need someone who's taken (and passed!) Roofing 101. It's all about finding someone who's seen enough mistakes to know better than repeating them...
Certifications can help, sure, but honestly I've seen plenty of certified roofers who still mess up basic stuff. Like flashing—it's not rocket science, but it's easy to overlook small details if you're rushing or distracted. I'd argue that attention to detail and patience matter more than any certificate. You can teach someone the right way step-by-step, but you can't always teach them to slow down and double-check their work...
I get what you're saying about patience and attention to detail, but honestly I've found certifications pretty useful as a baseline. Had a guy redo my gutters last year—super nice, patient, seemed careful—but turns out he skipped some key steps because he genuinely didn't know better. A basic cert at least means they've been exposed to the right methods once. Sure, it doesn't guarantee they'll do it perfectly every time, but it's a decent starting point to weed out total guesswork...
I get where you're coming from, but certifications aren't always the silver bullet either. Had a certified roofing guy come out a couple years back to install green roofing trays. He checked all the boxes on paper, but when it came down to actually handling the plants and drainage setup... let's just say it didn't exactly match what I'd seen in training demos. Certs are handy as a baseline, sure, but nothing beats someone who's done it hands-on multiple times before.
- Totally agree, certs are just a starting point.
- Had a similar experience with a plumber—certified but struggled with an unusual pipe layout.
- Ended up calling my neighbor who'd done DIY plumbing for years, and he sorted it out in no time.
- Makes me wonder... how do you usually vet someone who's recommended through a network you've never heard of?
