Re-Roofing Your Home Tutorial

Here is a summary of my experience re-roofing my home. I will provide you with: pricing, analysis of the providers, the process and things to look out for. I hope it is of use to somebody. I have an A-shaped, 5/12 pitch shingle roof with some eaves on a 1800 sq ft home that required 152 BD's (bundles?) of shingles. They also said it was 40 (then a zero with a line through it) squares.


Pricing and Analysis: The high was $10,900 without facia replacement or replacement boards on the roof. They wanted alot of the payment in advance. I won't mention the company. They were a recommended, smaller provider that doesn't specialize in roofs.

Collis: They were by far the cockiest. They did the estimate on an IPad so you didn't have anything in writing. They were supposed to email it. They never did. I felt the bid would be around 10k. Facia and boards would have been extra. They wouldn't paint the trim after. They said it would take two days. The offered a ten year warranty on Timberline shingles. Payment upon completion.

Russ Noyes: They wanted $9,600. Boards would cost $50 per sheet. Facia was $6 per foot. They use Tamko or CertainTeed shingles with a thirty year warranty. They offered a seven year workmanship and leak guarantee. Payment upon completion.

Roof Pros: Some kind of insurance scam. The guy went up on my roof and said he found evidence of hail damage and would get me a roof for free if I let him negotiate a claim with my insurance company. They would sue and keep whatever the insurance company paid out and keep any extra funds. I wish it were true, but, I know hail was not the cause of it's condition. I didn't bother inquiring further.


RTS: They wanted $9,600. Boards were $1.50 a square foot. Facia was $3.50 if one foot wide and $5.50 if two. They used Timberline shingles with a 50 year manufacturer warranty and what I think was their own five year warranty. Payment was due upon completion.

A. Larson: They wanted 10,780. Boards were included. I'm not sure by the quote if facia was as well. They used CertainTeed shingles. They were nice and polite. They sent a young girl in as the "closer". Funny. Payment due at completion.

HISL: This guy actually got mad when I told him I was taking other bids. I actually had the maturity to hang up on him before I went postal.

Oviedo: Never returned my call.

Most of these guys came the next day after I requested a quote. Either Noyes or RTS also had a very nice and trustworthy sales man. I can't remember. Most if not all allowed you pay via credit card and used 30 weight felt.

The Winner: I went with Mid Florida Roofing. Not just because they came in at $8,790 with boards at $50 per and facia at $3 a square foot, but, because I figured all these guys use the same type of out sourced labor to actually do the work and the results wouldn't necessarily differ. They offered CertainTeed Landmark Plus or Regular (something about a change in name allowing some of the better shingles to be offered at blow out pricing) or Altlas. I chose CertainTeed Landmark Energy Star. They have a lifetime warranty. The workmanship warranty is five years. Drip guard, 4 lead vent covers, and ridge vents were included. Payment was a little weird. I had to pay the suppliers directly and they deducted what ever the price was from the quote. I actually liked it because I had recourse through my credit card company if anything untoward happened and I could use the whole month to carry the cost before the credit card bill would be due. The price included all permits, lien waivers, insurance mitigation forms, removal of debris, etc.

The Process: I met or spoke with the salesman one more time to iron out the contract, set a date and choose the shingles. I ordered "squirrel guards" for the vents ($20 each). On day one, some workers and lumber showed up and they (only one guy spoke English so it was a little confusing what was to happen) began to strip off the old shingles, renail and replace the boards and place the felt. The overseer (not a Mid Florida guy like I assumed) left right away. It was me and them and they could barely tell me what was going to go down. That took all day. I noticed they were going to try and use 15 weight felt and called the salesman. He fixed it. On day two, they ( a totally new set of people) did what was left over from day one and then called in the roof inspector. They were a little behind schedule. They started repairing the facia, installing the vents, adding fern strips, replacing the drip guards and nailing down the rest of the felt. There were a couple of problems. The re-felted over two vents and would have shingled over them the next day if not for a lucky misplaced nail gun the next day. They also let the fern strips peek out of the drip guards. It's a really coarse, ugly strip of wood and would have looked atrocious. They fixed it the next day by removing the facia and drip guard and sawing of some of the fern strip so the drip guard extended beyond it. They also damaged some of the wood around the facia and would have left it if I didn't point it out. Most of it, eventually, was corrected. On day three, they (other new people) started putting on the shingles. The guy who did the facia did some left over wood work and caulking. They didn't finish and had to come back the next morning. The salesman and I did a walk through. On day four, the salesman took me out for lunch and gave me the bill (with a credit for returned materials that he returned which wasn't folded back into his part of the quote), lien waivers, materials invoices and the roof inspector came over. Some piece of paper was missing so I had to wait until they gave it to him to get the ok. Most days started at 8 or 9am and ended at 7pm.

Things To Look Out For: You have to be there. They will try and take short cuts or just fuck up. The people they use don't have the same sense of quality that you do. Communication will be a problem. Take pictures of the supplies when delivered and what is used. I had different ideas about how much lumber was used, but, didn't have proof. Also, they will say you only get charged for wood that is used, but, then it becomes - what is cut (even if it is thrown out). See if they give a discount for cash/check. I got $150 back. Watch out for tacks. I stepped on one through my shoe and had to get a tetanus shot. Make sure they clean up thoroughly. Iron out all details. I assumed fernstrip was included with facia since it wasn't mentioned in the contract. It wasn't. I cost me $114 extra. Buy those "squirrel guards". Squirrels gnaw on the lead covers and create a gap where water comes in. Be ready to repaint the facia. It's probably a different color than what you have now. Make sure they don't lose you gutter nails. Don't pay until you get a complete roof inspection. Get lien waivers from everyone involved. Get a home insurance mitigation form to try and lower your home insurance (they say 10%). Get receipts. Check them against your credit card statement. Check the suppliers and ask the suppliers about them. They used Buck Lumber and ABC Supply Co. Both were legitimate and verified the reputation of the roofers. Let them know you are fielding competing bids. Don't act/look rich. Negotiate. Stay on the sales man/overseer.

Summary: The roof survived the first rain test. It looks fine. Some of the facia is a little sloppy. They did leave one fern strip area on an upper level that I didn't see until I went to repaint my facia. No problems with the suppliers charges. No problem with the final bill. They deducted the supply cost from the quote. No funny business. They probably overestimated the boards and facia.

Conclusion: I believe most of these companies just organize the re-roof. They hire some groups of workers and pocket the difference. Therefore, the oversight is not perfect and things can go wrong or can be variable. You are at the mercy of the crew they outsource to. A glossier or more expensive company won't do a better job. My supply cost was $ 4,736. They probably get a cut of this. I looked at material cost at Home Depot and it seemed closer to $2,500. That leaves about $4,000 or $5,500 before labor. I estimate that at $2000. That means their profit is $2,000 to $3500. Makes me mad at how greedy the other guys were. Final costs with extras less credits ($100 supply and $150 check) - $9,167