A worked roof
A 48 × 32 house with 180 square feet of extras, 6/12 pitch, two layers of old shingles to tear off, four-person crew. That is 19.2 roof squares after the pitch multiplier. On default costs the free roofing estimate calculator quotes it at $12,700.
Cost per square, line by line
| Line | Job total | Per square |
|---|---|---|
| Materials: shingles, underlayment, ice and water, edge, ridge, nails | $4,106 | $214 |
| Labor: 2.24 crew-days | $2,127 | $111 |
| Tear-off disposal: 2 dumpsters | $850 | $44 |
| Overhead: 2.24 × $262.50 | $588 | $31 |
| Equipment | $322 | $17 |
| Permit and inspection | $250 | $13 |
| Cost | $8,243 | $430 |
| Price at 35% margin | $12,700 | $662 |
Materials are half the cost. Labor is a quarter. Everything else, disposal, overhead, equipment and permit, is the last quarter and the part most often left out.
What a second layer adds
The same roof with one layer to tear off: one dumpster instead of two, and 0.64 fewer crew-days. Cost drops to about $6,950 and the quote to $10,700, or $558 a square. The second layer is worth $2,000 on this roof, about $104 a square. Count the layers at the edge before you quote. The tear-off guide breaks it down.
What moves price per square
- Pitch: more squares for the same footprint, and slower production above 7/12. See the pitch multiplier guide.
- Roof shape: hips, valleys and dormers raise waste and linear materials.
- Roof size: fixed costs like the permit and first dumpster spread over fewer squares on small roofs, so small roofs cost more per square.
- Your comp rate and production: the two numbers that most separate one roofer's price from another's.
Compare quotes on the same basis
When two quotes differ by $80 a square, check whether both counted the pitch, both included tear-off of every layer, and both included a decking allowance. The cheaper one usually left one of those out.
