Why do roofing quotes vary so much?

Summary:

Jeremiah explains that roofing quotes vary because most homeowners assume all roofs are the same, when the meaningful differences sit underneath the shingles. He points to ventilation, underlayment type, and flashing as major cost drivers that are invisible from the street. One detail a homeowner can actually see is how the valleys are handled: whether there is metal installed there or whether the shingles are simply woven together, which he identifies as a significant factor in pricing. Beyond materials, he emphasizes crew efficiency as a key variable. He asks whether the crew is pulling in a trailer or bringing a dumpster, and whether material is delivered before the roof is torn off, which forces the crew to move material around mid-job. His own preference is to tear everything off first, then stage the material, so the crew is not shifting material while working on the roof.

Answer:

Roofing quotes can vary so much because there's so much that goes into roofing. Based on the homeowners that I've met with over the years, most homeowners' perspective is that all roofs are the same. You look at your neighbor's roof, you look at this neighbor's roof, they look maybe different in color, but the more important thing is what's going on underneath those shingles. How does the ventilation look? What type of underlayment are they using? What type of flashing are they using? A big key detail that you can see on some roofs is where they come into the valleys. Is there a piece of metal there, or are the shingles just woven together? That is a big factor that can alter the pricing. And then another thing too is the efficiency of the crew. Are they pulling in a trailer? Do they have a dumpster coming in? How efficient are they? Is the material being delivered before the roof is even torn off? Because that could obviously cause a lot, having to move that material, rip the roof off, and then stage it. I would prefer to rip everything off, stage the material, so then we don't have to move all the material around while we're up there. So how efficient the crew is, is a big key factor as well.