On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 11:24:42 -0400, DL wrote:

Just got three estimates for a tear-off roof job ranging from $8,000 to
$13,500. I live in the suburb of Detroit and the estimates are for
replacing existing 1 layer of shingles by new 30 yr. shingles. Roof
area is 3,200 square ft. with a 8/12 pitch. About 1/2 of the roof area
is 2 stories high, the rest is one story. I checked the price for the
30 yr. GAF shingles at Home Depot about $40 a square. So I estimate the
material cost to be around $1,500. Therefore much of the cost is in the
labor. Is the total cost of $250 to $425 per square reasonable around
my area ? Can someone with experience tell me what is a fair price to
pay ? I am really surprised about the big difference between the high
and the low bids. As far as I can tell the proposals are identical
except for the price.

There is more to roofing than just shingles and labor. On the
material side you need: felt, tin caps, nails, flashing, drip edge,
starter shingles, hip and ridge shingles, ridge vents, roofing jacks,
vent flashings--plus delivery costs and, don't forget, taxes on the
supplies. Plus the dump fees for disposal of the old shingles and
trash--this can be quite expensive in some areas.

From the business side: general office expense, advertising, tools
and equipment, insurance, trade memberships, salaries and other
employee benefits--just to mention a few.

One thing to be careful of is thinking that all roofers are the same,
this just is not the case. Just as with any profession there are good
and bad contractors and there will be differences in pricing.
Generally speaking, the lower quality roofers charge the lower prices.
They operate on the premise that the customer is only interested in
paying the lowest amount. On the other hand, the better roofers
charge more because they are interested in doing what is in the
customer's best interest and this is always more expensive to do.

Check out the roofers side-by-side: how long in business, are they
certified, do they leave you a list of 100 or so references, do they
explain their procedures and give you options for doing the job?
Also, verify that the roofers are really bidding on using the same
materials: are they using #15 felt or #30, stain-guard shingles or
regular shingles, changing vent flashings or re-using the old
ones...every item should have been discussed when you met with the
contractors.

In the end, price is not as important as value--are you getting the
best value for the money you are spending? You can determine value
but it will take some effort on your part, you can't just try to
figure out what is a "fair" price, there is no such thing.


Bruce
A&B Construction
Houston, TX
www.roof.cc