Roof or gutter ad aimed at seniors? What to check first

Saw an ad saying seniors are getting new roofs or free gutters? An ad is not a referral. Before anyone signs, California's Contractors State License Board says: check the contractor's license, and know that at 65 or older you have five business days to cancel a home improvement contract (everyone else has three). Don't let work start or permits get pulled in that window, and pay no more than 10% or $1,000 down, whichever is less.

Stuck between two or three? PJ, a local in Cardiff, lays the options out side by side with the records and prices, and you make the call. He checks each contractor's license on the State's site and lines up two or three quotes; he never sells or does the work. Help me choose, $30 an hour; asking is free. Text PJ · the help box office

Medicare Open Enrollment is open: October 15 to December 7. Change your Medicare health or drug plan for 2027 now; changes start January 1. Free, unbiased help: HICAP at 1-800-434-0222 (run in San Diego by Elder Law & Advocacy). Bring your card and your medicine list. The free plan comparison worksheet.

Official: Medicare.gov: joining a plan (Open Enrollment Oct 15 to Dec 7). Checked Nov 4, 2026.

• Five business days to cancel at 65+. "Be aware that those 65 or older have a five-business-day right to cancel a home improvement contract. For all others, there is a three-business-day right to cancel." Resist any pressure to waive it.
• Down payment cap. "Pay no more than 10% of the total contract price or $1,000 as a down payment, whichever is less." Avoid paying in cash, and don't let payments get ahead of the work.
• Salespeople at the door. "Any home improvement salesperson that comes to your door must be registered with CSLB. Ask to see their registration card."
• Signing on a tablet? Ask for an immediate paper copy; the language can change between signing and getting your copy.
• Contractor-arranged financing can carry a higher rate and a longer loan than a bank or credit union would.

From the Contractors State License Board, What Seniors Should Know Before Hiring a Contractor (read Oct 20, 2026). CSLB: 800-321-2752.

• Door-to-door "leftover materials": roofing, painting or paving at a big discount; once paid, little or no work gets done.
• High pressure: a push for a decision today. Real contractors will wait for you to check the license and get other quotes.

With rain coming, roof pitches spike. A leak is real, and so is the five-day window: get the license checked and a second quote before you sign.

1. Get the license number from the contract or the truck.
2. Look it up on CSLB's Check a License page: name, status, bond, workers' comp and any discipline.
3. Over $1,000 in labor and materials, or a permit, or employees on the job: California requires a licensed contractor. (The limit rose from $500 on January 1, 2025: CSLB bulletin #24-07.)

Handyman or contractor? The $1,000 rule · Scams aimed at seniors: who to call · After a storm: the State's rules for repairs

• A second set of eyes before a parent signs: PJ checks the license and the contract basics against the State's rules and lines up two or three quotes. Help me choose, $30 an hour. No referral fees from anyone.

Text PJ (858) 461-8054

"It's about being nice and showing up." PJ, a real person in Cardiff and Solana Beach. Prices are set in one place and shown before anything starts.

Need a human?

This page is built every morning from public data by SideGuy, run by PJ, a local in Solana Beach. If something looks off, or you want a hand with your plans, text PJ at 858-461-8054. A real person answers.

Local help, free to read: make your fix plan · senior benefits checkup · lower your SDG&E bill · Medicare Extra Help · every 2027 Medicare plan · is my medication recalled? · the next 90 days. Plans start as low as $25. Your parent lives here and you don't? The Parent Check-In Plan, $25 a month.