Cost is the biggest pain point for most homeowners needing a new roof. It’s a bigger pain when you can’t find an easy answer or an answer at all for pricing in the roofing industry.
Unfortunately, estimating a roof’s exact cost isn’t as easy as pushing a few buttons. But that doesn’t mean you can’t push some buttons and get a somewhat realistic estimate.
For over 30 years, we here at Bill Ragan Roofing have prided ourselves on providing transparent information to every homeowner, whether they’re a customer or not. Because of this, we created our very own Roof Cost Calculator.
In this article, you’ll find:
- The Roof Cost Calculator
- 3 steps to use the Roof Cost Calculator
- What actually factors into the prices in the Roof Cost Calculator?
The Roof Cost Calculator
The number you get from this calculator will not be an exact cost for your roof replacement. However, it does give you a good idea of what to expect from a financial standpoint based on the roofing material, your roof style, and the size.
The only way to get a 100% accurate quote is to contact a local roofing company for an inspection.
3 steps to use the Roof Cost Calculator
The roof cost calculator is pretty straightforward. However, that doesn’t mean some might need a little tutorial.
Let’s do a quick overview of how to use the cost calculator.
1. Choose the roofing material
The first thing you’ll need to do is choose the roofing material you’re interested in. The roofing material you choose has the biggest impact on the price of your new roof.
The roof cost calculator provides pricing on the most common residential roofing materials:
- Architectural asphalt shingles
- Steel standing seam metal
- Synthetic shingles
- Cedar shake shingles
Just know that the price you get is for an entire roof replacement, not just the roofing materials themselves.
2. Know your roof’s style
After choosing your roofing material, the next step is to choose your roof’s style. A roof’s style affects most of the factors that impact the cost of a new roof.
The roof cost calculator has 3 roof style options that should match any home around the country. If you’re unsure what kind of roof style you have, go outside, look at your roof, and choose the one that’s closest in appearance.
3. Calculate your roof’s square footage
After roof style, the last step is to enter your roof’s your roof’s square footage. Unfortunately, you won’t get an accurate number if you use your home’s square footage.
Instead, you need to determine your home’s footprint to get a rough measurement of your roof’s square footage. To figure out your home’s footprint, you can step off (or use a measuring tape) the dimensions of your roof by counting the steps you take to get the length and width of your home.
(Use the video above to see a visual demonstration)
After stepping off the length and width of your home, you’ll multiply the two numbers to get your home’s footprint (length x width = your home's footprint). I know it may be a little frustrating to do this, but it’s the only way to make the cost estimates as realistic as possible.
After plugging in the square footage, hit “next, and get your estimated roof replacement cost.
What actually factors into the prices in the roof cost calculator?
After using the calculator, you might have some sticker shock. However, it might help to understand the cost factors that impact the price from the calculator and a roofing contractor.
The labor costs for the entire roof replacement project
Labor and time are the two main factors a roofing contractor considers when writing up an estimate. From tearing off your old roof to cleaning up your property after the job, anything that requires manpower and time has a labor cost associated with it.
Unfortunately, there’s not a uniform cost number because labor costs vary by contractor. However, the more time spent on your roof and property, the higher the labor costs.
The rest of the roof system’s components
As I said, the roofing material you choose has a huge impact on the price of your new roof. However, there are other components that come together to form a complete roof system.
Including the roofing material you choose, the components you’ll pay for when getting a new roof are:
- Roof decking (replaced as needed)
- Roof flashing
- Underlayment
- Drip edge
- Ice and water shield
- Ridge capping
- Roof vents
- Pipe boots
I guarantee you’ll have costly problems down the road if even one of these components is improperly installed or left off. Just know that the prices for these materials fluctuate and are getting more expensive right now.
The roof’s accessibility
The roofing contractor needs a clear access point for every part of the job. The harder your roof is to access, the more time it takes to complete the replacement.
This time adds up and increases labor costs because the roofers have to work around obstacles, which slows down the job. So, if your home has rows of shrubbery, a fence, and a driveway that isn’t close to the access point, it’ll add to the labor costs of your roof replacement.
The complexity of the roof
Obviously, the size of a roof is a big cost factor, but size also plays into complexity. Roof complexity is how many facets, hips, valleys, number of stories, penetrations, and the roof’s pitch (steepness).
A complex roof means a more difficult installation, which takes longer. If your home is two stories or more, the installers also have to take precautions to ensure they move around safely.
The more complex the roof determines how much this added time and extra labor increases the price.
Dump fees for getting rid of your old asphalt shingle roof and other debris
The tear-off portion of the roof replacement process has a lot of debris coming off your roof. To control this debris, a reputable roofing contractor will have a trailer or truck that’ll be loaded up and taken to a dump of the contractor’s choice.
Unfortunately, these dumpsites charge hefty fees. Because of this, the dump fees and labor costs of the employee(s) always impact the cost of your new roof.
The operating costs of the roofing contractor
Every roofing contractor has expenses that have to be paid to operate the business. These operating costs are always factored into the pricing for any roof work you get done.
Below are some of the common operating costs a roofing contractor has:
- Rent/mortgage and utilities
- Shop and truck yard
- Advertising and promotions
- Vehicles (fuel and insurance)
- General liability insurance
- Workers compensation insurance
- Licenses and bonds
- Training
- Payroll and payroll taxes
- Taxes (Federal and local government)
Whether a roofing company does a simple repair or replaces 10 roofs, operating costs have to be paid every day.
What else do you need to know about replacing your roof?
After using our roof cost calculator, you now have an idea of how much your new roof will cost. But there’s much more to learn about getting a new roof, especially if you’ve never been through the process before.
So, before jumping into your new roof project, it’s a good idea to become as knowledgeable as possible. Unfortunately, it’s hard to answer every possible question in one or two articles.
However, our Learning Center has all the information you need about getting a new roof.
Check out our Roofing Education Learning Center to get honest and transparent answers to your biggest roofing questions.
And if you’re local to Nashville or a surrounding Middle Tennessee area, don’t hesitate to Contact Us for your roof replacement project today.
