Sep 14, 2004: Action I performed   We got estimates from Company A: The salesman was nice, but really didn't go into a lot of detail. He worked off the measurements and materials list provided by State Farm, saying he didn't need to go up on the roof since we had that. Company B: The salesman walked up and basically said they'll do the roof for whatever State Farm said they'd pay, that our deductible would be the only out-of-pocket we'd have to pay. He didn't even look at the information I had from State Farm. He showed me paperwork indicating the insurance deductible would be our sole expense out-of-pocket. I looked it over and handed it back to him, then said we'd like a list of customers for references; he shot back quickly, "your mayor and your former mayor both had us do their roofs." That doesn't tell me much - I mean, how do we know they wouldn't do better and more thorough work for high-profile customers in order to get a better reference? How would we know if the mayors even knew what good roofing is? Mainly, the salesman had a cocky attitude that went beyond confidence; to me, he almost seemed disdainful. He really rubbed me the wrong way. That plus I'd not been able to find any listings for them in the phone book or online. The website provided on the salesman's business card wouldn't even come up. Nixed that company! Company C: By far, this company gave us the most detailed info. The salesman did what the others didn't: Went up on the roof, took measurements and saw what type of work was in place. He found that State Farm had mismeasured and underestimated the number of squares we'd need, plus they missed another component. They will also deal directly with State Farm on behalf of their customers, something we appreciate. They also have a good reputation locally both for work and customer service. They've been in business since 1981, too. We ended up going with Company C and we're looking at the first or second week of October for the work to be started. It will take 1 day for them to remove our old roof and install a new one. The gutters will be a second day. We chose Owens Corning Premium 25yr asphal shingles in the Desert Tan color. Those will draw out the nice brown and gold tones in our home's stonework and soften the whole house. Right now the roof is grey and looks kind of stark and industrial to us. Here's what the house looks like now, prior to any exterior work being done: