We have a 2550sf 1 story. Roof is 25 years old and we are trying to sell. We recognize that a roof replacement may be required to do so.

What should we expect to spend?

Depends on how steep, what style, and if square footage includes a garage (usually doesn't). I just put a roof on a house to sell last year, 2200sf single story plus 800sf garage plus was pretty steep (maybe a 9). All in was close to 50 squares and cost me $14k. My buyers ended up adding $1500 or so to that to upgrade the shingles to class IV.

FYI - roofers measure roof size in "squares".

Ok. So $15K or so.

Location

maddiedou said:

---

Location

---

Cypress, TX

Maybe you'll get lucky today with hail.

You should have a competent roofer out And get a roof inspection. You may be able to replace that under insurance. I had a guy in a similar situation as you....selling a house...old roof...but I was able to find enough damage and recent significant weather events to claim on insurance. Sure enough, they totaled it. His was 18 years old. Sometimes they cover, sometimes they balk, and sometimes you have to wear them down but his roof was covered for $3,000.

I don't believe that you have a perfect roof after 25 years, possibly, but I doubt it in cypress. In fact I thought there was hail reported just this past year.

BenTheGoodAg said:

---

Depends on how steep, what style, and if square footage includes a garage (usually doesn't). I just put a roof on a house to sell last year, 2200sf single story plus 800sf garage plus was pretty steep (maybe a 9). All in was close to 50 squares and cost me $14k. My buyers ended up adding $1500 or so to that to upgrade the shingles to class IV.

FYI - roofers measure roof size in "squares".

---

I hope that's a typo. 3000sf is 30 squares.

Tried to file a claim and was denied

I pay around $120 a square (100 sf) for a re roof in BCS. Depending on your roof line and pitch, you should be approximately 1.25 more than your slab square footage.

I'm building a new house right now, slab is approx 4500, roof was approx 5600 sf. The roof was mostly 9/12 pitch, with a little 12/12 pitch. The new house was a bit less than a reroof, labor was $23/ square, shingles around $66 per square, plus the nails and ridge vents that I bought. All for dimensional shingles, Owens Corning Estate Gray.

$15,000 is way too high for your house. Say you're 4000 sf with porches and garage (probably a high guess). That's roughly 50 squares ata 1.25 factor increase for overhangs, pitches, waste, etc.. At $130/ square, that's $6500.

I wouldn't spend any more than a three tab if that's what you neighbors have, or you have now, or a dimensional shingle if that's what's around you. If you're leaving, I wouldn't upgrade on the shingle quality.

Try John Hooker, I've used him on a couple houses in Tomball/ Cypress and he did a good job, clean crews. 281. 960. 3367. Is the number I have for him, I believe that's his cell phone.

No, it might have been as low as 45 Square, but the steepness of the roof increases the area of the roof when compared the footprint of the house.

Also, we had a ~200sf portion of patio that was covered, plus the roof overhangs past the edge of the house by 12-18 inches. Those 2 things will add a few square, but by far the major difference is the steepness of the roof.

Google maps makes it easy to measure the flat area of your roof. There are several tools that can take that area, plus your steepness and convert to total square. You might even be able to get a roofer to quote if you know the number of square and steepness.

Gave him a call. Thanks!

toolshed said:

---

I pay around $120 a square (100 sf) for a re roof in BCS. Depending on your roof line and pitch, you should be approximately 1.25 more than your slab square footage.

I'm building a new house right now, slab is approx 4500, roof was approx 5600 sf. The roof was mostly 9/12 pitch, with a little 12/12 pitch. The new house was a bit less than a reroof, labor was $23/ square, shingles around $66 per square, plus the nails and ridge vents that I bought. All for dimensional shingles, Owens Corning Estate Gray.

$15,000 is way too high for your house. Say you're 4000 sf with porches and garage (probably a high guess). That's roughly 50 squares ata 1.25 factor increase for overhangs, pitches, waste, etc.. At $130/ square, that's $6500.

I wouldn't spend any more than a three tab if that's what you neighbors have, or you have now, or a dimensional shingle if that's what's around you. If you're leaving, I wouldn't upgrade on the shingle quality.

Try John Hooker, I've used him on a couple houses in Tomball/ Cypress and he did a good job, clean crews. 281. 960. 3367. Is the number I have for him, I believe that's his cell phone.

---

Your guy quoted me $15.4K

Toolshed, please don't give bad advice to people in a field you are not well versed in.

AgMarauder04, I am not in your region, but BrazosDog02 is. Give him a call, I am sure he will treat you right. If you went forward with a claim without a roofing contractor helping you, then denial percentages are a lot higher.

shalackin said:

---

Toolshed, please don't give bad advice to people in a field you are not well versed in.

AgMarauder04, I am not in your region, but BrazosDog02 is. Give him a call, I am sure he will treat you right. If you went forward with a claim without a roofing contractor helping you, then denial percentages are a lot higher.

---

On second thought, I'll let the insurance hawks make their money on their roof jobs and I'll continue to not overpay for roofing jobs. The guy I recommended, I had used on two jobs per recommendation of someone else in the area as I am in BCS. Sorry he was that high. I didn't pay near that much a square when I hired him.

I'll bow out and let the "pros" make their money.

These are outrageous numbers. Insurance claims use a pricing software that is updated with fair market value for materials and labor monthly. Any roofer worth his nuts has this software and understands the costs of the installation (there's more to it than material and labor). Maybe you found a guy in the Home Depot parking lot that can install a roof at $23/sq and a case of beer, but he's for sure not certified, licensed, or insured. Plus, if you're using fair market value for your material and labor while re-roofing your home through an insurance claim, any money you "save" to pocket for yourself is insurance fraud. For insurance claims, your out of pocket expense is your deductible. Why wouldn't you put on the highest quality roof, with the highest quality materials when it's $2k whether it's the most expensive roofer, or the cheapest? The only person you "save" money by going with the cheapest roofer is your insurance company, an all you've done for yourself is put on a lower quality shingle, installed in a half-ass manner, by someone not insured or licensed.

Not berating you, toolshed, just trying to shed some light and bring the claims process into perspective. For whatever it's worth to you, yes, I am the "expensive roofer." I know what works for a roof system, and I put on the same exact roof systems for my customers that I have on my house, my parents house, etc. Just like anything else, there's a right way to something, and then there's a thousand ways to almost do it right in order to cut a corner, or two, or three in an attempt to save a couple dollars.

jws456 said:

---

These are outrageous numbers. Insurance claims use a pricing software that is updated with fair market value for materials and labor monthly. Any roofer worth his nuts has this software and understands the costs of the installation (there's more to it than material and labor). Maybe you found a guy in the Home Depot parking lot that can install a roof at $23/sq and a case of beer, but he's for sure not certified, licensed, or insured. Plus, if you're using fair market value for your material and labor while re-roofing your home through an insurance claim, any money you "save" to pocket for yourself is insurance fraud. For insurance claims, your out of pocket expense is your deductible. Why wouldn't you put on the highest quality roof, with the highest quality materials when it's $2k whether it's the most expensive roofer, or the cheapest? The only person you "save" money by going with the cheapest roofer is your insurance company, an all you've done for yourself is put on a lower quality shingle, installed in a half-ass manner, by someone not insured or licensed.

Not berating you, toolshed, just trying to shed some light and bring the claims process into perspective. For whatever it's worth to you, yes, I am the "expensive roofer." I know what works for a roof system, and I put on the same exact roof systems for my customers that I have on my house, my parents house, etc. Just like anything else, there's a right way to something, and then there's a thousand ways to almost do it right in order to cut a corner, or two, or three in an attempt to save a couple dollars.

---

I believe the OP said insurance was not covering his 25 year old roof .

None of what you said about me is true, but that's fine. I readily admit a new house roof is cheaper than a re roof. I have never hired someone from Home Depot as you claim. We use certified quality installers. I am not the cheapest builder around either. We don't cut corners to save money and keep the saving for myself. I'd rather spend more to do it right than cut a corner and pay more in the long run with call backs or quality issues.

My issue is that roofing companies know what insurance will pay, and they bill up to it as tight as possible, knowing their inputs aren't near that amount. There's no way I can roof a new house, nearly 60 squares (granted that the Tyvec Protec underlayment was installed when we framed the house) for less than $6,000, including shingles, 100+ ft of ridge vents, nails, drip edge, etc.. and by y'alls numbers the same roof should be $16-17,000. Even with a markup for a roofing companies profit and overhead, that's would be a ridiculous mark up.

I'm the only one giving real numbers. Everyone saying I'm crazy and don't know what I'm talking about has yet to give real numbers for a real roof. I'll leave it at that.

toolshed said:

---

shalackin said:

---

Toolshed, please don't give bad advice to people in a field you are not well versed in.

AgMarauder04, I am not in your region, but BrazosDog02 is. Give him a call, I am sure he will treat you right. If you went forward with a claim without a roofing contractor helping you, then denial percentages are a lot higher.

---

On second thought, I'll let the insurance hawks make their money on their roof jobs and I'll continue to not overpay for roofing jobs. The guy I recommended, I had used on two jobs per recommendation of someone else in the area as I am in BCS. Sorry he was that high. I didn't pay near that much a square when I hired him.

I'll bow out and let the "pros" make their money.

---

$120 a square sounds extremely low to me based on what my cost is. Is this including replacing all fireplace flashings, jacks, and drip edge ?

If you can really get to done that cheap then why not send your crew an hour away to cypress and do his roof ?

Seems like a win to both you and the op

If you are basing your numbers on new construction, then again, you are giving bad advice. We do new construction, retail reroofing and insurance reroofing.

The least expensive expensive shingle on the market right now that is even close to usable is around $65/sq. Cheapest reroofing laborers worth using are going to be $60/sq for a low pitch. So you are at 125 before adding underlayment, starter, ridge, nails, vents, pipe boots, ice/water shield, step flashing, roll metal, and any kind of profit to warranty the job and make sure it is done correctly.

Insurance is a different discussion. Why shouldn't they pay the most possible to ensure the client gets the best possible roof replacement? And if you knew what we as a roofing company had to deal with on insurance claims and adjusters, you would probably be thinking we deserve double that amount. But it doesn't matter, it isn't your money or the clients.

And of course the real question is.... why race to the bottom on price on one of the most important features on your home? If you only knew the damage we see based on cheap roofing, you would think differently.

And for reference, we are also custom home builders. We built around 43 customs and specs last year. So I fully understand both sides of this discussion.

shalackin said:

---

Why shouldn't they pay the most possible to ensure the client gets the best possible roof replacement?

---

Who is "they"?

do you have to replace it before selling?

Seems like it'd be easier to sell it as is and let that be a negotiating point if it comes up.

DadAG10 said:

---

shalackin said:

---

Why shouldn't they pay the most possible to ensure the client gets the best possible roof replacement?

---

Who is "they"?

---

Insurance Carrier. They should be paying more than retail. There is more involved to work an insurance claim.

shalackin said:

---

DadAG10 said:

---

shalackin said:

---

Why shouldn't they pay the most possible to ensure the client gets the best possible roof replacement?

---

Who is "they"?

---

Insurance Carrier. They should be paying more than retail. There is more involved to work an insurance claim.

---

Seems to me they should pay market value.

Rexter said:

---

BenTheGoodAg said:

---

Depends on how steep, what style, and if square footage includes a garage (usually doesn't). I just put a roof on a house to sell last year, 2200sf single story plus 800sf garage plus was pretty steep (maybe a 9). All in was close to 50 squares and cost me $14k. My buyers ended up adding $1500 or so to that to upgrade the shingles to class IV.

FYI - roofers measure roof size in "squares".

---

I hope that's a typo. 3000sf is 30 squares.

---

3000sf at a 9:12 pitch plus 15% waste factor= about 45 squares. Plus probably 4 squares of 3 tab for starter and hip & ridge... could be close to 50 squares all in all. Sounds about right.

this.

offer a concession instead

Vernada said:

---

do you have to replace it before selling?

Seems like it'd be easier to sell it as is and let that be a negotiating point if it comes up.

---

Man, I forgot about this thread. It WILL come up during and inspection. Roofing is one of those home buying things that is almost a default fix...sometimes even if its in great shape. As for insurance, I've had insurance companies send 3 different adjusters out if that's what it takes to get it paid for. I leave that up to homeowners. I'll come out as many times as I have to as long as the customer want to keep trying to spend 3k (depending on deductible) on their roof instead of 18k. most are happy to keep trying. The catch on old roofing is that you need legitimate damage...hail damage, creases, missing shingles, and you need enough of it....insurance is not going to cover it just because it's old. It also completely depends on which adjuster you get.

I had an independent adjuster this Tuesday tell me " I would never normally buy this roof, but he has a low deductible, and you are going to argue a full roof anyway. I get paid for buying roofs. So if you'll promise not to put on a crappy shingle like he has I'll just push this through". Never had this happen before, but like I said. It depends on the adjuster.

have personally communicated with Shalackin and JP76 in the past and I know their advice and experience to be solid, for what it is worth.

AgMarauder, you said insurance came out and inspected and then denied, did they send you any documentation on your roof size? Sometimes my denials still come with a full Eagleview.

DadAG10 said:

---

shalackin said:

---

DadAG10 said:

---

shalackin said:

---

Why shouldn't they pay the most possible to ensure the client gets the best possible roof replacement?

---

Who is "they"?

---

Insurance Carrier. They should be paying more than retail. There is more involved to work an insurance claim.

---

Seems to me they should pay market value.

---

Define "market value". Every business is different, has different overhead, different profit margins. And here is the other part. We spend an infinite amount more time on insurance claims dealing with insurance companies, who underpay 100% of the time without fail. So "market value" of a retail claim is very different than insurance, just merely due to the resources it takes to complete the job.

For example, I have one claim where the insurance company owed us $50,000 for over 1.5 years. They drug out an appraisal to two years. We completed the work to help the client, and just waited. We have another one that I have spent 2 years of time on that will settle shortly for about 4 or 5 times the original estimate (extra money is going to lawyers, PA's, engindeers, etc, not me). Every time I have to do something on a job, takes time. And our time is worth something. People seem to think different a lot of times.

Of course it will come up during an inspection. But that doesn't mean it has to get fixed by the current owner.

Correct.

My comment was more from a Real Estate standpoint in case anyone was thinking that their Realtor will somehow forget or overlook a roof. It is a hot item and an easy low hanging fruit to pick at and every Realtor plus their dog is an an "expert" in roofing.

shalackin said:

---

DadAG10 said:

---

Seems to me they should pay market value.

---

Every business is different, has different overhead, different profit margins.

So because your overhead and profit margins are higher than some of your competitors, you feel you should be paid more?


And here is the other part. We spend an infinite amount more time on insurance claims dealing with insurance companies, who underpay 100% of the time without fail. So "market value" of a retail claim is very different than insurance, just merely due to the resources it takes to complete the job.

"If" insurance underpays 100% of the time, how come there are so many roofers willing to take the job, waive the deductible, and accept the insurance proceeds?

---

Hello! Pricing can vary depending on pitch, layout, etc. The $15k estimated above is likely much higher than what the cost would end up being for your roof. My company, Envision Renovations, has a roofing division that has done quite a few roof replacements for TexAgs users and we would be happy to meet with you to provide a free estimate. Please give us a call at 713-425-3799. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks, Vince Grainger, Class of '08.

Vernada said:

---

Of course it will come up during an inspection. But that doesn't mean it has to get fixed by the current owner.

---

Some lenders will require it. I believe a FHA loan will.
Also you will limit your potential buyers who want a move in ready purchase. Say it's a 250k house and needs a $9,000 roof. Most buyers would rather finance the extra $9,000 into the loan instead of pony up 3.5. - 20% down and an additional $9,000.

"If insurance underpays 100% of the time, how come there are so many roofers willing to take the job, waive the deductible, and accept the insurance proceeds?"


If a person is willing to commit insurance fraud and screw the insurance company, what do you think they will do to your roof given the opportunity once you become a partner in crime with them ?



20 years ago homeowners claims used to be different. You had hail damage, your insurance estimate was $10,000 and your deductible was $2,000. Insurance cut you 1 check for $8,000 and if you chose to purchase a $8,000 job instead of a $10,000 job then there was no issue and no insurance fraud committed.

The problem was people were pocketing the money instead of fixing the roof. Then leaks were causing mold issues and customers tried to make additional mold claims down the road caused by failure to replace the roof. So insurance switched to a depreciation model to try to force the customer to complete the replacement instead of pocketing the money. So now when you have a $10,000 roof claim, and your deductible is $2,000. You get a check up front for $4,000 and then once you get the roof replaced and send in proof that you paid for a $10,000 roof they will release the other $4,000. The issues arises when an unethical roofer waives your deductible, they are doing so by submitting a fraudulent invoice to the insirance showing that you paid $10,000 when you really only paid them $8,000.



I've done 5 insurance hail claim related roofs in the past year and each claim took much more time and paperwork then a non insurance claim job. Some of the adjusters are cool and some are difficult. Most will lowball the original claim and that is where an experienced contractor comes into play because they will work for you because the adjuster's loyalty is to their company and not you. I've had adjusters try to pay $1,500 on a claim that my lowest replacement alone cost was nearly triple that. Some such as farmers insurance will try to get by not paying for new drip edge and flashings on a reroof.

@DadAg10

So because your overhead and profit margins are higher than some of your competitors, you feel you should be paid more?

It is about the policy. The policy states that clients have the right to choose the contractor they wish to do the work. And we, as the contractor, have the right to charge what feel is right for us. Technically, when insurance companies try to force pricing on contractors, it is called price fixing, which is a felony.



And here is the other part. We spend an infinite amount more time on insurance claims dealing with insurance companies, who underpay 100% of the time without fail. So "market value" of a retail claim is very different than insurance, just merely due to the resources it takes to complete the job.

"If" insurance underpays 100% of the time, how come there are so many roofers willing to take the job, waive the deductible, and accept the insurance proceeds?

Typically, those aren't reliable contractors and certainly not companies. So while that exists in the industry, usually they are unlicensed, uninsured, and do not warranty things well. There are times when these type can do a good job, and one can certainly make a living doing it for themselves if they wish. But as a company, you would go out of business with that model.