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?

[Tilar]

That sounds a little high to me too, but it's been close to 10 years since I had any roof work done myself. One of the additions on my place in Texas is 16 x 40. I can't tell you the pitch but it's not real steep. They tore off all the old shingles, replaced 3 sheets of plywood, did some wood work around the eves and replaced them with some 30 year shingles and it cost me $1100. That was probably in 2000.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Mine was done 2 years ago.   I think it's at least 15 square but I can't find the paperwork right now.  Old 2 layer tearoff,   ice shield,  arch shingles. yada yada yada   $6600.   4 or 5 guys,  2 full days.

FYI.   Roofers prefer the arch. shingles...  no lines to match!    It's actually less labor to install them.   

[rav440]

$300.00 + a SQ sounds like the going rate  if i remeber correctly i was doing a few roof jobs 20 years ago and charging around $120.00 a SQ

12/12 pitch aint noway no how any fun .

$1300.00 for shingles does that include the ice gaurd and ridge vent and drip edge ?
$500.00 for a 30yd dumpster

now your looking at 5 guys making $1040.00 each in 2 days on a $7000.00 as much as i hate roofing ask them if they are hiring im will to relocate and do roofs again for that kind of ging .

and in reality 5 good roofers should be able to tear off and put down that roof in around 12 hours .

me and my 7 friends did my 4/12 pitch in under 8 hours and we are far from roofers .

id keep getting bids

[draftingmonkey]

Make sure whoever you hire is licensed, bonded and insured.  Check their license with the BBB to see if there are any complaints. The bonding insures their work if anything is wrong with the job.  Make sure they are insured / have workmans comp.  Otherwise in most states you as the homeowner and your homeowners insurance will be liable for any of the workmans injuries. 

If your community requires a roofing permit, make sure the contractor pulls the permit and posts in prominently at the job site.  Again, you could be liable for the permit and fines incurred if discovered by an inspector.  This also protects you for any future damage claims with your insurance company.

Do not pay any final costs until the inspector has done a final inspection on the roof job.  And if the contractor doesn't pull one do not pay until he does and make him pay all permit fees and fines incurred (tell him up front that this is required before he can start work).

I have seen more than one of my parents neighbors go through this.  My father is a journey electrician and licensed gas fitter by trade and spent 30+ years as a Building/Electrical Inspector back home.

Remember, this is about protecting you, your finances and your investment in your home.

[Todd Wilson]

I had my 1000sq foot 2 bedroom house done last fall plus my 2 car garge..   Quotes were all in the 8000$ range from roofing companies.  I had 1 shake and 2 layers of asphalt to remove and redeck the roof with plywood.   I got it all done for about 6000$.   I bought the materiels at Lowes  and hired some mesicans to do it. I paid them 3000$. Took them 2 days and they hauled off the old stuff.  I forget how many sq it was but I want to say 24  counting the garage too.


Todd

[Daytona R/T SE]

I just went through this last year.

Here's the thread where we discussed it, including what I paid:

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,46360.0.html

[41husk]

I just did mine this year 21 Sq, I bought all materials including one sheet of plywood that needed to be replaced it cost me over 3k in marerial and that was with 10% off at lowes.  I paid a friend that does roofing $300 cash to put it down, I paid 3 of my wrestlers $150 with my and my roofer friend to tear off the 2 layers of old roof.  I would say with meals it cost me just under 5k to get it done.  I had a construction guy who is in the nieghbothood give me a to me only bid $5,600.  That was the lowest estimate I got from a roofing co.  I wish I had payed my nieghbor the extra 2k to do it all.  Roofing id hard work! 

[NHCharger]

Bob,

I'm no longer building residential but just priced out a roof for a friend. One story ranch, 4/12, 18 sq., one layer to rip off, prep the same as yours, 6 grand for everything. Just the disposal costs are $ 1,000.00.

[Todd Wilson]

Bob,

I'm no longer building residential but just priced out a roof for a friend. One story ranch, 4/12, 18 sq., one layer to rip off, prep the same as yours, 6 grand for everything. Just the disposal costs are $ 1,000.00.

Disposal costs are expensive for you!   I can go the dump with my truck all day long and get rid of shingles and it dont cost me a thing but gas.


Todd

[Charger_Fan]

Moparz, have you priced metal roofing? Your house would look great with this type & it should last the life of the house.
Just an example link, I'm sure there's other suppliers closer to you...
http://www.bigelowexteriors.com/Metal%20Roofing%20House%202.jpg?nxg_versionuid=published

[Old Moparz]

Thanks for the input guys, but it's still a bit of a shock at prices though. The first quote I got for $7000 was by a guy who does roofing on the side. He's a cop who did the roof of one of my neighbors that came out nice. A crew of 5 guys done in 2 days. The other quotes were all more money with the next at $7800, then one for $10,000 that shocked the hell out of me.

Maybe since a friend of mine in Paramus, NJ had his roof done less than a couple of years ago for $4500 is why I expected to get a number in the same range. Paramus is a fairly expensive area, so I assumed that being outside that area, I'd get prices the same or less. I bet if I can get the guy who did his roof to come up to my house, he could travel an extra hour & still come in cheaper....LOL

I have a strong feeling I'll be doing it myself this year. 

Moparz, have you priced metal roofing? Your house would look great with this type & it should last the life of the house.
Just an example link, I'm sure there's other suppliers closer to you...
http://www.bigelowexteriors.com/Metal%20Roofing%20House%202.jpg?nxg_versionuid=published

Hey Grant, the metal roof looks great, but I never did one before. I do know they are even more expensive than the regular asphalt shingle roofs if you hire someone. I researched on line to see what's involved with installing it & they aren't too complicated looking, so I'm not 100% sure if I'd rule it out or not. It all comes down to whether or not I want to experiment & use my own house as a test bed for it.

Maybe the new shed I was planning could be a way to test the metal roof out. 

[LaOtto70Charger]

We just had our 1600 sq ft bungalow and garage roofs done for $6500 with a crew of 3.  It took them 3 days with some rain delays.  Just tear off and reshingle with green architectural.  Our estimates were from $6200 to $10,000+.  Our roofer did say green seems to last longer than the traditional black.

[Charger_Fan]

Hey Grant, the metal roof looks great, but I never did one before. I do know they are even more expensive than the regular asphalt shingle roofs if you hire someone. I researched on line to see what's involved with installing it & they aren't too complicated looking, so I'm not 100% sure if I'd rule it out or not. It all comes down to whether or not I want to experiment & use my own house as a test bed for it.

Maybe the new shed I was planning could be a way to test the metal roof out. 

They are actually a fairly common item around here...but I haven't done one myself, so I can't say what all's involved. I'm hoping to do one when it's time to replace my shingles. My area gets hit with pretty hard winds sometimes & that tends to remove shingles...especially if those shingles weren't put on very well, like my neighbor's sweat equity install.