How to Estimate the Cost of Roofing

Now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. While we’ve touched upon the average cost of roofing throughout this guide, it’s important to nail down a clear budget that you can stick to before you make a final decision in roofing materials.

Roofing prices will fluctuate based on several factors.

Where you live, the square footage of your roof, the roofing materials you choose, and whether you own a residential or commercial property will dictate how much you spend on a new roof.

As you begin to shop around to get quotes from contractors in your area, you’ll quickly find that most roofing cost estimates are based on:

  • Roofing materials
  • Roof pitch
  • Labor

To help you better understand how contractors come to an estimated price, you must first grasp how roofing is measured. Most roofing materials are measured by the square at 100 ft.², or 10’ x 10’. A roofing contractor will use this standard price of a square of roofing material to estimate how much material is needed to cover a roof’s square footage.

Here are a few other factors that will impact a roofing price estimate:

  • Roofing material prices will increase as quality, or weight, increases.
  • Cost of labor will increase as material weight increases.
  • Cost of labor will increase significantly as roof pitch increases.

Based on the guidelines above, most roofing companies in Nanuet, NY area will charge based on roof pitch and material weight. The reason why? As a roof pitch gets steeper and materials get heavier, a typical roofing job becomes much more difficult.

With that being said, the cost of a roof replacement will be calculated by taking into account:

  • Roof Length
  • Roof Width
  • Roof Pitch
  • Roof Difficulty
  • Roofing Material
  • Roof Tear Off Needed

Considering these factors, a typical roofing cost estimate may go a little something like this:

  • Roof Length – 42 feet
  • Roof Width – 28 feet
  • Roof Pitch – Medium
  • Roof Difficulty – Gable
  • Roofing Material – Asphalt Shingle
  • Roof Tear Off Needed – Yes

Total: $7291

Making simple changes to the roofing needs in the example above could alter the price significantly.

  • If the tear off of an existing roof is no longer needed, it can drop the price to $6115.
  • If more expensive clay tiles are chosen as a roofing material, it can increase the price to $17,228.
  • A flat roof of the same square footage with asphalt shingles and tear off needed will cost only $6115.
  • A flat roof of the same square footage with asphalt shingles and no tear off needed will cost only $4939.

When pricing residential or commercial roofing, don’t forget about additional costs that could be incurred.

Once existing roofing materials are torn off, contractors may discover that roof framing is rotted or damaged. If framing needs to be replaced or repaired in order to reinforce heavy roofing materials, it could add anywhere from $1000-$10,000 onto a project.

Here’s a chart of the average cost per square of most roofing materials used to estimate the price of roof installation:7

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