Roofing in Colorado is hail and freeze-thaw on the Front Range and the plains, snow and ice in the mountains, and sun and wind almost everywhere. Hail bruises composition shingles, cracks tile, and dents metal without always opening a hole you can see from the yard. The leak may wait for the next wind-driven rain or the next thaw. Freeze-thaw then lifts the edges the storm loosened. In the high country, ice dams and snow load are the lead, and a steep roof sheds onto a lower one. On the western slope the covering ages under sun with less hail and still fails at boots and valleys. Name the region before you name the product.
From the ground, look for bruises in the granule surface, cracked vents, dented gutters and downspouts, and shingles in the yard after a wind. In the mountains, look for ice at the eaves and stains after a thaw. Do not climb a steep or icy slope to prove a point. Say whether water appears only after hail, only during a chinook melt, or at a single penetration in dry weather. A boot is not a full replacement. A field of hail bruises may be. Ask for photos and a written note of what is damaged before anything is removed.
Ask the scope in writing. Underlayment, eaves protection where ice is real, flashing, ventilation, and the deck if it is soft. Ask who pulls the permit and who hauls debris. Ask how a replacement will be fastened for the wind at your site, which is not the same in a sheltered Denver alley as on an exposed plains lot or a foothill ridge. Impact damage and age damage can share a roof. Ask which slopes show which.
Bring the town and what the storm or the thaw actually did. Call the number on this page.