How to quote a roofing job

A roofing quote wins when the owner can see how you measured, what comes off and goes on, and what the price does if the decking underneath is bad.

Measure and scope the roof

Quote from measurements: roof area in squares, pitch, and layers coming off. List what goes on, from underlayment and drip edge to flashing, vents and ridge cap, with the shingle’s brand, line and color. Decking you can’t see is the big unknown, so quote a price per sheet and an estimated count. Say who pulls the permit, how debris leaves the site, and whether gutters, skylights and siding are in or out.

Laying new shingles over old ones isn’t always allowed. Wisconsin’s dwelling code, for the dwellings it covers, bars a new roof covering over an existing one where the existing roof or covering is water-soaked or so deteriorated that it’s inadequate as a base, where the existing roof is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile, or where it already has two or more applications of any permanent roof covering (Wis. Admin. Code SPS 321.28(6)).

How roofing is priced

Charge	Priced as	What the quote shows
Installation	Per square	Squares, pitch and stories
Tear-off	Per square, per layer	Layers expected
Decking	Per sheet	Unit price and estimated count
Flashing and drip edge	Per linear foot	Where it goes
Shingles and underlayment	Per square	Brand, line and color
Disposal	Per job	Dumpster or haul-away
Permit	The fee	Who pulls it

Upgrades as options

Put upgrades beside the base price as optional items: a heavier shingle line, added ridge venting, ice barrier past the eaves, new gutters or a longer workmanship warranty. Each carries its own price and stays out of the total until the owner picks it.

Valid-until date

Give the quote an expiry date. Material prices and crew schedules shift, and an old price accepted late can wipe out the margin.

Deposits within state limits

Say what’s due at signing and what it pays for, such as special-order materials. The FTC warns homeowners against paying the full amount up front and says some states limit down payments (FTC). Examples:

• New York: a roofing contractor may not require the owner to provide a deposit for the work and materials, nor insist on a particular form of payment before starting. Its written contract, which must meet §771, also names its insurer, the type of coverage the section requires and the policy limits (GBL §771-b).
• Massachusetts: for residential contracting over $1,000 on a pre-existing, owner-occupied building of one to four units (c.142A §1), an up-front deposit may not exceed one-third of the total price or, if greater, the actual cost of special-order or custom-made materials or equipment ordered early to keep the schedule (c.142A §2).
• Florida: taking more than 10 percent of the contract price as initial payment for repair, restoration, improvement or construction to residential real property breaks no cap, but it obliges the contractor to apply for permits within 30 days of the payment, unless the work needs none, and to start within 90 days of their issue, unless it has just cause or the payer agreed in writing to longer (Fla. Stat. §489.126).

When an insurance claim pays for the roof

Some states add rules to the sale and the contract when a property insurance claim will pay. For example:

• Texas: a contract for goods or services reasonably expected to be paid wholly or partly from the proceeds of a claim under a property insurance policy, with a contract price of $1,000 or more, must contain this notice in at least 12-point bold type: “Texas law requires a person insured under a property insurance policy to pay any deductible applicable to a claim made under the policy. It is a violation of Texas law for a seller of goods or services who reasonably expects to be paid wholly or partly from the proceeds of a property insurance claim to knowingly allow the insured person to fail to pay, or assist the insured person’s failure to pay, the applicable insurance deductible.” (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §27.02) The Texas Department of Insurance adds that a roofer or contractor doing the work may not act as a public insurance adjuster on the claim, or advertise that it would (TDI).
• Florida: a contract with a residential property owner to repair or replace a roof must include a notice that the contractor may not offer the rebates, gifts, deductible waivers or other things of value the statute bans in exchange for a roof inspection or a roof claim; without it, the owner may void the contract within 10 days after signing. It also carries the statute’s insurance-coverage statement in bold of at least 14 points on the owner’s signature page. If the contract is signed within 180 days of events behind a Governor’s state-of-emergency declaration and the home is in the declared area, the owner gets a further right to cancel, and a contract signed during the declaration must carry a 14-point cancellation statement just before the owner’s signature. On any insurance-paid work, an agreement authorizing repairs needs a good-faith itemized estimate of the cost of services and materials. Take every notice’s wording from the statute (Fla. Stat. §489.147).
• Minnesota: an insured with a written contract with a residential roofer, or with a residential building contractor or remodeler providing roofing services, to be paid from property or casualty insurance proceeds may cancel within 72 hours after the insurer notifies them the claim has been denied. The contractor must give the insured the statute’s statement of that right in bold type of at least 10 points and a completed Notice of Cancellation form in duplicate, attached and easy to detach (Minn. Stat. §326B.811).
• New York: when a property and casualty policy is to pay for the roofing contract, the owner may cancel before midnight of the third business day after receiving the insurer’s written notice that any part of the claim or contract isn’t a covered loss, unless the owner initiated contact for a bona fide emergency and waived the right in a handwritten statement, as the section describes. A roofing contractor may not advertise or promise to pay or rebate any part of a deductible, or report, adjust or negotiate the claim for the owner (GBL §771-b).

Signing at the owner’s home

Have the owner sign and date the quote with the options they picked. If you make the sale in person and the owner agrees at home, even when the owner invited you, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule can reach a consumer purchase of $25 or more unless an exclusion fits. It lets the owner cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale, sets what you must say and hand over at signing, including its cancellation statement in bold of 10 points or more beside the signature and a Notice of Cancellation form in duplicate, and requires a full refund within 10 business days of receiving a cancellation notice (16 CFR 429).

Three mistakes that lose the job or the margin

1. Guessing the layers. Quote one layer, find two, and the second tear-off comes out of your margin unless the quote priced tear-off per layer.
2. Leaving decking open-ended. “Decking as needed” with no sheet price turns rot under the old roof into an argument instead of a line.
3. Promising help with the claim. Offers to negotiate with the insurer or absorb the deductible are what the Texas, Florida and New York rules above restrict.