Roof replacement cost: material, labor, and the tear-off

A roof is the one part of your house that has exactly one job, keep the water out, and the cost of replacing it is mostly about three things: the material you put up, the labor to install it, and the tear-off of whatever is up there now. We do not roof every day, but we work alongside good roofers and we have learned how to read a roofing bid. Here is the plain version, so you can tell a fair number from a guess.

A typical asphalt-shingle replacement on a standard single-story home lands in the mid five figures range, give or take, depending on size and pitch. Premium materials, steep roofs, and complex rooflines push it higher. The number is driven by squares, the roofing unit equal to a hundred square feet, so a bigger or more cut-up roof simply has more squares to cover. Two homes with the same footprint can land far apart if one has a simple gable and the other is all valleys and dormers.

Material

Asphalt shingles are the volume choice and the cheapest per square. They last a couple of decades and look fine. Above that you have architectural shingles, then metal, then tile and slate at the top. Metal costs more up front but lasts much longer and handles heat well, which matters in our summers. Tile is common around here and looks great, but it is heavy and labor-intensive, and an older house may need its framing checked before it can carry tile. The material you pick is the single biggest lever on the bid.

Labor

Roofing labor is hard, hot, dangerous work, and you pay for the skill and the safety. Steeper pitches cost more because the crew works slower and needs more fall protection. A roof with lots of valleys, dormers, and penetrations takes longer than a simple gable. Labor is usually a little under half the bid on a standard shingle job and more on tile, where the install is fussier. A bid that is far cheaper than the others on labor is usually a crew that is cutting safety, skipping the underlayment, or rushing the flashing, and flashing is where most leaks start.

Tear-off

Here is the part homeowners forget. Before the new roof goes on, the old one usually has to come off, and that material has to go to the dump. Tear-off and disposal is a real line item, and it can grow if you have multiple old layers up there or if the crew finds rotted decking underneath. A reputable roofer will warn you that rotten sheathing is a possibility and tell you the per-sheet cost to replace it before they start, so a bad surprise does not turn into a blank-check change order. Watch out for any bid that proposes roofing over the old layer to save money. It traps heat and moisture and shortens the life of the new roof.

The parts of the bid people skip

Underlayment, flashing, ventilation, and drip edge are the unglamorous line items that decide whether your roof actually lasts. Underlayment is the layer between the deck and the shingles. Flashing seals the joints around chimneys, valleys, and walls, and it is where most leaks start when a crew rushes. Proper attic ventilation keeps heat and moisture from cooking the underside of the roof and shortening its life. A cheap bid often saves money exactly here, on the parts you cannot see from the curb, so ask what underlayment they use, how they handle flashing, and whether ventilation is included. The answers separate a roofer from a guy with a nail gun.

What moves the number

• Roof size in squares and the pitch.
• Material grade, from basic shingle to tile or metal.
• Number of layers to tear off and the condition of the decking underneath.
• Rooflines. Valleys, dormers, and chimneys all add labor.
• Underlayment, flashing, and ventilation, which a cheap bid often skimps on.
• Permits and any code upgrades triggered by the work.

For the detailed ranges, see the cost breakdowns under our cost guides at the cost-guide hub, and the roofing page for how the trade is set up in Quotrr. Before you sign anything, read our guide on how to vet a roofer, because roofing has more bad actors than most trades.

Whoever does your roof, ask for an itemized bid that separates material, labor, and tear-off. We build ours in Quotrr so those numbers are not hidden in a single total. The core is free, and a clear bid is the first sign of a contractor worth hiring.