How much for a new roof?

[walthermitty]

Hey!  I need a little help.  I've been looking online for roofing cost, but the numbers are all over the place.  How much should a roof cost on a ranch house in Rutherford County?  3$/sq ft is one estimate that I have seen.  I've also seen $250 to $350 per square (100sq ft.)

It would be great, also, if someone knows a formula for roofing sq footage based on a 6:12 pitch.  The best figure I could extrapolate from an example on the net is a factor of around 1.3.

Thanks for your kind assistance.

[10-Ring]

I recently had a repair done.  Had 3 estimates ranging from $300 to $1500.  The $1500 estimate included fixing some other issues as well.  A friend wound up doing the work coming in under the other two.  Other than him, the next lowest big was Estes Roofing.  Their guy was eat enough to deal with and I thought the pricing was fair.  Don't know about pricing but quality wise, W.C. Louis Roofing (615-446-8076) out of Dickson does good work.  He's the only roofer I know of in middle Tennessee who uses American labor.  They also don't use nail guns, they hammer everything.  Not sure on the benefit of that, but they do it the old way for sure.

[Navy Chief]

WA, an easy calculation if you don't want to climb around on the roof is ... "Pitch Multiplier for a 6:12 roof is 1.34 x width of the roof (from front facia to rear facia across the bottom chord) x length. Those measurments can be taken from the ground (or off a small ladder) then divide by 100 if you want the number of squares.

Have you given thought to a metal roof? I had my house steel roofed by a Menonite Roofing Contractor from the Muddy Pond Community and the cost was almost exactly the same as a 20 year shingle roof (which, in reality only lasts 10 years).  If you plan on staying in the home for many years it pays for itself from a "don't worry about roof leaks" standpoint!

Edited October 16, 2018 by Navy Chief
Typo

[Grayfox54]

Roofing ain't cheap! But the actual cost depends a lot on the amount of damage, if wood needs replacing and if there is interior ceiling damage. Back in April I had to replace the roof on my 3 bed room 1600 sq ft house. In my case it was the result of damage from multiple storms over a period of several years until it finally started leaking into the house. The inspectors and the contractor found damage and some minor leakage that I didn't even know I had. It was much worse than I thought it was. The end result was a whole new roof, a fair bit of wood replacement and ceiling painting/repair in 4 rooms. 

Total costs ran about $6200. Insurance covered a good bit of it and I was out of pocket for about $1600. 

BTW: a good roofing contractor is worth their weight in gold. They are pros at handling insurance companies and the paperwork. Mine saved me a bunch of headaches.  

[peejman]

My shingle roof was replaced due to storm damage about 5 years ago. $11k for a 2000 sqft house with high quality shingles. Powder coated metal roofing was north of $20k. 

 

[E4 No More]

53 minutes ago, peejman said:

My shingle roof was replaced due to storm damage about 5 years ago. $11k for a 2000 sqft house with high quality shingles. Powder coated metal roofing was north of $20k. 

 

That's about the same for me. I got shingles rated to 75 MPH.

[eRay]

1 hour ago, peejman said:

My shingle roof was replaced due to storm damage about 5 years ago. $11k for a 2000 sqft house with high quality shingles. Powder coated metal roofing was north of $20k. 

 

This is probably in the ballpark. I built a new 2000 sq ft house with a 10/12 pitch and dimensional shingles. It ran right at $8,000. It was a steep roof to work on but they had no old shingles to take off. Around here you can figure $60 to $75 per square to put the shingles on plus the cost of materials and the cost to remove the old one.

 

[walthermitty]

$11k for a 2,000 sq' house seems to be about $350 per square?  If you multiply 2000x1.34(pitch) and add 10% for overhang and fudge factor, you wind up with aprrox. 2948 sq' of roofing (disregarding length or width.)  2948x$350=$10,318.00  That gives a premium for the more professional contractor.  Sounds right to me.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2018 by walthermitty

[walthermitty]

9 hours ago, Navy Chief said:

WA, an easy calculation if you don't want to climb around on the roof is ... "Pitch Multiplier for a 6:12 roof is 1.34 x width of the roof (from front facia to rear facia across the bottom chord) x length. Those measurments can be taken from the ground (or off a small ladder) then divide by 100 if you want the number of squares.

Have you given thought to a metal roof? I had my house steel roofed by a Menonite Roofing Contractor from the Muddy Pond Community and the cost was almost exactly the same as a 20 year shingle roof (which, in reality only lasts 10 years).  If you plan on staying in the home for many years it pays for itself from a "don't worry about roof leaks" standpoint!

Thanks for the Pitch multiplier, Navy Chief.  I knew I was close.  I did consider a metal roof, but the number I got was twice that of even architectural shingles.  You are very correct about the worry part.  All the big shingle manufacturers have had lawsuits over their products, and warranty.  Turns out this is MUCH more difficult than the HVAC purchase.  BTW, my 20 yr shingles have held up well for 18 yrs, but I'm trying to replace them before I have a leak or other problem.

Edited October 16, 2018 by walthermitty

[Garufa]

Assuming you are paying for it yourself I would have several roofers come out and give you estimates.  Tell them up front thereis no insurance money involved and I bet you’ll see the price go way down.  Get a list of the supplies needed and buy them yourself from Home Depot or wherever and pay them to install it.

Edited October 16, 2018 by Garufa

[walthermitty]

Thanks, Garufa.  I did tell each of the 5 (so far) contractors that it was a non-insurance replacement.  Your idea of buying the materials is a good one that I have tried on other things.  But, usually, the vendor makes some $$ on mark up, and they ding you on all the other crap to make up the difference; plus they get perks from their vendors that they don't want to forfeit.  Often, any warranty is void, without the contractor making the purchase.  So, it winds up a wash.

[walthermitty]

8 hours ago, Grayfox54 said:

Roofing ain't cheap! But the actual cost depends a lot on the amount of damage, if wood needs replacing and if there is interior ceiling damage. Back in April I had to replace the roof on my 3 bed room 1600 sq ft house. In my case it was the result of damage from multiple storms over a period of several years until it finally started leaking into the house. The inspectors and the contractor found damage and some minor leakage that I didn't even know I had. It was much worse than I thought it was. The end result was a whole new roof, a fair bit of wood replacement and ceiling painting/repair in 4 rooms. 

Total costs ran about $6200. Insurance covered a good bit of it and I was out of pocket for about $1600. 

BTW: a good roofing contractor is worth their weight in gold. They are pros at handling insurance companies and the paperwork. Mine saved me a bunch of headaches.  

Seems you got a reasonable deal.  This is where having an insurance adjuster pays off.  They can strong arm contractors.

Edited October 16, 2018 by walthermitty

[Grayfox54]

Actually it was the other way around. Insurance adjuster tried to screw me, the contractor saved my butt. 

Edited October 17, 2018 by Grayfox54