Roof replacement, line by line: reading a real $14k estimate

A roof replacement estimate is one of the most expensive pieces of paper most homeowners will ever sign, and most of them sign it without understanding a single line. So let us read a real one. The estimate in front of me totals $14,000 for an asphalt shingle reroof on a typical single-story home, and almost every dollar of it falls into a handful of categories. Once you know what they are, you can tell which items are negotiable, which ones vary honestly between contractors, and which ones you must never let anyone skip.

Tear-off: the line that defines the job

The first major item is tear-off, the labor to strip the existing shingles down to the wood deck and haul them away. On our $14,000 estimate, tear-off and disposal run about $2,500. Some contractors will offer to skip it and lay new shingles right over the old ones. Do not. An overlay hides whatever is rotting underneath, adds weight your structure may not want, and rarely lasts as long. The few thousand you save now you pay back in a roof that fails early.

Decking: the wildcard you can tame

Under the shingles is the decking, the plywood or OSB sheathing nailed to your rafters. Nobody knows how much of it is rotten until the old roof comes off. This is the line that turns into a nasty surprise on a bad estimate, because the contractor writes "decking repair as needed" and then bills whatever he wants once you are committed.

The fix is to make him price it per sheet up front. On our estimate it reads "deck replacement at $65 per sheet, estimated 4 sheets, $260." Now if the roof opens up and he finds eight bad sheets instead of four, you know exactly what the overage costs and you cannot be gouged. A contractor who refuses to give you a per-sheet rate is leaving himself room you do not want him to have.

Underlayment and flashing: never, ever skip these

Here is the part of the estimate that is boring, cheap relative to the total, and absolutely non-negotiable. Underlayment is the water-resistant layer that goes down over the bare deck before the shingles. Flashing is the metal that seals the joints where the roof meets walls, chimneys, vents, and valleys. Together they are what actually keep water out of your house. The shingles are the sunscreen. These are the skin.

On our $14,000 estimate, underlayment runs about $900 and new flashing about $700. When a cheaper bid comes in low, this is frequently where the money went missing. The contractor reused old, cracked flashing instead of installing new, or used a thinner underlayment. You will not see the consequence for two or three years, and then you will see it as a stain spreading across your bedroom ceiling.

The lines people forget to check

Past the materials, a complete estimate includes the permit (a few hundred dollars and a sign the contractor is doing this legitimately), cleanup including a magnetic sweep for stray nails in your yard, and two separate warranties. The manufacturer warranty covers the shingles. The workmanship warranty covers the installation, and it is the one that matters most, because most roof leaks come from bad installation, not bad shingles. A contractor who stands behind his labor for years is telling you something. One who offers only the manufacturer warranty is quietly telling you something too.

So where does the $14,000 go?

Roughly: tear-off and disposal $2,500, shingles and materials around $5,500, underlayment $900, flashing $700, labor to install around $3,000, decking allowance $260, permit and cleanup the balance. When you get three bids and one is $11,000 and one is $17,000, do not assume the cheap one is a steal or the expensive one is a rip-off. Lay them line by line against this map. The differences are almost always in tear-off, flashing, underlayment quality, and the warranty. That is where the real roof is, and that is where the real price is too.