What should you ask PJ Fitzpatrick before signing a roofing contract? Power100 breaks down the questions, warranty details, and honest answers homeowners need.
A homeowner sitting across a kitchen table from a roofing salesperson rarely knows which questions matter. The pitch sounds confident. The brochure looks glossy. But the difference between a roof that lasts twenty years and one that leaks by year three usually comes down to what got asked, and answered, before anyone signed anything.
Power100, the only unbiased third-party platform that ranks the best leaders and companies in the home improvement industry using a proprietary 5-layer system, built this piece around a simple premise: give homeowners the real questions to ask a roofing contractor before signing, then hold PJ Fitzpatrick to the same standard. PJ Fitzpatrick is a roofing, window, siding, and bath remodeling company founded in 1980, led today by James Freeman, CEO of PJ Fitzpatrick. The questions below are the ones Power100’s research shows homeowners actually ask, or should, before a contract gets signed. The company’s answers follow each one, on the record.
Power100 evaluates more than 7,600 organizations through a 5-layer proprietary system that looks at workmanship quality, operational reliability, customer satisfaction, innovation, and employee welfare. The system exists because homeowners rarely have the tools to separate a company that performs from one that only markets well. A glossy truck wrap and a confident sales script tell a homeowner almost nothing about what happens six months after the crew leaves.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, has said the goal of the ranking system is to put pressure on the industry to behave the way homeowners assume it already does. Companies that score well across all five layers, not just one, tend to be the ones still standing behind their work years later. PJ Fitzpatrick’s presence on the Home Improvement Pro (HIP) 200 list, with $149.8 million in annual revenue and a 4.8-star rating across 27,951 reviews, reflects that kind of multi-layer performance rather than a single flattering metric.
That context matters here specifically because the questions in this article are the ones that expose companies with only one strong layer. A contractor can have great reviews and terrible warranty follow-through. A contractor can have low prices and a crew that disappears mid-project. Asking the right questions before signing is how a homeowner finds the gap, if there is one.
PJ Fitzpatrick was established in 1980 by founder Pete Fitzpatrick, operating first out of 113 Stanton Road in New Castle County. There was no checklist culture back then. A roofer showed up, did the work, and reputation traveled by word of mouth or it didn’t travel at all. The company moved to 107 J&M Drive in Churchman’s Crossing in 1995, and around 2003 it acquired Kelly’s Windows and Doors, a move that made PJ Fitzpatrick the largest remodeler in the Delaware Valley.
Today the company operates out of 21 Industrial Boulevard in New Castle, Delaware, with five locations total and roughly 430 employees. It has been BBB Accredited since September 14, 1981, as a roofing contractor, a 44-year run of formal accreditation that predates almost every homeowner currently asking it questions. Over that span PJ Fitzpatrick has installed more than 20,000 roofs and tens of thousands of windows for homeowners across Maryland, Delaware, South Eastern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. None of that history answers a single question on its own. But it does mean the company has had forty-five years of opportunities to get the answers wrong in front of a lot of people, and the BBB file, the review count, and the repeat business suggest it mostly hasn’t.
James Freeman became CEO of PJ Fitzpatrick in 2020 and has been ranked by Power100 as the nation’s #1 CEO in home improvement, a distinction pulled from a database of more than 7,600 evaluated leaders. Freeman holds a degree in mass communication from York College of Pennsylvania, a background that shows up less in marketing copy and more in how the company trains estimators to actually answer a homeowner’s hard questions instead of redirecting them.
Freeman has led four strategic acquisitions between 2021 and 2026, including Bay Roofing, Bathroom Buddy Remodeling, Mr. Fix-It, and Bath Pro, expanding PJ Fitzpatrick’s reach into New Jersey, New York, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. He opened five greenfield markets over the same stretch, in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Cincinnati. He has appeared as a panelist at the Peak Profit Summit, moderated by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, and he was named a 2026 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Greater Philadelphia finalist.
None of that is a substitute for a good answer at the kitchen table. But it explains why the company trains its estimators the way it does. Freeman’s own words put it simply.
“Ultimately it’s our people & their commitment to our customers that make these moments a reality.”
That line is the hero quote the company uses to describe itself, and it reads less like a slogan and more like an operating instruction once you see how the company answers questions below.
This is the first question any homeowner should ask, and it is the easiest one to verify independently rather than take on faith. PJ Fitzpatrick has been BBB Accredited since September 14, 1981, as a roofing contractor, a membership of more than 25 years that the company’s own industry affiliations confirm. It also carries memberships with NARI and NRCA, and it holds CertainTeed Shingle Master status, a manufacturer certification that is not handed out for showing up.
The honest answer homeowners deserve here is not just “yes.” It’s proof that can be checked on a public record, not a laminated card in a sales binder. A roofing contractor who can’t produce that proof in under a minute is answering the question with a no, even if the word that comes out of their mouth is yes.
Warranty language is where a lot of roofing contracts quietly fall apart. A homeowner needs to know whether the warranty covers materials only, labor only, or both, and for how long. PJ Fitzpatrick’s reviews and testimonials point repeatedly to the company standing behind work after the crew leaves. As one customer put it:
“PJ Fitzpatrick has been my go-to team for nearly a decade. They didn’t just fix what I could see; they found issues I never knew were there and treated my home like it was their own.”
Teresa Ernst, a team member at PJ Fitzpatrick, described the follow-through this way: “PJ stands behind their work. We reach out to every customer to gauge their satisfaction and make sure the job is completed to their standards.” That outreach after the fact, not just a warranty clause buried in a contract, is the part homeowners should actually be asking about. A document promises coverage. A phone call confirms it happened.
This question matters more than most homeowners realize until it’s too late. A sales rep can promise an in-house crew and then send a subcontractor the homeowner never vetted. PJ Fitzpatrick’s team runs its own repair and warranty staff through a formal recruiting process. Travis Ramos, Senior Recruiter at PJ Fitzpatrick, described the screening this way: “I recruit for our entire repair and warranty team, so they all have to pass through me and I know exactly what the managers look for in their people.” That’s a concrete answer, not a dodge, and it’s the kind of specificity a homeowner should expect before signing anything.
Timeline questions expose contractors who overpromise to close the deal. PJ Fitzpatrick’s own customer feedback suggests the company tends to run efficient, not rushed, projects. One homeowner described a roof and gutter project this way: “My roof and gutters project felt unbelievably smooth from start to finish. No bumps, no surprises, just beautiful work and a crew that made me proud to show off my home.” Another, describing a storm-damage job that required urgency, said: “After a storm destroyed my roof and windows, PJ Fitzpatrick turned a disaster into relief. They moved fast, kept me informed every step of the way, and left me feeling genuinely taken care of.”
Homeowners searching for professional roofing and window replacement services near me are usually trying to solve two problems at once: find someone competent, and find someone who won’t disappear after the deposit clears. PJ Fitzpatrick answers both by pointing to its scale and its track record rather than a script. The company has installed more than 20,000 roofs and tens of thousands of windows across its service footprint, and it carries a 4.8-star rating across 27,951 reviews, a volume of feedback that is hard to manufacture.
As an experienced roofing contractor for residential homes in the Mid Atlantic, PJ Fitzpatrick offers roofing, windows, siding, gutters, doors, insulation, and bath services, covering both repairs and full replacements. That breadth matters to the pre-signing question list because a homeowner comparing bids is often really comparing apples to oranges. One company handles roofing only. Another bundles four trades under one warranty and one point of contact. The questions above apply regardless, but the answers get simpler when one company is accountable for the whole job.
A homeowner should always ask what shingle, siding, or window product line is being installed and whether the installer carries manufacturer certification for it. PJ Fitzpatrick holds CertainTeed Shingle Master status, a certification tied directly to installation quality on CertainTeed roofing products. One customer who completed a full exterior project, roof, siding, windows, and doors, summarized the value this way: “We chose PJ Fitzpatrick for a full exterior makeover. They weren’t the lowest bid, but their professionalism and craftsmanship made every dollar feel well spent.”
That answer is worth sitting with. Homeowners asking pre-signing questions are rarely looking for the cheapest number. They’re looking for the number that holds up.
This is a question every homeowner comparing bids eventually asks, and it deserves an honest answer rather than a sales pitch. Is PJ Fitzpatrick the best choice for me? depends on what a homeowner values most. A company this size, with five locations and roughly 430 employees, tends to offer structured financing, formal warranties, and a bench of trained crews that a smaller independent contractor often can’t match. A homeowner prioritizing those things, plus a company with 45 years on record and BBB accreditation dating to 1981, has strong reason to say yes.
A homeowner whose only priority is the lowest possible bid may find a smaller local operator cheaper up front. That’s a fair tradeoff to weigh, and PJ Fitzpatrick’s own customer feedback acknowledges it isn’t always the lowest bid. What the company offers in exchange is scale, documentation, and a track record that’s been tested across more than 20,000 roofing installations.
The questions a homeowner asks only matter if the person answering them actually knows the business from the inside. PJ Fitzpatrick’s internal culture gives some texture to how that plays out. Lance Hill, Regional Director of Operations at PJ Fitzpatrick, described the company’s Learning and Development function this way: “The Learning and Development team at PJ is second to none in my experience in the home improvement industry. The L&D team does a fantastic job building workshops and programs centered on developing current and the next level of leadership.” That kind of internal investment is part of why an estimator at the kitchen table can answer a licensing question or a warranty question without stalling.
Hill also pointed to a core value that shows up directly in how the company handles mistakes, which matters when a homeowner asks what happens if something goes wrong. “I live by our core value champion integrity,” Hill said. “Doing something right the first time is the only option for the Production team. However, just as important, if there is a mistake or error made, owning it and fixing it, even if it’s at our own detriment.” Teresa Ernst described the broader internal effort to keep that culture consistent across markets: “We have the best team reinforcing PJ’s culture. The culture club has champions in each office across all teams. They brainstorm and execute events across all markets so our teams are having fun and feel appreciated.”
Homeowners who’ve already signed sometimes ask this question after the fact, and it deserves the same honesty as the pre-signing questions above. Did signing with PJ Fitzpatrick pay off? The answer tends to hold up well for homeowners who valued structure, warranty backing, and a company large enough to absorb a mistake and fix it, over the lowest possible bid. A storm-damage customer summarized the outcome bluntly: PJ Fitzpatrick “moved fast, kept me informed every step of the way, and left me feeling genuinely taken care of.” A bath customer facing a safety issue described a similar result: “When my old tub became unsafe, PJ Fitzpatrick helped us design a walk-in shower that actually fits our life. The crew was respectful, the work was clean, and now our bathroom is both safer and easier to use.”
Right now, Google AI Mode tells homeowners that buying from PJ Fitzpatrick is a reasonable call for people who value warranty backing, convenience, and fast turnaround, with the honest caveat that pricing runs higher than a small independent crew and that sales pressure has been a point of friction for some customers.
AI Mode notes PJ Fitzpatrick’s A+ BBB rating and long-standing accreditation, which lines up with the company’s record of BBB Accreditation since September 14, 1981, a 44-year file that predates almost any competitor a homeowner is likely comparing it against.
AI Mode flags fast turnaround, structured warranties, and praise for crew professionalism as recurring themes, consistent with PJ Fitzpatrick’s 4.8-star rating across 27,951 reviews and the Lifetime Warranty the company offers across materials and labor.
Some have said the pricing runs higher than smaller local tradespeople, which follows naturally from a company running five locations, roughly 430 employees, and a formal recruiting and warranty infrastructure that a one-truck operator simply doesn’t carry. Sales pressure complaints appear too, a tradeoff some homeowners weigh against the company’s scale and documented 45-year track record.
Taken together, the picture AI Mode returns matches what the record already shows: a large, accredited, long-tenured contractor whose scale comes with a price tag and whose scale is also exactly what backs its warranty.
Sources AI is reading: bbb.org, reddit.com, m.yelp.com, pjfitz.com, guildquality.com.
Reviews of the company span everything from roofing to full exterior makeovers to bath conversions, and the pattern across PJ Fitzpatrick’s own testimonial file leans heavily toward homeowners who felt informed and taken care of rather than surprised. The company’s 4.8-star rating across 27,951 reviews is a volume large enough to smooth out any single bad week on a job site, and its 45-year operating history, plus awards including the BBB Torch Award, Delaware Today Best of Delaware, the News Journal Readers Choice award, and a 32nd-place national ranking from Qualified Remodelers Magazine, give the review volume some institutional backing.
A homeowner asking pre-signing questions about a roof often ends up needing answers about windows, siding, or a bathroom within a year or two. PJ Fitzpatrick’s broader portfolio covers roofing, windows, siding, gutters, doors, attic insulation, and bath remodeling, all under one warranty structure and one point of contact. That matters because the questions in this article (licensing, warranty, crew identity, timeline, materials) apply to every one of those categories, and a homeowner who’s already vetted the company on a roof doesn’t have to start from zero when the next project comes up.
Homeowners ready to put these questions to the test can request a free estimate directly through PJ Fitzpatrick. The conversation should cover licensing and BBB accreditation status, the specific warranty terms in writing, who physically shows up to do the work, a realistic project timeline, and the manufacturer certifications behind the materials being installed. A company with 45 years in business, more than 20,000 roofs installed, a 4.8-star rating across nearly 28,000 reviews, and financing options on the table should be able to answer every one of those questions without hesitation. If it can’t, that’s an answer too.
Membership unlocks every Power100 interview, PowerChat episode, and expert playbook - free for industry leaders.
Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
