FAQ

Advantage Roofing provides residential roof replacement, roof repair, roof inspections, and storm damage assessments for homeowners across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. We also install gutters and gutter guards. We are a residential roofing company only and do not take on commercial projects, which is a deliberate choice: focusing on homes is how we can stand behind every roof the way we do.

Five things, and we put all five in writing on every roof. We call them the Advantage 5: the Happy Birthday Inspection, a free one-year follow-up performed personally by owner Tim Mallory; Priority Storm Inspections for Life, free storm checks for as long as you own the home; Before the Ladder Comes Down, an independent 19-point final inspection before you make your last payment; a Clear Communication System with a dedicated coordinator and an on-site project manager; and the Forever Roof Guarantee, a lifetime written warranty that even covers interior damage from a covered leak. Most roofers promise quality. We guarantee it in writing. If you want the story behind why we work this way, it starts with a seized engine.

Advantage Roofing has been roofing Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky since 2001. In that time we have installed and protected more than 8,000 roofs. We are family owned and operated, and owner Tim Mallory is still personally involved in the work, including a one-year inspection on every roof we install. Meet the team.

Yes. Advantage Roofing is a CertainTeed Master Craftsman certified installer, holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and has won the Angi Super Service Award 13 times. In 2025 CertainTeed presented us with its Governor's Award for one of the strongest warranty coverages in the state of Ohio. We carry full liability and workers' compensation insurance, and we are happy to provide current certificates before work begins.

The Advantage 5 is five written promises that come with every roof Advantage Roofing replaces: the Happy Birthday Inspection, Priority Storm Inspections for Life, Before the Ladder Comes Down, the Clear Communication System, and the Forever Roof Guarantee. Together they cover what happens before, during, and long after your installation. You receive all five in writing with your project. See all five promises in detail.

The Forever Roof Guarantee is a lifetime written warranty combining CertainTeed's lifetime shingle warranty with Advantage Roofing's own lifetime workmanship warranty. It covers labor, materials, and something almost no other roofer will cover: if a covered issue causes a leak, we pay to repair the interior damage too, right down to fixing and repainting the ceiling. It is in writing, it does not expire after a set number of years, and it transfers to a new owner for 12 years if you sell.

Yes. The Forever Roof Guarantee transfers to the next owner for 12 years. That matters more than most homeowners expect — a transferable lifetime warranty is a real selling point when your buyer's inspector asks about the roof. The National Roofing Contractors Association recommends homeowners understand exactly what their roofing warranty covers before signing, and transferability is one of the questions worth asking any roofer. See how our coverage compares.

About a year after your roof is installed, owner Tim Mallory personally returns to inspect it, free of charge. He confirms the shingles have sealed, the flashings held through winter, and the gutters are clear. The first year is the most crucial period in a roof's life, and we do not leave it to chance. Most homeowners tell us they have never heard of a contractor coming back a year later to check his own work. Read more about the one-year inspection.

Our Production Manager performs it — deliberately a separate set of eyes from the crew that installed your roof. The 19-point check covers nail patterns, flashing, sealed penetrations, gutters, cleanup, and more. We call it Before the Ladder Comes Down, and you do not make your final payment until your roof passes it. The idea came from how the aviation industry uses independent checks and balances.

Every homeowner whose roof we have replaced gets free storm inspections for as long as they own the home, with no limit on how many times they call. When a major storm hits Cincinnati and the phones start ringing, past customers go to the front of the line ahead of everyone else. There is no cost and no expiration.

Most roof replacements in the Cincinnati area run between $9,000 and $20,000 or more, with a typical project landing around $14,800. The exact price depends on your roof's size, pitch, complexity, and the materials you choose. You will get a clear, detailed, itemized estimate up front with no hidden costs, and we will tell you before we do anything that changes the number. You can also get a ballpark figure yourself with our free instant estimator, or read the complete guide to roof replacement in Cincinnati.

Yes. Through our lending partner GreenSky you can prequalify in under a minute, and because the loans are unsecured there is no lien placed on your home. There are three options: 16 months same as cash, a low-rate plan based on your credit, and a low-monthly-payment plan with roofs starting around $150 to $180 a month, which is often less than a car payment. See your financing options.

Often it does not. A low bid usually means something was left out — thinner materials, a shorter warranty, skipped decking replacement, or a crew paid by speed rather than quality. The cost that hurts is paying twice: a roof that fails early, years of patches, then a second full replacement. What matters is what is in writing. Our free guide covers the questions to ask any roofer before you hire, and we have written up the five problems homeowners hit most often on a roof replacement.

Final payment is not due until your roof passes the 19-point Before the Ladder Comes Down inspection. You never pay in full for work that has not been independently verified as installed correctly. We will walk you through the payment schedule in plain terms as part of your estimate, before you commit to anything. Schedule a free estimate to see the numbers for your home.

Most Cincinnati roof replacements are finished in a single day. Our crews typically start early, tear off the old roof, replace any damaged decking, and install the new roof before the day is out — even on larger homes with steep pitches or complex rooflines, which may run into a long day rather than a second one. A few situations take longer: extensive decking replacement, multiple structures, or weather that forces a pause. From your first free inspection to a finished roof, most homeowners are looking at a few weeks total, with scheduling driven by material delivery and the weather.

Almost nothing is on your plate. Your part comes down to three things: a free roof assessment, choosing your color, and a quick final walkthrough. We handle the inspection, the estimate, material delivery, all scheduling, the installation, the cleanup, and the final inspection. You stay informed the whole time without having to manage anything.

No. Most roofs are finished in a single day, and your project manager keeps you updated by text with real-time photos throughout. Whether you are home or at work, you will know exactly what is happening, and the job is not considered complete until the final 19-point inspection confirms everything is done right. See how we communicate on install day.

Very little is required. Move vehicles out of the driveway so we have room for material delivery and debris, take down or secure anything fragile hanging on walls (installation causes vibration), and if you have pets, plan to keep them inside or elsewhere for the day since it is noisy. We protect your landscaping with heavy tarps and plywood before any tear-off begins. Your project manager will confirm anything specific to your home before install day.

A dedicated Project Coordinator in the office and a Project Manager on site keep you informed by text throughout the day, including photos and drone shots of the work in progress. If we find anything unexpected, such as rotted decking, you get an immediate message with a photo of the problem and the price to fix it before we proceed. Poor communication is the number one complaint homeowners have about roofers, which is exactly why we built a system around it.

We reschedule, and you hear from us before you have to ask. We watch the forecast closely and will not start a tear-off we cannot finish and dry in safely, because a roof left open is how homes get damaged. Your Project Coordinator contacts you as soon as we know, and we get you into the next available slot. Cincinnati weather moves, and building slack into the schedule is part of doing this properly.

Yes. We start with an honest, no-pressure inspection to tell you whether there is genuinely enough damage to file a claim. If there is, we document it thoroughly and work directly with your adjuster to get it approved, including meeting the adjuster at your home. If there is not, we will tell you that too, so you never file a claim that could raise your rates for nothing. We work with all major carriers. (This is general information, not insurance advice.)

Call a roofer first, and make it one you already trust. A qualified roofer can tell you whether the damage is genuinely claim-worthy before you file, which matters because a denied or withdrawn claim can still affect your record. Be cautious of anyone who knocks on your door after a storm promising a free roof — that promise is made before anyone has looked at your policy. Here is how to find a roofer you can actually trust. If you are a past Advantage Roofing customer, your storm inspection is free for life, so there is no reason to guess.

Look for shingles that are missing, lifted, curled, or cracked; granules collecting in your gutters or at downspout outlets; dented or dinged metal on vents, flashing, or gutters, which often signals hail; and any new water staining on ceilings or in the attic. Damage is frequently not visible from the ground, and some of the worst of it is not — which is why we record a video during every inspection so you see exactly what we see. Our guide to the warning signs a roof needs replacing goes into more detail.

We primarily install CertainTeed asphalt shingle systems and are a CertainTeed Master Craftsman, one of the highest certifications in roofing. A roof is a system rather than just shingles, so we install the full assembly — underlayment, ice and water shield, flashing, ventilation, and ridge — because a premium shingle installed over a failing system does not protect anything. Here is an overview of the shingle types available and how to choose, and we will walk you through colors with samples during your estimate.

A quality asphalt shingle roof in Ohio's climate typically lasts 20 to 30 years, with premium and impact-rated products often lasting longer — we cover the specifics in how long a roof should last in Ohio. Our freeze-thaw cycles, summer heat, and storm season are harder on a roof than a milder climate would be. We recommend a professional inspection roughly every two to three years once a roof passes ten years old, and after any major storm. Advantage Roofing customers get storm inspections free for life.

Dark shingles do get hotter in direct sun, but shingle color is not what determines whether your house is comfortable — attic ventilation and insulation are. A properly ventilated attic moves heat out regardless of the color on top, which is why we treat ventilation as part of the roofing system rather than an afterthought. We looked at this question in detail here, so you can choose a color you actually like.

It is almost always algae — a blue-green algae called Gloeocapsa magma that feeds on the limestone filler in asphalt shingles and shows up as dark streaks running down the roof. It thrives in humid climates like ours. It is a cosmetic issue rather than structural, so it does not mean your roof is failing, though heavy growth can hold moisture against the shingle over time. Many modern shingles include algae-resistant granules. If you are unsure whether what you are seeing is algae or actual deterioration, a free inspection will tell you.

Yes, and this is a point of pride for us. We protect landscaping with heavy tarps and plywood before tear-off begins, and we run a heavy-duty magnet across your entire yard at completion to pull stray nails. The Production Manager runs the magnet a second time during the final 19-point inspection. Homeowners regularly tell us the property looked cleaner when we left than when we arrived — see what they say.

Yes, and it is home turf. Owner Tim Mallory grew up in Hebron and went to Conner High School, and both of our estimators live in Northern Kentucky. We serve Florence, Hebron, Burlington, Union, and surrounding communities, along with Greater Cincinnati including Mason, West Chester, Loveland, and Anderson Township. See all the areas we serve.