The burning question: how much does a roof replacement cost? While there’s not a direct answer to this, we can give some insights into the average roof cost depending on the size of your home and how to quickly calculate what it’ll be around.
Roofing prices change based on how many squares your roof has, (more information on what a square is in a sec) the type of shingles you choose and the accessories on your home’s roof.
What is a Roofing Square?
Roof surfaces are measured by squares that equal 100 square feet of the roof. To determine the roofing squares your roof would require simply take the square footage, let’s say 2100 square feet, and divide it by 100. So a 2100 sq ft roof would equate to about 21 squares. And if you’re asking how to figure out the square footage of your roof, take the length of your home multiplied by the width. A lot easier said than done, but there’s a fantastic online calculator you could use to get a baseline estimate. Keep in mind, if you have a 2+-story home, your home’s square footage may not add up to your roof’s square footage.
Now that we have all that figured out, we need to determine how many bundles of shingles we’ll need to complete your home. It’s a pretty simple process, 3 bundles = 1 square so for our 2100 sq ft home we’d multiply our 21 squares by 3 and voilà, 63 bundles.
Great! So…
How much is a new roof?
Well, now let’s look at shingle types and prices.
Owens Corning: Oakridge vs Duration
Owens Corning Oakridge vs Duration
This is personal preference, but both these shingles have limited lifetime warranties, algae protection, and the TruDefinition Color Platform.
The main differences include wind resistance, Oakridge meets 110 mph resistance standards and Duration can withstand 130 mph winds, and Surenail Technology which features a unique “triple layer” of reinforcement where the fabric overlays two shingle layers and up to a 200% wider common bond area in the nailing zone over standard shingles (contractors will love you for choosing this)
The Price
Oakridge is cheaper than Duration shingles. These prices can always change at the discretion of Owens Corning but it’s worth noting that Duration is a bit more expensive. If we take our 21 square example, we’re looking at maybe a couple of hundred dollar difference in price.
While saving $$ is nice, I can’t stress enough the benefits of Duration over Oakridge. The peace of mind knowing your roof is stronger and more durable over the next 30 years, is priceless. It’s easy to think a roofing contractor is just upselling you on products, but Pro Roofers will always suggest what is best for the homeowner in the long run because over our 15 years in business we’ve seen the difference between a homeowner looking for the cheapest price possible and a homeowner who chooses to invest in the necessary upgrades.
The Accessories
This is a long list that could go on indefinitely, so we’ll try to keep it moderately short.
Underlayment is a water-resistant or waterproof barrier installed directly onto your roof’s decking. Think of it as added protection from mother nature; wind, snow, and ice. Asphalt-saturated felt was pretty popular back in the day. Commonly referred to as felt paper or tar paper, it’s composed of bitumen or asphalt, polyester, and cellulose. Most roofers now will typically suggest Non-bitumen synthetic underlayment. The basemat (flexible base layer) is saturated in asphalt and adds fiberglass which gives it superior tear resistance and stability. If you’re looking for waterproof underlayment, Rubberized asphalt is your go-to. It contains higher percentages of asphalt and rubber polymers which makes it waterproof.
Price
Asphalt-Saturated Felt: $.05 – $.10 per sq ft. $105 – $210 for our example home.
Synthetic Underlayment:
Pipe boots/vents
These are installed to waterproof your plumbing vent pipes to prevent leakage. You’ll find them around any area of the home with appliances that need to breathe. Boots range from $275+ for 4 boots usually depending on the slope of your roof.
Ventilation
Most people currently have box vents or turbine vents. Instead, they should have ridge venting. Don’t be cheap.
Flashing
On brick homes, counter flashing is required (v expensive due to labor-intensive work), and step flashing is required around all roof-to-wall transitions & behind all types of non-brick siding.
Company Profit Margin
Now that we have a basic idea of all the components that go into determining roofing prices and roofing cost, the last price to consider is labor and what the roofing company charges. This will vary depending on the company but it’s important to not search for the cheapest price. The quality of the job is a huge factor in your roof’s life and while it may be tempting to save a few hundred dollars, the headache that will be caused down the line is definitely not worth it. So for this, we can’t nail down an exact price but the profit margin for any roofing company could range anywhere from 10% – 50%.
