Before you sign
Why Two Roof Quotes Differ, and Where to Look
Two quotes for the same roof can be a long way apart and both look complete. The difference is almost never the covering.
Tell us the age of the roof and whether anything is actually leaking. Those two answers decide what conversation we are having.
The four questions that explain most of the gap
Ask both contractors all four. The answers are usually where the money went.
- Is the deck being re-nailed, and to what fastening schedule?
- What underlayment is specified — by product name, not by category?
- Is a secondary water barrier included or excluded?
- What deck replacement is allowed for, and at what rate beyond it?
Then ask about the edges
Uplift concentrates at perimeters and corners, and water gets in at penetrations and flashings. The open field of the roof is the part least likely to fail and the part quotes describe most.
- How is the perimeter being fastened?
- What is happening to the edge metal?
- Is every flashing being rebuilt, or resealed over?
What a low number can mean
Sometimes it means a leaner operation and it is a genuinely better price. Sometimes it means the deck rate is missing, the flashings are being resealed, and the difference will appear later as a change order.
The four questions above tell you which one you are looking at, and any contractor working properly will answer them without hesitating.
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.