Roofing Estimates

We obtained three estimates for a new roof, which ranged from $9,000 to $12,000. This is for a 2-story 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home that's about 2300 square feet. We chose a company referred by a contractor friend and met to discuss roof details

As with many home improvement projects, the choices in style, color and durability can be overwhelming. As far as the roof's appearance was concerned, one of the most helpful things we did was literally go for a walk around our neighborhood with the roofing contractor, looking at the roofs on other homes. As we went, the contractor named the brand, style and color of virtually every roof we saw so we could get a sense of what we liked and try to envision it on our house. He also pointed out several homes where his company had actually done the roofing work (neighbors we talked to later to see if they were happy with the job the contractor had done - they were). We were impressed with his knowledge and reassured that he really knew his stuff.

The contractor also left samples of roof shingles in different patterns and colors so we could have a few days to see which ones we liked for our home. Each home's style and paint color will help dictate the kind of roof that will look best. You wouldn't put a Spanish-style red tile roof on a modern bungalow, for example. We valued our contractor's advice in this regard as well, since he has installed literally hundreds of roofs and is a valuable source of information on what styles look best.

We also learned from our contractor that warranties in the roofing industry are actually inflated by about ten years. For example, a "30-year warranty" in the roofing industry realistically means the roof will last about 20 years. A "40-year warranty" means a roof life of about 30 years. We had originally planned to go with a 30-year warranty, but for only about $1,000 more, we purchased the 40-year roof. We figured an additional 10-year guarantee was worth the $100/year added expense.

We put down a deposit of 10% and secured a date for the work to begin.

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