I've been on the other side of this conversation a few hundred times — sitting at somebody's kitchen table as the second or third bid, watching them try to figure out which of us is telling the truth.
Here's the thing nobody says out loud: the three quotes in front of you probably look similar and probably aren't. The differences are in places most homeowners don't know to look. So let me show you where I'd look if I were hiring me.
The short answer
Verify four things before you sign anything: the Minnesota license number, the certificate of insurance, the manufacturer certifications, and the workmanship warranty in writing. If a contractor gets cagey about any of the four, that's your answer.
Everything below is how you actually check them.
1. The Minnesota license number — look it up yourself
Minnesota requires residential building contractors to be licensed. The license number should be on the quote, not just the truck.
Ours is MN License #BC762305. Take whatever number you're given and run it through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry license lookup. It takes ninety seconds and it tells you whether the license is current, who actually holds it, and whether there's anything attached to it.
A number that doesn't resolve, or resolves to a different company name than the one on your quote, is the end of the conversation.
2. The certificate of insurance — and the part people skip
Ask for the certificate of insurance. Everybody does that much. Almost nobody does the next part, which is where it matters:
Ask to be listed as certificate holder, and have the insurer send it to you directly. Not a PDF forwarded by the contractor. Directly from the agency.
The reason is unglamorous: a certificate is a snapshot of a policy on the day it was printed. Policies lapse. A contractor holding a certificate from March isn't necessarily insured in August. When it comes from the agency, you know it's live.
You're looking for general liability and workers' compensation. If a crew member gets hurt on your property and there's no workers' comp behind them, you can end up part of that conversation.
3. Manufacturer certifications — the real filter on siding
This is the one that separates siding contractors fastest, because siding manufacturers don't hand these out for showing up.
For siding specifically, the ones that mean something in this market:
- LP SmartSide Preferred Contractor
- James Hardie Preferred Contractor
We hold both. And here's the detail that tells you whether the person quoting you knows the category: LP's program is "Preferred Contractor." There is no such thing as "LP SmartSide Certified." If a quote or a website says "certified," they either don't know their own product line or they're inflating. Same with EDCO — EDCO doesn't offer an installer certification at all. We install EDCO steel siding; that's a product we install, not a credential we hold.
Why it matters beyond bragging rights: manufacturer programs are how the material warranty gets registered properly. An install that doesn't follow the manufacturer's spec can put that warranty at risk, and you won't find out until you have a problem.
Our full credential list is nine items — six manufacturer certifications and three institutional. On the siding side, LP SmartSide Preferred Contractor and James Hardie Preferred Contractor are the two doing the work.
4. The workmanship warranty — where contractors show their hand
Two different warranties exist on every siding job and they get blurred constantly:
- Material warranty — from the manufacturer, covers the product
- Workmanship warranty — from the contractor, covers the installation
The material warranty is basically the same no matter who installs it. The workmanship warranty is the one that tells you what a contractor thinks of their own crew.
Ours is a lifetime workmanship warranty on residential installs — for as long as you own the home. When you see one year, or two, ask what happens in year three. The answer is usually a service call at your expense.
Get it in writing. Not "we stand behind our work." Written, with a term.
5. Local address, local phone, local references
A Minnesota address you can drive to. A local phone number. References from this metro, ideally from this year.
We're based in Eden Prairie and serve 90+ Twin Cities communities. If somebody's address is a PO box or an out-of-state headquarters with a local call-forwarding number, ask who's handling your warranty claim in four years. Storm-chasing outfits show up after every big hail event, work a season, and are unreachable by the time siding problems surface.
That's not to say every out-of-town contractor is bad. It's to say you should know exactly who answers the phone in year five.
6. Read the quote itself — it tells you almost everything
A siding quote that says "siding — $38,000" is not a quote. It's a number.
A real one names:
- The product and line — LP SmartSide, James Hardie with ColorPlus, EDCO Entex, vinyl, and which series
- Square footage being covered
- What's happening to the old siding — full tear-off vs. going over
- House wrap / weather barrier by name, and whether it's being replaced
- Trim, corners, soffit and fascia — included or not, and in what material
- Flashing details around windows and doors
- Disposal
- Payment schedule
The single most common gap in a low bid is trim and flashing. It's how two quotes on the same house end up $9,000 apart, and it's not a difference you can see until water finds its way behind something.
7. How payment is structured
Reasonable: a deposit, then progress payments, then a final payment on completion.
Not reasonable: the whole thing up front. Or a discount that only exists if you sign today.
On insurance work there's one more line worth knowing: in Minnesota, a contractor offering to "cover," "waive," or "eat" your deductible is offering to break state law. Anybody who floats that is telling you how they handle rules generally. Walk.
And on claims — you file your own claim with your insurer. We document damage honestly and write an accurate scope; we don't file it for you and we don't negotiate on your behalf. If you're in that situation, our siding hail damage insurance claims guide walks through the matching problem specifically.
8. Ask what they don't like about the product they're selling you
This is my favorite question and it costs nothing.
Every siding material has real drawbacks. LP SmartSide needs repainting on a schedule. Hardie is heavy, brittle before it's fastened, and unforgiving in cold weather. Steel dents. Vinyl fades and gets brittle in deep cold.
A contractor who can't name a single downside of the thing they're recommending either hasn't installed enough of it or isn't being straight with you. I've written entire posts about what I don't like about the products I install — the LP SmartSide disadvantages and James Hardie problems — because the person who knows the tradeoffs going in is the person who's happy in year five.
The print-this checklist
- MN contractor license number on the quote — verified through DLI lookup
- Certificate of insurance sent directly by the agency, GL + workers' comp
- Manufacturer certifications named correctly (LP = Preferred Contractor, not "certified")
- Workmanship warranty in writing, with a term
- Local address you can drive to, local references from this year
- Line-item quote: product line, square footage, tear-off, house wrap, trim, flashing, disposal
- Payment schedule with no full-payment-up-front
- No deductible-waiver talk (illegal in Minnesota)
- They can name real downsides of what they're selling
- No same-day-signature pressure
Joe's note
If you take one thing from this: get three quotes and make them comparable. Send each contractor the same scope. Ask each of them to line-item it the same way. Then the numbers actually mean something.
I tell every homeowner to get other quotes. I'd rather lose a job to someone doing honest work at a better number than win one where you spent the whole project wondering if you overpaid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a licensed contractor for siding in Minnesota?
Yes — Minnesota requires residential building contractors to hold a state license, and siding replacement falls under it. Get the license number on your quote and verify it through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry lookup. Ours is MN License #BC762305.
What credentials should a siding contractor have?
For this market, the meaningful ones are LP SmartSide Preferred Contractor and James Hardie Preferred Contractor, plus a current state license, general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and a written workmanship warranty. Be skeptical of invented-sounding credentials — LP's program is "Preferred Contractor," and EDCO doesn't offer an installer certification at all.
How many siding quotes should I get?
Three, and make them comparable by giving each contractor the same scope. A quote that isn't line-itemed — product line, square footage, tear-off, house wrap, trim, flashing, disposal — can't be fairly compared to one that is.
What are the biggest red flags with a siding contractor?
Full payment demanded up front, a discount that expires today, an offer to cover your insurance deductible (illegal in Minnesota), no verifiable local address, a lump-sum quote with no line items, and an inability to name a single drawback of the product being recommended.
What's the difference between a material warranty and a workmanship warranty?
The material warranty comes from the manufacturer and covers the product itself. The workmanship warranty comes from the contractor and covers the installation. Material warranties are similar regardless of installer; the workmanship warranty is where contractors differ. Ours is lifetime on residential installs.
Can a siding contractor handle my insurance claim for me?
No — you file your own claim with your insurance company. A good contractor documents the damage honestly and provides an accurate written scope your adjuster can work from. Anyone offering to waive, cover, or absorb your deductible is proposing something that violates Minnesota law.
Ready to talk?
Ready for real pricing on your project? Call Modern Exterior Systems at (952) 206-6339. Free measurement, honest numbers, no pressure.
Modern Exterior Systems is an LP SmartSide Preferred Contractor and James Hardie Preferred Contractor serving Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, and 90+ Twin Cities communities. I'll come to your home, measure everything, and give you a detailed written quote — line by line, not a lump number. No high-pressure sales. No same-day close. Call 952-206-6339 or request your free estimate online.
Modern Exterior Systems is a women-owned, family-operated roofing and exterior contractor based in Eden Prairie, MN, serving the Twin Cities metro. Owner Joe Dvorak brings two decades of hands-on construction experience, CertainTeed ShingleMaster and Malarkey Emerald Pro certifications, and a LIFETIME workmanship warranty to every project. BBB A+ rating.
