What Goes into a Roofing Quote
What do you need to know when requesting roofing quotes? In this article we help readers determine how contractors configure and price roofing projects. More importantly is how to identify wide swings in contractor pricing.
Building codes define whether owners can resurface a roof and when previous roof systems must be removed (called a tear-off). Regulatory requirements are intended to avoid a roof collapse by assuring the substrate is structurally strong enough to support additional weight.
Current building standards and how structures were constructed twenty to forty years ago play considerable roles. More often, the difference between an overlay and tear-off can be something as simple as the ability to inspect the substrate for deterioration.
This is essential if the roof has a history of leaks, low areas holding moisture and substrates that don’t properly disperse accumulation of water near drainage. Each are considered obvious points of failure for roof leaks but waterproofing that holds moisture internally may leak when it’s a sunny day. If any of these conditions are present its usually advisable to remove the existing roof system and repairs to remediate drainage, repair the substrate and eliminate moisture.
Configurations & Price
At its core, roofing and the expense is configured around warranty terms or the expected serviceable life of the new waterproofing. The lowest qualifying configuration is ten years with the highest at thirty in five year steps. The most used configuration for commercial roofing is twenty years but there are use-cases like data centers and cold storage that merit thirty year configurations.
It’s important to understand that not all material brand configurations and related pricing are equal. Higher quality materials can be laid down with minimum components. However, some brands require insulation to qualify for fifteen and higher warranty terms.
Also, current California regulations suggest any new roof requires insulation to meet energy codes with some exceptions based on building features. Many contractors are leveraging this mandate to promote materials that require insulation to qualify for a manufacturers extended warranty.
Roof insulation has a considerable impact on the expense. If your new roofing is priced without insulation at $200,000, buyers can expect the total cost with insulation to be closer to $300,000 to meet California regulatory requirements and warranty. eScope places insulation in the line items where the expense of optional components can be compared separately, added and removed from the base price for the roof system.
California and brands requiring insulation put property owners and managers at a disadvantage if they don’t understand the market. Not all California municipals require roofers to install insulation. In both cases, it’s important to price this component separately from the base cost of waterproofing.
Additionally, understanding which material brands require insulation to meet certain serviceable life expectations is critical to the bottom line. Brand A with insulation will be always be priced higher than Brand B without and may not offer equivalent performance.
NDL Warranty
A no dollar limit (NDL) warranty isn’t always the savior many believe. An NDL may do more to protect material manufacturers than building owners. First and foremost, an NDL requires annual inspections which can cost $1,500 every year.
Any claim against an NDL also requires the manufacturer to perform an additional inspection starting at $500. NDL language is a legal interpretation of what is covered by exclusion or disclaimers. They also define building owner performance requirements (ie: inspections) which can extend to the legal course that must be followed if a claim escalates.
We’ve seen language that suggest the purchase of an NDL or material warranty property owners give away certain legal rights and remedies. Some documents require arbitration in the manufactures preferred state before making a claim in court. And NDL language may be limited to material failures, only if and when a roof system actually leaks.
As with most single ply systems, we might be able to identify material failures as they manifest. But if the roof isn’t leaking yet, the NDL may not cover these manifestations. If the roof does leak, the manufacturer’s responsibility is often limited to repair of the waterproofing.
Alternatives
As CRS Roof Consultants (CRS) in San Jose, CA states, “the best warranty is one you don’t need”. This means choosing the best material and a quality contractor over the latest innovation or lowest priced configuration. In contrast, high price quotes don’t guarantee quality contractor or the best configuration.
RFQGuides developed eScope for Roofing to help buyers write bid requirements with artificial intelligence (AI). At a fraction of the cost for professional roof consultants, roofing buyers get a digital roof advisor. Basic eScope features include a written bid specification detailed for apples to apples price comparison. Contractor bid submissions are presented side-by-side and in a spreadsheet where the budget can be configured around project and material options.
This assures contractors are pricing the same configuration and performance requirements. Bid rates should be based on a consistent contractor expectation for deliverables. Any notable deviation in contractor bids are highlighted to alert users a contractor may have overlooked important factors.
Bid Rate Deviations
The biggest challenge is identifying contractors who may bid significantly lower to win the project but use change orders to make up the difference. It’s not that unusual said Kevin Cardoza, a technical consultant at CRS. In 2024 we ran a second round of bidding after property management received inconsistent highly confusing quotes from several contractors.
A significant factor was matching qualified contractors. In this case CRS invited four independent (non union) service providers to the bid-walk. All bids were within 4% of each other except one that was six figures lower. An analysis of the bids and project cost determined the lowest bid contractor would require a change order immediately after the project started. The lowest bid contractors’ price could not cover the cost of material.
Skirting high priced change orders paid off for this property owner . . .
eScope for Roofing was developed for property owners and managers who don’t have the time or the $7,500 expense for a roof consultant. And emergence of a new breed of contractors born in the digital age who are very comfortable with computers and technology.
It offers lightweight accountability to assure contractor bids price a quality installation in accordance with best practice and manufacturer’s specifications. And eScope pays for itself by minimizing time and manpower, identifying risks and low ball contractor’s, generating reliable bids and alerting buyers when price comparisons deviate from market standards.
More Info
To assist roofing consumers, RFQGuides publishes several papers with the insights of consultants on performing roof upgrades. In addition, eScope partners can provide remote assistance for a modest $1,000 fee. These independent roof consultants offer professional advice on material selection, SOW review, identifying and matching contractors and decoding the bids. Include them in your project users for help validating budgets around the final system configuration.
