1. Article Body
Nobody can price a roof over the phone. Here is what actually moves the number, so you can read the quotes you receive.
Costs vary widely by market and by house, so this explains the structure rather than quoting figures.
The variables
Roof area, which is not the footprint of the house. A steeper roof has more surface than its plan area suggests.
Pitch. Steeper is slower, needs more fall protection and costs more per square.
Complexity. Hips, valleys, dormers, chimneys and skylights all add labor and waste. A simple gable is the cheapest shape there is.
Material and grade. Three tab against architectural shingle, tile, metal, synthetic. The spread is wide.
Existing layers. One or two, and whether local code permits an overlay at all.
Deck condition, unknowable until the covering is off.
Access. Whether a truck and dumpster can get close, and whether landscaping or a tight lot complicates staging.
Height. A two storey roof costs more than a single storey of the same area.
Ventilation work, flashing replacement and any code required items.
Disposal, permit and cleanup.
Why quotes differ by thousands
Almost always scope rather than price per square.
Check whether both include tear off and how many layers. Whether both replace flashing or reuse it. Whether both include drip edge, starter course and ridge cap as specified items. Whether both carry a deck allowance. Whether the material grade is the same. Whether the warranty term and backer are the same.
Two quotes that differ by twenty five percent usually differ on four or five of those.
The allowance line
Ask for an explicit deck repair allowance with a unit rate and an assumed quantity.
A quote silent on decking is not cheaper. It has moved that conversation to the day the roof is open, when your position is weakest.
Where homeowners underspend
Reusing old flashing, which is where the next leak comes from.
Skipping ventilation correction, which shortens the new roof.
Choosing the cheapest material on a house they intend to keep for twenty years.
Where homeowners overspend
Buying a premium warranty term they will not be present to use.
Replacing a roof whose only failure is a single detail.
Adding features that do not suit the climate or the pitch.
Financing and insurance
Where a covered event caused the damage, the claim changes the arithmetic entirely, and the settlement basis on your policy decides how much of the cost you fund.
Where it is age related, it is a capital expense to plan for rather than a claim.
The sensible sequence
Decide how long you intend to stay. Choose the material that suits that. Get two or three quotes on one identical written scope. Compare line by line.
If one is far cheaper, find the missing line. There is almost always a missing line.
