Questions & Honest Answers

We're headquartered at 1211 3rd Ave SE, Cullman, AL 35055. Cullman is centrally located in North Alabama, which puts us within a reasonable drive of most of North and Central Alabama — Huntsville, Decatur, Birmingham, Gadsden, Tuscaloosa, and everywhere in between.

We work across all of Alabama. Most of our active work is in Cullman, Morgan, Madison, Marshall, Etowah, Jefferson, Limestone, and Lawrence counties, but we've traveled further for the right project. If you're not sure whether we cover your area, call us at (256) 255-4523 and we'll tell you straight.

Yes. We hold HBLB License #41885 with the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. You can verify this license at hblb.alabama.gov. We are also fully insured and bonded.

We're a BBB Accredited Business with an A Rating. Licensing and insurance aren't optional in Alabama for contractors doing work over a certain threshold — if a contractor can't show you a current HBLB license number, walk away.

Chris Brasfield, VP and owner, has been building and running construction crews since 1987 — nearly 40 years of hands-on Alabama construction experience. Fortified Home Solutions LLC was established as the formal company, but the experience behind it goes back four decades.

That matters because Alabama weather is specific. You want someone who's seen what a decade of Alabama summers, ice storms, and tornado seasons does to roofing systems — not someone learning the trade on your house.

Both. We work on single-family homes, multi-family residential, churches, light commercial, warehouses, and agricultural buildings. The majority of our work is residential, but we have extensive commercial roofing experience — including the commercial projects you can see in our project gallery, including large-scale re-roofs for United Ability, Priority Transportation, and multiple churches.

For flat and low-slope commercial roofs, our roof coating division is a separate specialty worth calling about — silicone and elastomeric systems that can extend a commercial roof's life significantly at a fraction of full replacement cost.

A few things that actually matter:

• We don't subcontract your roof to strangers. Our crews work for us. They follow our installation standards and we're accountable when something's wrong.
• We're locally accountable. We live here. If there's a problem with your roof in six months, you can find us. Out-of-state storm chasers can't say that.
• We work the insurance claim with you. Not just "we work with insurance" — we actually help with documentation, adjuster meetings, and supplement requests at no extra charge.
• We tell you the truth. If your roof can be repaired instead of replaced, we'll say so. If a coating isn't going to work on your flat roof, we'll say so. We'd rather give you honest advice and lose a sale than do bad work for the money.

An honestly installed architectural shingle roof using a quality product like Malarkey should last 25–30 years in Alabama with basic maintenance. The reality is that a lot of shingle roofs in Alabama fall short of that because of how they were installed — wrong nail patterns, no starter strips, poor ventilation, cheap underlayment.

Three things shorten shingle life dramatically in Alabama's climate: poor attic ventilation (heat bakes shingles from underneath), improper nail placement (shingles blow off faster), and direct sun exposure on south-facing slopes (UV degrades granules faster). We assess all three during our inspection and address them before we put new shingles down.

For most Alabama homeowners who plan to stay in their home for more than 10-15 years, yes. Here's the math: a standing seam metal roof costs more upfront, but it lasts 50–70 years with minimal maintenance. A shingle roof might need replacing in 20-25 years. Over a 50-year period, you'd do the shingle job twice — and that's assuming material costs don't increase significantly.

Metal also has real advantages in Alabama: better wind resistance (most standing seam systems are rated 140+ mph), no granule loss, no algae streaking, better energy performance with cool-roof coatings, and no worrying about the next hail storm removing 10 years from your shingle lifespan.

Where metal doesn't make sense: if you're selling the house in the next 5 years and shingles are the comparable choice in your market, the premium may not be recoverable in your sale price. We'll tell you honestly if we think shingles are the better choice for your situation.

Impact-resistant shingles are rated on a Class 1–4 scale for how well they resist hail damage. Class 4 is the highest rating and is achieved by shingles with rubber or modified asphalt formulations that flex instead of crack when hit by a hailstone.

In Alabama — where spring hailstorms are a regular occurrence — Class 4 IR shingles are worth considering for two reasons: they genuinely hold up better in hail events, and many insurance companies offer a discount (5–20%) on your homeowner's premium for Class 4 shingles. Ask your insurance agent what discount is available in your area. If the premium savings over 20 years offset the cost difference, it's a no-brainer. We install Malarkey's Class 4 rated products and can show you the spec sheets.

Technically yes, in some situations — but we generally recommend against it, and here's why. Overlaying new shingles on old ones hides the condition of the decking from inspection. If there's rot, soft spots, or improper nailing in the deck, you'll never know, and you're nailing through two layers of shingles into potentially compromised wood. New shingles over old also don't lie flat, which affects appearance and performance.

Alabama building code typically allows a maximum of two layers of shingles. If you already have two layers, you must tear off completely. For most homes, we recommend full tear-off regardless — it gives us a clean deck to inspect, allows us to install proper underlayment and ice shield, and gives the new shingles their full rated lifespan.

Signs that repair is usually enough: isolated missing or lifted shingles from wind, a flashing failure around a chimney or skylight, a small area of damage from a branch. If the rest of the roof is in good shape, spot repair makes sense.

Signs that replacement is usually the right call: shingles are 20+ years old and granules are depleted, widespread cupping or curling across multiple slopes, multiple areas of storm damage, daylight visible through the attic decking, more than one active leak in different locations, two existing shingle layers already installed. We'll walk the roof and tell you straight — we don't try to sell replacement jobs on roofs that need repair.

Both. We do leak investigations and targeted repairs — flashing, ridge caps, isolated shingle sections, gutter repairs — as well as full replacements. If repair is the right answer for your situation, we'll tell you that and fix it. We don't push replacement when repair is appropriate.

Call us first. Here's why: before you file a claim, you want to know the actual scope of the damage and whether it's worth filing given your deductible. Filing a claim that turns out to be below your deductible can still affect your claims history with your carrier. We'll inspect at no charge and give you a realistic damage assessment before you make the decision to file.

If we confirm damage that warrants a claim, we'll help you document it properly and walk you through the filing process. Going in with good documentation upfront makes the adjuster's job easier and reduces the chance of things being missed.

ACV (Actual Cash Value) pays you what the damaged items are worth today, accounting for depreciation. A 15-year-old roof that costs $12,000 to replace might only get you $4,000-5,000 under ACV because the remaining value of the roof has been depreciated down.

RCV (Replacement Cost Value) pays you what it actually costs to replace the damaged items with new materials of like kind and quality — typically the full replacement cost, minus your deductible. Most homeowner policies are RCV, but it's worth checking. Look at your policy declarations page or call your agent and ask directly.

With RCV coverage, the insurance company typically pays the ACV amount first, then releases the remaining "held back" depreciation after you complete repairs. We help you document completion and submit for the depreciation recovery — most homeowners don't do this and leave money on the table.

A supplement is an additional payment request to your insurance company for items that were missed or undervalued in the original adjuster's estimate. Supplements are extremely common — we request them on a majority of larger insurance claims.

Common supplemental items include: code upgrade requirements (Alabama code requires drip edge, ice and water shield at certain locations — some adjusters don't include it), permit fees, dumpster costs, steep slope charges, updated material pricing that doesn't match what the adjuster priced, and additional damage discovered during tear-off. We prepare and submit the supplement documentation and follow up until it's resolved.

No — and it's insurance fraud. Alabama law prohibits contractors from waiving, absorbing, or "working around" your insurance deductible. If a contractor offers to do this, walk away. You're being asked to participate in insurance fraud, which puts you at legal risk, not just the contractor.

The deductible is your financial participation in the claim. It's required. What we can do is make sure everything that should be in your insurance scope actually is — which gets your total covered amount as high as it should be, making your out-of-pocket as close to just the deductible as possible. That's legal and that's what we work toward.

Call us. There are several options depending on what happened:

• If the adjuster missed damage, we can request a re-inspection with our own documentation and be present for the second inspection. This resolves a lot of underpayment situations.
• If the claim was denied, we review the denial reason. Sometimes claims are denied for coverage reasons (policy exclusions), and sometimes they're denied because the adjuster didn't find the damage we can clearly show exists. We help with the latter.
• If the estimate is too low, we prepare a supplement with line-by-line documentation of the discrepancy and submit it. Most insurance companies will work through a supplement process.
• If you're at an impasse, your policy likely has an appraisal or dispute resolution clause. For larger claims that can't be resolved, we can refer you to a public adjuster who specializes in contested claims.

It depends on your policy, your carrier, and your claims history. Storm damage (wind, hail, tornado) is typically treated differently than liability claims — it's an Act of God, not something you caused. Many carriers don't surcharge for weather claims, especially if it's your first claim in several years.

That said, policies vary, and we can't answer this for certain without knowing your specific policy. Call your agent before filing and ask: "Will filing a wind/hail claim affect my premium?" They're required to tell you honestly. We recommend making this call before deciding whether to file — it's part of why we want to assess the damage first so you know what you're dealing with before you make that call.

Most residential shingle reroofs complete in one day. Metal roofing installations typically take two to three days depending on size and complexity. Larger commercial jobs can take one to three weeks.

Weather is the main variable — we don't install shingles in rain and we don't install metal in high winds. We build some schedule buffer for Alabama weather, and we communicate delays the day before, not the morning of. You'll know what to expect before the day starts.

Not necessarily, but we recommend being available — especially for the start of the job and the final walkthrough. We like to walk the finished work with you and address anything on the spot rather than leaving a punch list for later.

For insurance jobs, we may need you to be available for adjuster meetings and for signing documents at key stages. We'll let you know what's required in advance.

A few things help the project run smoothly:

• Move vehicles out of the driveway and away from the garage so we have material staging space
• Move patio furniture and outdoor items away from the house perimeter — debris falls during tear-off
• Cover or move delicate plants and shrubs near the foundation if you're concerned about them
• Know there will be noise starting early in the morning — we try to get started as early as possible to maximize daylight
• Warn neighbors if you know the sound will bother them — we're generally done by late afternoon
• If you have artwork or loose items hanging in the attic or upper floors, vibration from nailing can rattle them — secure or move them

Two types of warranty apply to every roof we install: manufacturer's material warranty and our workmanship warranty.

Malarkey shingles carry a limited lifetime warranty that covers manufacturing defects. The specifics vary by product line — we'll provide the warranty documentation for your specific shingle product. Metal systems carry their own manufacturer warranties, typically 30–40 years on the paint finish and lifetime on the steel or aluminum substrate.

Our workmanship warranty covers installation defects — leaks, improper flashing, fastener failures that result from how the roof was installed (not storm damage). The length of our workmanship warranty is specified in your contract. If something leaks after installation, call us and we'll come look at it — we don't make you fight to get a warranty call addressed.

We photograph it and call you before we do anything. We don't add scope without your approval. You'll know what was found, what it costs to fix, and you'll approve before work proceeds. There's no "well, we already did it" — we stop, document, and get your sign-off.

For insurance jobs, additional deck damage discovered during tear-off is typically a covered item. We document and supplement for it as part of the claim. This is common on older homes — the damage was already there, the old shingles just covered it up.

It depends heavily on the size, pitch, material, and complexity of your roof. A rough range for a typical Alabama home (1,500–2,500 sq ft, moderate pitch, architectural shingles) is $8,000–$18,000. Metal roofing typically runs 1.5–2.5x the cost of shingles for the same area. Large or complex roofs can go higher.

We don't give phone or ballpark estimates because they're almost always wrong in one direction or another. The only way to give you a number you can rely on is to come look at the roof. We do that for free, with no pressure and no obligation. If you want a quick range before you call, we'll tell you we've done residential roofs from $6,000 to $65,000+ depending on scope — the estimate visit is the only honest way to give you your number.

Yes. We work with financing partners who offer roof and home improvement financing for homeowners who need to spread the cost of a project. Options include same-as-cash periods and fixed-rate installment plans depending on credit qualification.

Ask us about financing options during your estimate — we can provide information about what's currently available and qualification requirements. A new roof is a necessary investment, and we'd rather help you find a way to make it happen than see you delay until the damage gets worse.

Insurance companies typically issue checks in two or more payments for RCV policies. The first check (ACV) comes when the claim is approved — that's the depreciated value. The second check (depreciation release) comes after the work is complete and you submit proof of completion to the carrier.

Many insurance checks for homes with a mortgage will be made out to both you and your mortgage company — you'll need to get the mortgage company to endorse the check, which can take a week or two depending on the lender. We deal with this regularly and can walk you through the process.

Your deductible is your responsibility and is due directly to us. We handle the rest of the paperwork, supplements, and depreciation recovery on your behalf at no additional cost — it's part of how we operate insurance jobs.

You should — and we encourage it. The best way to evaluate a roofing estimate is to compare it against two or three others from licensed Alabama contractors. When you compare, look at what's specified: what shingle product, what gauge nails, what underlayment, what flashing details, what the warranty covers. The cheapest estimate usually cuts somewhere — figure out where before you accept it.

If a contractor won't give you a written estimate with materials specified by name and manufacturer, that's a red flag. You should know exactly what's going on your house before anyone picks up a nail gun.