Author Topic: Inexpensive roof?  (Read 4658 times)

notmyhand

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Inexpensive roof?
« on: August 09, 2017, 10:41:12 AM »
Our insurance company came by and sent a letter stating we had two months to replace our roof.  We knew it was near the end of its life but were planning on replacing it in the Spring as I just started a new job that was largely commission so we did not want to deplete our cash until I started making some money.  We got two estimates thus far, both in the range of ~22k for a shingle roof.  The roof is over a 2800 square feet ranch.  I'm in shock that it costs so much!  Any technologies or things we should be asking for to bring the cost down?  I don't want to have to replace it again anytime soon but was hoping 10-15k, not 22k!  We are in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania market if it makes a difference and neither of us have time or knowledge to do it ourselves, plus the insurance company wants a bill from a licensed contractor.  Help?  We only have two months to get it done.

Thanks!

John123

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2017, 10:55:09 AM »
I paid $3.15 a square foot less than a year ago.  This included removing the two existing roof layers.  This was for a straight run townhouse sized roof.  22k is way, way, too high.  Get more estimates.

notmyhand

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2017, 11:22:28 AM »
I paid $3.15 a square foot less than a year ago.  This included removing the two existing roof layers.  This was for a straight run townhouse sized roof.  22k is way, way, too high.  Get more estimates.

Mine is a ranch so it is actually over 2800 square feet, not just 1400 square feet of rood if it were a two story.  When you say you paid $3.15 a square foot are you dividing by your house square foot or roof?  I'm really hoping 22k is too high, just surprised two different companies came to about the same figure!
« Last Edit: August 09, 2017, 03:03:26 PM by notmyhand »

affordablehousing

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2017, 12:46:11 PM »
Not sure if this is an option but my parents just had their roof replaced in the bay area. They were able to get a solar power company to pay for half of the roof as an incentive to get them to use their solar power (I'm sure the company makes it up in the bill). The total cost was $5,200, the solar company paid $3K and this was a 3 story townhouse with a simple pitched roof of about 1000SF. That said, if my parents weren't able to use the multiple house contract rates the power provider negotiated the going cost in their neighborhood is about $12K. $22K, sadly, may be reasonable but perhaps there are some creative ways to pay for it.

GuitarBrian

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2017, 05:07:55 PM »
You need a pretty accurate measurement... Or number of squares (100sf sections). To be able to judge if 22k is high. 2800sf house could have a 40+ square roof.
3 years ago I paid $3,743 for 20 squares of shingles and 650sf of touchdown roll roofing for the porch. This was materials only, I did the labor. This included new drip edge and vents and 3 pieces of ply, etc.
Get yourself some 10% off coupons for Lowe's. You can get them on eBay or other sites. Most Home Depots will not accept them anymore, but they work fine at Lowe's. This is a good tip for anything you buy at Lowe's not just roofing.

Labor should be about equal to the materials cost.

notmyhand

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2017, 03:53:17 PM »
The roof is 46 squares so my estimates are still high correct?

Emg03063

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2017, 04:11:33 PM »
Just thinking outside the box here, if your roof is not in dire need of replacement, maybe replace your insurance company instead?

Sibley

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2017, 06:38:48 PM »
I've never heard of an insurance company demanding that you replace the roof. Is that common in your area?

When you do replace, do it right. I'm having to pay to redo the dormers because 10 years ago, they did the cheaper version that only lasts 10 years. The roof is fine, dormers are not and I've got water damage inside.

SwordGuy

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2017, 06:51:03 PM »
Double-check your insurance company actually insisted on this.

Call them with the contact info on your bill, not on whatever document you received about the roof.


Second, that estimate seems really, really high.

Consider doing it yourself in sections if money is tight. 

YttriumNitrate

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #9 on: August 14, 2017, 08:42:54 AM »
Back in 2009, my insurance company (Progressive) sent me a letter saying that I needed to replace my roof or they were dropping my coverage. Instead of replacing the roof, I just switched insurance companies to State Farm. In hindsight, the first insurance company was right as within about a year the roof started to leak.

Anyways, one thing you might want to consider is getting a quote on a metal roof. The metal roofing material will probably be bit more expensive, but I believe metal can be put over two layers of shingles so you might be able to save the cost of the tear off causing the metal roof to be not that much more than shingle. The real savings with a metal roof come in A) lower insurance premiums because of hail resistance, and B) not having to replace it 15-20 years from now.

When I was replacing my roof seven years ago, I got a couple quotes right in the $6,600 range for putting on shingles with a standard tear off. My roof was 22 squares with a fairly low pitch, so scaling that up to 46 squares and adjusting for inflation over the past seven years that works out to a smidgen over $20,000. The house was in Lafayette, Indiana, so probably comparable to Pittsburgh.

mtn

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2017, 08:49:31 AM »
Back in 2009, my insurance company (Progressive) sent me a letter saying that I needed to replace my roof or they were dropping my coverage. Instead of replacing the roof, I just switched insurance companies to State Farm. In hindsight, the first insurance company was right as within about a year the roof started to leak.

Anyways, one thing you might want to consider is getting a quote on a metal roof. The metal roofing material will probably be bit more expensive, but I believe metal can be put over two layers of shingles so you might be able to save the cost of the tear off causing the metal roof to be not that much more than shingle. The real savings with a metal roof come in A) lower insurance premiums because of hail resistance, and B) not having to replace it 15-20 years from now.

When I was replacing my roof seven years ago, I got a couple quotes right in the $6,600 range for putting on shingles with a standard tear off. My roof was 22 squares with a fairly low pitch, so scaling that up to 46 squares and adjusting for inflation over the past seven years that works out to a smidgen over $20,000. The house was in Lafayette, Indiana, so probably comparable to Pittsburgh.

My cousin, who is a builder and does a LOT of roofs--in Indiana no less, and for a few years in Lafayette--said that the metal roofs are more expensive to buy, but cheaper to install and generally work out to about the same cost of a shingled roof.

No clue if that holds up across the country.

Spork

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2017, 09:01:51 AM »

My cousin, who is a builder and does a LOT of roofs--in Indiana no less, and for a few years in Lafayette--said that the metal roofs are more expensive to buy, but cheaper to install and generally work out to about the same cost of a shingled roof.

No clue if that holds up across the country.

When we built our house in 2011, we quoted both metal and asphalt.  Metal was almost exactly 4x the cost.  We really wanted metal, but... just couldn't stomach putting that much into a roof.  I'm old enough that I will be dead before I put 4 sets of asphalt shingles on.  (And I can probably get by with just one more reshingle before I croak.)

jax8

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #12 on: August 15, 2017, 03:10:20 PM »
Hi! I'm in the Pittsburgh area and I just replaced my roof last year!

I have a 2 story Cape Cod and asked friends and coworkers for roofer recommendations.  I got a quote from a guy for $3,800 but he told me upfront, "I'm not insured."  He worked for a bigger contractor and did roof jobs as a side hustle.  After researching PA state laws, licenses, and insurance, I decided to pay more and go for someone insured!

I used Home Advisor to find a few roof contractors, and I looked up their license #'s on the PA state website to make sure they were insured and up-to-date.  Then I called and asked for quotes.  A couple contractors never showed up.  A couple took one look at the pitch of my roof and said, "No thanks."  After several attempts I had quotes from $6,300 - $11,500 for asphalt singles.

I went with a one man contractor for $6,300 and he did an amazing job.  I would recommend him, but I have no idea if he's in your area.  You can email me if you'd like and I'll pass his info on to you!

10dollarsatatime

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Re: Inexpensive roof?
« Reply #13 on: August 15, 2017, 04:31:32 PM »
Geico threatened to drop me because of my roof right after I bought my house.  The inspector had missed the curling shingles due to snow, so I had to unexpectedly cough up around $3000 for materials to roof around 1000 sq ft.  That was new sheathing, vents, edging and all the necessary junk needed to do a roof.  Thankfully, my brother worked for a roofing company at the time, so I got a discount on the materials (25%? I think?). 

We did all the labor ourselves.  We tore off two layers of asphalt shingles and the 70 year old cedar shingles underneath those. My additional costs were meals and caffeinated beverages for all those as came to help.  (Dad, lots of brothers, and one random contractor who apparently owed my brother a favor.)  Also dump fees for the dozen trailer loads of roof garbage that we had to haul off.

I ended up taking it personally from Geico and dumped them.  LibMu ended up being priced better anyway.