Increasingly wet weather has roofing companies work hard to meet demands

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A wet forecast this winter is creating a big boom in business for local roofing companies.

A house in East Central Fresno is getting some much-needed roofing work done, just in time before the next storm. "As months went on it became every steady, now, every body's behind. If you're in roofing you have a backlog right now. We haven't seen that since 2008," said Paul Brant, Trust-All Roofing.

Brant said these days business is booming, with a backlog of about five weeks.

His crews have been busy working to repair and replace roofs across Fresno and Madera Counties. The rush is on because of the weather. "One is obviously El Nino, a lot of people have mentioned it. A lot of phone calls I return they say 'hey El Nino is coming I'd like my roof checked out.' a lot more increase in volume in just checking roofs," said Brant.

Brant said the downturn in the economy also caused many people to hold off on repairs. "A lot of roofs haven't been done in the past five years because there hasn't been any rain, so there's been no worries, but worry has set in and people want that taken care of."

A problem crews are working on day-by-day.

Brant said homeowners with roofs more than 15-years-old, or tile, should be alert this season. "If you have a tile roof, they are extremely susceptible to leaks. In fact, 80-percent of our leak calls are from tile roofs. They have a lot of inherent weakness and we've gotten really good at taking care of them."

The company said with the economy and home prices improving, loan programs have also allowed homeowners to finally afford repairs.

With such a demand in roofing work, experts advise people to find a licensed contractor to do the work. They say there are scammers out there and it's better to have quality work than to pay for it in the long run.