Compare Each Roofer's Photo Rules Before the Crew Starts

A roofing crew spends days within a few feet of your house, your yard, and sometimes your windows. Along the way, crew members take photos. Some of those photos go into a job file. Some go onto a company website, a social media account, or a brochure. Whether any of them can show your house publicly is a question for the contract, and it should be answered in writing before the first crew member arrives.

This is not a sign that a roofer is careless. Before and after photos are how many roofing companies show what they have done, and a homeowner may be glad to see a finished job posted. The issue is the difference between a photo that stays in your file and a photo that anyone with a phone can find. The second kind can show your street address, a house number on the mailbox, a side gate, a backyard with children in it, or an open garage with tools and vehicles inside. Once it is posted, removing it depends on the roofer keeping a promise.

Roofer comparison

Put the same three questions to every roofer on your list, and write the answers side by side. The answers usually fall into three groups.

• Posted publicly, no consent asked. The roofer may say photos go on the website or social accounts as a matter of routine, with no mention of asking you first. This is the answer to press hardest on, because the homeowner learns of it only after the fact.
• Posted only with written consent. The roofer asks for permission, names the channels, and keeps the consent in the contract or a signed form. Read the form for how long consent lasts and what happens if you change your mind.
• Not posted. Photos stay in the job file and go to the homeowner. Some roofers say this in the contract, and others say it only in conversation. A spoken promise is not part of the bid, so ask for it in the document.

Compare also who holds the camera. If crew members use personal phones, the company's photo policy may not cover what they take or share. Ask whether the company issues a camera or sets rules for personal phones on the property, and whether a crew member who breaks the rule is removed from the job.

Compare the photo scope too. Some proposals mention photos only of the work area, the roof, and the gutters. Others leave the scope open. A written limit to the roof and the exterior is the kind of line you want to see before you sign.

What it costs

A photo policy usually costs nothing on the bid, but it can change the cost of the job in a few ways. If you ask the roofer to avoid photographing the interior or a particular side of the house, check whether that restriction changes the crew's schedule, the number of crew members on site, or the time the job takes. A roofer who has to work around restrictions may price that in, and you should see the line item if it exists.

The costs of a weak policy are harder to put in a line. If a photo of your house or family ends up on a public page, you may spend time asking for it to be removed, and the removal may take longer than you expected. Ask how long the company takes to remove a photo after you request it, and whether the request needs to be in writing. A roofer who cannot answer that clearly has not thought through the question.

If your roof sits above a feature that looks into a private area, such as a skylight over a bathroom or a window facing a neighbor's yard, ask how the crew will handle that area. Some roofers plan the work so the crew stays clear of those spots. Others never mention them. The answer is part of the scope, not a privacy extra.

What to ask

1. Will any photo of my house, yard, or interior be posted on your website, social accounts, or sent to an advertising vendor?
2. If yes, will you ask me first in writing, and can I say no without changing the price or the start date?
3. Which parts of the property will the crew photograph? Can I list rooms, windows, or areas I want left out?
4. Will any caption or tag show my street address or house number?
5. Do crew members use personal phones on my property, and what rules apply to those phones?
6. If I withdraw consent later, how long does the company take to remove a photo, and does the request need to be in writing?
7. Can I have a copy of every photo taken of my property, including the ones you do not plan to post?
8. Will you put every answer above in the contract, and what happens if a crew member breaks a stated rule?

Before the first visit, walk the property and move anything you would not want in a photo out of sight. This includes open mail or packages on the porch, a garage with the door up, a safe or alarm panel, prescription bottles on a kitchen counter, and children's toys or bikes in the yard. A roofer's policy governs what the crew photographs, and you control what sits in view of the camera.

Keep the answers on one sheet

Write each roofer's photo answer on the same sheet as the bid total and the proposed start date. A roofer whose answer is "we post everything" should not be dropped only because the price is lower, but you should know which bid carries that policy before you decide. If two bids are close on price, the photo answer can be the difference, and it can be settled in one written line.

If you already have a bid in hand, send the same questions to each company in writing and keep the replies in one folder. Put the same questions to Keys Roofing at (314) 220-2333 and ask for the answers in writing before you sign. Keep the written replies with the proposal, so the photo rule is in the file on the day the crew arrives instead of in a memory of a phone call.