Roofing Cost Question

[Old Moparz]

Maybe I'm out of touch with current prices, but I'm in sticker shock at a few quotes I recently received for my house. My house was built in 1987 & has the architectural style, asphalt shingles on it. They are probably reaching their life expectancy very soon, & a few even came loose recently in a storm with some high winds that I had to fix. While I was up there, I noticed the edges of some are curling & they feel very dry & brittle.

I called several roofing & home improvement companies to get some estimates, as well as a guy who does it on the side. The guy who does it on the side did a house on my street that was a complete tear off, which is what I need too, & he was finished in 2 days with a full crew of 5 guys. They did an excellent job & better looking than a lot of other work I have seen. I want the roof torn off for several reasons even though there is only one layer, so I made that clear to all the roofers.

The prices I got will include a tear off, disposal, new ice shield, new drip edges, & new ridge vents. It is a steep roof with a 12:12 pitch, but there are no valleys, no dormers, & nothing out of the ordinary. I had expected a quote of $4500 to $5000 or so, but I am way off & considering doing the job myself. I priced the shingles alone from 2 places for around $1300 or so. I hate the idea of tearing off the roof alone, but may do just that & buy some tarps in case I get caught in the middle of a rainy stretch like there is right now.

My question is, for roughly 18 squares of roofing to be done, does $7000 to $10,000 seem way out of line?

 

[GSSFC]

I think that is probably fair. Here's a rough breakdown on materials.

18 square of shingls: $1674
18 square ice & water: $1200
drip edge: $250 (don't know your dimensions)
nails and staples: $50
starter/rakes/caps/: $200 (again don't know your dimensions)
ridge vent: $200
disposal: $500ish

Total Materials/Disposal: $4074 +/-

You might wanna re-think this one!

Tim

 

[twostory]

Let's see, ballpark cost:

Shingles - $75 / sq
tear off - $50 / sq
install labor - $125 / sq (high due to steep roof)

$250 x 18 = $4,500
plus $300 dumpster
plus $200 other material.

Total = $5,000

So you 4,500 to 5,000 expectation was a good estimate. I can only guess your estimates are high due to access issues, steep roof issues, etc. A steep roof does take more time to do than a walkable pitch.

I prefer to do my own roofing, so I have not gotten a quote in many years. I did roofing as summer work growing up, so I hate to pay for work that will not be as good as my own work.

As for doing it yourself, go ahead. Read the directions on the shingles pack, use a underlayment (tar paper, etc) and remove everything down to the wood roof decking. Roofing has few simple rules, water runs down hill, do not leave nail heads exposed, and do not roof over a rotten deck, and the use of caulking shows that you did not flash correctly. Caulking should not be depended upon to keep water out, use is sparely.

 

[babzog]

I had my house done last summer. 46.5 sq 2-tone brown shingles. Final "in and out" price was $11,900. Took 5 guys 2.5 days. They installed new drip edges all round, new flashings, new vents, new tar paper underlayment. Roof is 6/12 pitch and is basically U-shaped (with an addition on the back), cottage style (so lots of flashing and ridge capping to do).

 

[kwb]

Regionally labor will vary but I don't think you are too far off with your estimate.

I just had 44 square done in a lifetime (50yr) arch comp full ridge vent last fall and bids ranged from 7K to 12K included tear off of about 20 square (added on). Low cost bidder was also who my framers recommended so that is who I went with. Mine is a very walkable 5/12 pitch. They were done in a day and a half.

 

[cobrar97]

I had 20yr Owen's Corning shingles (25sq) on a walkable roof prices to me from $8000-$10,000. There were from roofing companies.

I ended up buying Lifetime Owen's Corning shingles and all the materials on my own and contacting a roofer from one of the companies. He, and 4 other of the roofing guys did the work, and when it was all said and done, it cost me $5000. So I cut my price in half from the highest bid...and got the best shingles.

The other materials were ridge vent and ice gaurd. I also had valleys to deal with. So see if you can find roofs that are slow on work and will do it on the side. They are the same guys that would do it anyhow.

Good luck.

 

[ket-tek]

I just had the new 1200sqft addition I've been working on shingled for $55 per square for labor and bought 25yr 3-tab shingles for $70 per square with free delivery from a local lumber company. 1 day, 4 guys, no tear off required, no ridge vent.

3 rolls of roof felt = $85
15 squares shingles = $1050
15 sq x $55 labor = $825

Total = $1960

The roofer supplied all nails, flashing, caulk, etc in the install price.

Great crew and great price. I asked around a lot with people I knew before I found a guy. I didn't want to fall victim to blindly using the phone book.

I would recommend to keep looking around and get more opinions and quotes before pulling the trigger.

 

[tdkkart]

Be VERY careful buying shingles, there are alot of the "big name" shingles that are absolute ****. I've heard as little as 7 years life out of "30 year" shingles, installed single layer by people who know what they are doing.
Around here good quality architectural grade shingles are over $100/sq.


I will never install another shingle roof, as far as I'm concerned shingles are a scam. Steel only for me.

 

[Northstar9126]

I think that is probably fair. Here's a rough breakdown on materials.

18 square of shingls: $1674
18 square ice & water: $1200
drip edge: $250 (don't know your dimensions)
nails and staples: $50
starter/rakes/caps/: $200 (again don't know your dimensions)
ridge vent: $200
disposal: $500ish

Total Materials/Disposal: $4074 +/-

You might wanna re-think this one!

Tim

Do people as a rule cover their whole roof deck with Ice and Water Shield in your area? Man that seems a waste of money in most situations.

 

[blkhonda1991]

Do people as a rule cover their whole roof deck with Ice and Water Shield in your area? Man that seems a waste of money in most situations.

certainly would be a waste on a 12/12 pitch roof...we dont even specify covering the whole roof until the slope is down around 4/12

 

[tdkkart]

Do people as a rule cover their whole roof deck with Ice and Water Shield in your area? Man that seems a waste of money in most situations.

Codes vary, but around here they specify Ice and Water shield must extend 4' inside of the exterior wall. Depending on the roof once you're that far you might just as well do it all.

 

[GSSFC]

Do people as a rule cover their whole roof deck with Ice and Water Shield in your area? Man that seems a waste of money in most situations.

I would cover 100% especially on all these poorly insulated houses.

Tim

 

[Old Moparz]

Thanks for the replies.

But I'm still not sure what I'll be doing though.

A friend of mine in a more expensive part of the country had his roof done a couple of years ago for $4500. Since the area I'm in isn't nearly as expensive as his, I thought for sure the quotes I'd get would be in the same ballpark. Oh well, I'll have to reconsider my plans since I didn't expect the quotes to be as high as they are. I'm still considering the idea of doing my house since I have a compressor, air nailer, roof brackets, & not afraid of heights.

I did do my own garage roof about 12 years ago, but new construction with no insulation, sheetrock, or other interior finishings to get ruined, makes a difference.

I found a decent photo of my house next to the garage so you can see what I'm up against.

 

[BooUrns!]

Shop around for other contractors. Those bidders are just ******* in the wind. I'm having a similar roof done for $4400CDN which should be less in USD.

 

[GSSFC]

I would suggest you source and buy all the materials yourself, and then hire the labor. I find when you pay out to a contractor, you don't always get what you pay for. I spec'd and paid for 100% ice and water shield once, and they showed up with 15# felt. They left shortly after they started.

Tim

 

[jake00]

we did my brothers 25 sq 5/12 roof last fall, materials ran 2300 (including 20 sheets of osb,

Labor was about 20 of us over 2 days (not all there at the same time)
used our dumptruck (saved 250+ on dumpster rentals)

 

[twostory]

I'm still considering the idea of doing my house since I have a compressor, air nailer, roof brackets, & not afraid of heights.

Your roof is steep, but not complicated (good thing). I would do it in two stage, back side (strip & reroof) , then do the front side.

You will need 1 or 2 strong helpers to move materials up/down. You will also need many walk board holders & 2x8x12. You will spend as much time moving walk boards as you will nailing shingles.

Good luck

 

[Mattlt]

Get references from friends, neighbors, etc. If you can't find anyone, ask at city hall / permit office for people that have pulled roofing permits. Call and ask them who did the job and how happy they are.

A couple hours of homework could save you thousands of $$$ and much aggravation.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

Well last week I re-roofed my house and while it is a walkable pitch, we tore of one layer of asphalt then sheeted in 7/16 OSB over original "skip" planking from 1886. Ice guard at eaves and in valleys only, REX engineered felt, drip edge, flashings (brick house) Owens Corning 30 laminated shingles, all laybor "free" if you don't count the trip to the ER.

32 Square and materials only ran me roughly $7000

 

[Kevin54]

My question is, for roughly 18 squares of roofing to be done, does $7000 to $10,000 seem way out of line?

It all depends on where you are at, but if that was around here, that would be a little high. "Top" guys get paid approx $200/sq. for a strip and putting on new plus materials. If you shop around you can get ones to do it for $150/sq. stripping and nailing new. $75-$100 if it is just a nail over. So say your 18 square ran $150/sq. that would be $2700.00 for shingles, felt for $100, say $150 for ice guard, new drip edge at $125, nails @ $75, you would have roughly $3150 in materials and $3600 in labor. So you would be a little under the $7000. But like I said, areas vary. I am getting ready to have 30 square replace in a couple of weeks for $7250. But those are three tab. I know, I shouldn't put three tabs on, but the front roof was replaced three years ago (15 Sq.) so I didn't want to redo it. All of our wind comes from the back, so if the new shingles last 10 years, by that time, I will be ready to retire and then one last roof will go on. Any damage in between gets turned in to insurance. So I would say get some more estimates, and don't just shop out of a phone book. there are many local independent guys that do it that are reasonable. But make sure that you get references. And usually either they will ask for no money up front, or will ask for half to cover materials.

 

[amt]

I will never install another shingle roof, as far as I'm concerned shingles are a scam. Steel only for me.

I agree 100%. Just had mine done: shingle tear off, synthetic tar paper, 24 Ga standing seam Steel/Galvalume on 57 squares - $27500. A shingle roof would have cost me $12500. Ten years ago it was only $5000 for shingle roof -that's why I went metal, in hopes of never having to replace it again and incur whatever crazy price a roof would be in the future. I also happen to like the look of steel a lot better, so that played in to the decision as well.

 

[BigE]

I'm about to do my roof. I don't know the surface area of the roof, but the house is only 1600 sqft. It is a hip roof (slopes on all 4 sides), has 2 slope changes and has a chimney coming out of it. One estimate from a good friend's shooting buddy was $5700. That was a tear off. Also included copper flashing in the valleys and overlayed seams to cover the valleys. The second estimate I got was from the guy who did my parents' roof - very good work and a crew of 7 guys. It was a tear off and came to $4200. I've got one more estimate to get from the guy who built the neighborhood some 25 years ago. He still lives up the street. Unfortunately, mine is one of only 2 in the neighborhood he didn't build. I need gutters and potentially, some water-damaged boards replaced (prior to my ownership of the house). I'm going have him break the estimate out so I can compare apples to apples.

I haven't been in the world of home ownership very long. However, having grown up having to fix anything that broke and being party to other people's roofing projects, your estimates sound extremely inflated to me. Perhaps it's the area of the country or the size of the roof, but I almost choked when I got the first estimate of $5700. I couldn't imagine seeing $10,000.

 

[IDASHO]

The labor cost is killer on a roof.

Typically it is very easy to estimate what it is going to cost, if you have an idea of materials cost.

With a standard 30 or 40 year dimentional composite roof, you are looking at $100-$150 per square for materials. That will include felt, ice and water shield if needed, nails and flashing, and the roofing.

You say you have a 1600 square foot house? Depending upon the roof pitch, that could be a 24-30 square roof.

Lets say it is 30 square, and run with a $125 per square materials cost.

Thats $3750 just for materials.

And how to you figure labor? What I do it take the materials cost, and double it. $7500 Thats your labor cost.

$3750+ $7500 = $11,250

That is your materials and labor cost, $11,250

And yes, I do all of my own roofs The latest one, Ive been doing all by my-self. Has taken me 6 full days so far, but it is WELL worth it, considering I am saving $8k+

 

[coachrick]

Dang, pardners, y'all come on out here to central Texas where we have had two storms(in our neighborhood, plenty in the surrounding area) dropping golf-ball to tennis-ball sized hail and bringing every roofing company(or not) out of the woodwork. Most of the 30-year jobs in the area--usually 45 squares+-, complete tearoff etc are running over $15K. Even some of the 50-year roofing materials were damaged just weeks after install. Doesn't help that it's 103 degrees today and triple digits expected for at least anther week. I'm getting the scoop from the insurance co and roofer dude on Friday--1% deductible on a $450K house really hurts!(but beats paying out of pocket for the whole she-bang)

Just went downstairs to receive a box of shingle samples from NewTech...50 yr NON-prorated warranty, Class 4, tested to 110 mph, recycled/recyclable, etc. etc. These things are cool! REALLY expensive but cool! Dang! I wish we had a smaller roof!!! We'll see what happens on Friday...might have the first indestructo roof in the neighborhood!

 

[brownbagg]

first thing you need to understand is, a roofer in it to make money, he needs to make a profit, he has insurance, trucks, workman comp. material , labor , taxes, phone. etc so the high price is not out of line. work man comp on roofers is one of the highest. so either pay the high price or do it yourself.

just rememeber if you get someone without workman comp and permits and somebody get hurt, they can come after you.

make sure the roofer pulls a permit and not you. if you pull the permit you are the contractor. anything happen the contractor (you) are liable.

 

[Kevin54]

Nice try hettyjohn..Reported!!