New roof cost.

I'm trying to research the cost of a new roof. I have a old house built in 1900. It's 2.5 story house. There's about 1100sf on the 1st and 2nd floor.

The measurements of the roof line is 33 by 33 and the pitch is very steep.

I'll need a total rip off along with new decking. I'm interested in 40 year dimensional asphalt shingles.

I hoping I can keep my gutters since I replaced them about 3 years ago.

Is this all possable for under 12k.

Any imput would be helpful Thanks

Reply to
Mike
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what did the guy say when he came out to give you an estimate after you looked him up in the yellow pages and called him?

Reply to
chaniarts

The question of roof cost has come up many times in the past, may be worth looking at past examples. In fact, I see these links right next to your post, I guess it searches for related discussions. I wonder if the $12K figure has some special significance because it comes up in this 2004 thread, too:

formatting link
very different roof tho). Must be some kind of a pain threshold...

------------------------------------- /_/ ((@v@)) NIGHT ():::() OWL VV-VV

Reply to
DA

He musta said to ask here.

Reply to
willshak

There are some variables about which we know nothing. For example, what part of the country are you in and does your jurisdiction demand permits, inspections, and the work done by a company that is licensed by the jurisdiction and makes large campaign donations to the mayor.

All that said, some thoughts:

Cheapest:

You can price the decking material and shingles yourself. I'd bet those would come in under $3,000. Disposing of what's torn off I'd guess at a $500 dump charge.

The rest of your expense will be in labor. It behooves you, therefore, to find a contractor that employs indentured servants or, if you can't find that, someone who uses illegal immigrants.

If you don't want to go that route, or admit to going that route:

The standard mantra you'll get here is: A. Get a recommendation (or two) from your neighbors who have had satisfactory work done. B. Make sure the company you choose is bonded, insured, and has all the correct licenses. C. Consider upgrading your roof with a ridge vent and/or wind turbines. There are some extra considerations if you have ice/snow in the winter. D. From the universe of possible companies, get references from each and visit the homes on which they've done work. Talk to the homeowner. Ask: I. Did the job come in on time and under budget? II. Did the contractor clean up the work site after the job? III. What surprises did the homeowner experience? IV. What "extras" did the contractor throw in?*

Putting on a new roof is what's known to homeowners as a BIG DEAL. Study, study, study. Get as much advice as you can, both here and elsewhere. Hint: One source of advice and recommendation might be a local realtor.

Reply to
HeyBub

On Tue, 15 May 2012 14:52:14 -0700 (PDT), Mike wrote Re New roof cost.:

There is only one way to do that accurately. Get 3 estimates from local roofers.

Reply to
Caesar Romano

The good news is that it is easy to get a couple of estimates for this type of job. It is pretty much a straight up job that doesn't require a lot of explanation. You would just let the contractors know that it is a complete tear-off down to the rafters and that you want all new decking and 40-year dimensional asphalt shingles, and that you would like to be able to keep the existing gutters and downspouts if they think that is possible.

You don't even have to be there when they do the estimate although if it were me I would want to be there and hear what they say, see what they are like to deal with and talk to etc.. But, since they do not need to go into your house to do the estimate, they can do it anytime without you having to meet them there.

Your 1100 sq. ft. estimate may or may not be correct. If any of the roofers do measure it and tell you the actual number of "squares" it is, that would be good to know. A "square" is 100 sq. ft. (10' x 10'). If your estimate of 1100 sq. ft. is correct, you have 11 squares.

Sometimes you can find out what the basic rate is these days for your area per square for a complete tear off down to the rafters, all new decking, and dimensional shingles. Somehow I have this feeling that in my area (New Jersey) the pricing was something like $800 per square about a year ago. I could be WAY off on that, but the $800 number sticks in my mind. If you say where you are located, someone here may know what the typical price per square is these days for the type of job you want done. If you do get estimates, you may be surprised at how close many of them are to each other. That's because most roofers look at a job like that, measure how many squares it is, and then multiply the going per square figure times the number of squares you have and give you the price.

Reply to
TomR

On May 16, 10:19=A0am, "TomR" wrote:

Good points, but I have some thoughts on the matter, having just gone through the process of having my roof replaced.

As far as it being "pretty much a straight up job that doesn't require a lot of explanation" I beg to differ on that opinion, based on my recent experience.

- There are new "roofing systems" other than the basic felt underlayment that can make a difference in the warranty offered by the shingle manufacturer. This should be discussed. - There may be issues related to ventilation, e.g I had no soffit vents. Some roofers wanted to put in pucks or rectangles in the soffits and a ridge vent on top, one suggested cutting a full soffit vent with perforated vinyl to cover the slots. One roofer even said that box vents were better than a ridge vent for my house. Ventalation was a major part of all discussions and a major deciding point as to who I went with. - Attic insulation should be discussed - no sense in adding soffit vents if the insulation covers the soffits. Will baffles be needed? If so, who will install them? (I did my own, but some homeowners may not be able to or want to) - Are there any valleys and how will they be handled? - Step flashing, vent boots, exhaust hoods. How all of those will be dealt with should be discussed so that there is no misunderstandings later. - Who will be in charge and on site during the job? My roofer told me that his brother (who is on his crew) pulled up to a red light next to house where one of his competitors was in the middle of a tear off. While he was stopped, 2 police cars and border patrol van pulled up onto the lawn, right up to the bottom of the ladders that were leaning against the house. They called 4 of the crew off of the roof and led them into into the border patrol van. I'm guessing this delayed the completion of the job somewhat. ;-)

I could go on, but my point is that you can't just go through a pile of estimates that get stuck in your mail box while you're not home and expect to be able to make an intelligent decision. I choose the roofer who not only spent time with me answering all of my questions, but was also made suggestions and was going to be on-site, hammer in hand, for the entire job. The companies that sent out "salesman" or "estimators" did not instill the same confidence as those that sent out actual roofers.

BTW...The comment about how many squares...Why does that matter?

If I recall correctly, none of the 5 estimates that I received mentioned how many squares. They each included a price for the tear- off and re-roof and listed what that included e.g. ice and water shield (where and how much), underlayment, etc. Then were were prices for incidentals $P per sheet of plywood (if needed) $F per foot of step flashing (if needed), $G for gutters, $S soffit vents, etc.

If I'm comparing dollars per item to dollars per item, why do I care how many squares my roof is? Fact is, I don't know how many squares my roof is and it wasn't anything that I needed when comparing the estimates. Granted, if one estimate was way out of line (which one was) it might be good to check and see if the measurements were correct, but if the estimates are all within a reasonable variance of each other, the actual measurements or number of sqaures doesn't really matter.

BTW...when I asked the "out of line" guy why he was so much higher than everyone else, his answer was that he had more overhead than many other companies. He even pulled out a picture of a bucket lifter that he said he uses to get the material onto the roof. So tell me, why do I want to pay for the cost of a bucket lifter that makes the job easier for his crew? What do I gain from them have a lifter? When all is said and done, I'll still have the same roof on my house whether they carry the shingles up on their shoulder or lift them up in a bucket. Why would I possibly want to help pay for the lifter?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

As I said/asked in an earlier post:

Why does it matter how many squares the roof is?

The final price is going to be the final price based on not only the size of the roof, but any other work that may need to be done.

If 3 or more contractors give estimates within a reasonable range of each other, adjusted for differences in the actual work they'll do and what materials they will use, what does is matter if the roof is 11 squares, 111 squares or 1.1 squares?

I had 5 estimates and not one of them included the number of squares.

4 of the 5 were within a few of hundred dollars of each other for the tear-off/re-roof portion of the estimate. One was way out of line for other reasons.

Why does the number of squares matter - unless, of course, you are buying your own material?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

DerbyDado3,

I have to admit that I agree with everything you wrote. I probably could have worded things better, but the message that I was trying to communicate to the OP was that it should be fairly easy for him to get a rough answer to his main question which was,

"Is this all possable for under 12k ?"

I went through all of the same things that you mentioned in regard to two different complete tear-off-to-the-rafters roofing jobs that I had done over the last 2 years. The OP should definitely find out about all of the items you mentioned. I did the same for both of the roofs that I had done -- all of it ---> venting, valleys, ice shield, insulation, gutters, etc. etc.

The reason that I asked about finding out the number of "squares" if possible, is just because some people can give a fairly good idea of what the job will typically cost based on that number. In my case, when people asked me how many squares my jobs were, I said that I didn't know and didn't really care. It didn't matter to me because all that I wanted to know was what was going to be done, how it was going to be done, etc. etc. and, of course, what it would cost.

I did run into the "who is going to supervise the job on site?" issue with one of my jobs. For the first roof that I had done, the roofing company owner made a point of saying who the on-site supervisor was going to be, how experienced he was, and that he speaks English. I thought the last part about the English was strange because that wasn't something that would have come to my mind. That job went well.

On the second roof job, the person that I talked with and that I thought was going to be there every day, ended up not being there most of the time. Instead, there was a crew of guys who spoke very little English, and I know very little Spanish. That turned out to be a problem because, as the work was being done, I could see some things that we needed to get clarified about how they planned to go about doing the job. That was a real pain because the guys that I spoke with kept saying "yes" and that they understood what I was saying, but they didn't. In the end, it all worked out okay, but I now know that I would have to have an English speaking person in charge and on site at all times while the work is being done -- so we could communicate with each other over the many details that need to get worked out as the work is being done. After that roof was done, I had the same issue with the gutter company (a different company) because I was dumb enough to not get that part cleared up to be sure an English speaking person would be on site and in charge before the work was under way.

Reply to
TomR

I'm NOT arguing with you but don't you think it's a good idea for future reference? I do.

I also had a new roof put on about 1 year ago. They estimated mine at

40 to 45 squares including the detached garage.
Reply to
Doug

No.

Why?

And what will you do with that information "in the future"?

If your answer is going to be "so I can get a rough estimate" then you'd better also remember how long your ridges are, how many feet of ice and water shield you'll need, the number and length of valleys, etc. or your rough estimate will be so rough it won't be worth the trouble you went through to remember how many squares you'll need.

If I need a new roof 30 years from now, I'll probably just call a few roofers and get an accurate estimate.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Nonsense where I live. If the roofer does enough roofs in the same area, he knows the average $/square to do the job. For my own house, the estimate and the actual quote were close.

Reply to
Doug

e:

So what I think I'm hearing is this...correct me if I'm wrong.

The next time you need a roof, you're going to call around and ask a number of roofers to give you an estimate on "40 - 45 squares".

Then, once you have those numbers, you'll choose one or more to come over and give you an actual quote.

Is that what you mean when you say knowing how many squares is "a good idea for future reference"?

So, you knew the number of squares before hand and got some "remote estimates" before anyone came to the house?

If not, what was the estimate based on?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Google Earth?

Reply to
krw

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

I suggest going to the website roofing.com and join their forum. This site has a huge number of roofing contractors who will give you all the information you could ever need in replacing your roof.

I had 3 estimates from local contractors before visiting this site, and the folks there hit my average estimate within $500 on a $20,000 job. They know what they are talking about, and are extremely helpful.

Reply to
Smarty

I'm not kidding. I've heard that roofing companies are, or were, using GE for estimates. The geometry and difficulty of the job can be seen a long way off. ;-)

Reply to
krw

I never understand why people ask for prices on alt.home.repair????? It all varies according to the location. For all we know the OP may not even live in the USA.

Get a few estimates from local companies, or get 20 estimates. Contact the BBB and consumer protection to get references for reliable companies. Also contact your local building supply companies and find out the cost of materials. They may even help you with the details such as how many nails per square, what kind of flashing, etc. Have them help you get a complete estimate for all the materials.

Once you know that cost of materials, find out what labor costs for roofing per hour, or per square. Cost of labor for a tear off, etc.

No one on alt.home.repair can give you an estimate, particularly not even knowing your location. A roof in Missouri may cost half the price of one in New York. Most of that will be labor costs, since materials are more stable in price across the whole country.

Do your own homework beginning with the materials, then the per hour/square labor costs. Also keep in mind that a 5lb box of nails at your local hardware store may cost $5 more than at one of the big box stores. And buying the same nails in a 50lb box may be $1 or $2 per pound cheaper. Then there's deliver costs, or can you truck the stuff yourself, and how far, how much gas, etc.... All things to consider.

Reply to
tangerine3

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Sure, for a rough estimate based on size/configuration, but you can't see the details that add a hundred here, two hundred there, from outer space.

My final quote went up by a third once we discussed everything that I wanted and/or needed to be done.

There's no way a decent estimate can be given without a face to face discussion - unless you're the type that just says OK and doesn't ask questions so that you truly understand what you are getting for your money.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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