How Much Does A New Roof Cost?

Help! How Much Does it Cost to Replace a Roof?

Looking for a new roof to be installed? A new shingle roof is a big investment, so you’re probably looking to see exactly just how much a new roof on your home is going to cost you. We’ll do our best in this article to break down the roofing prices. This way, you’ll have a ball-park range of what your roofing contractor will price your new roof to be.

You will find the accumulation of the total price of a roof replacement in this color and font. Remember that the prices are estimates and the price of your roof replacement will vary.

Alright, let’s start with the basics. First, you have to determine the size of your roof. Roofs are measured in squares. A square in roofing terms is equal to 100 square feet. The average home is approximately 30 squares, meaning that their roof is 3,000 square feet. Here is a simple way to figure out the measurement of your roof.

First, you need to find the square footage of the base of your home. Use a tape measurer to find the length and width of your home. If it’s irregularly shaped, divide the home into geometrical shapes, find the area of each, then add them together. Once you know the square footage of the base of your home, find the pitch. You’ll see directions to finding the pitch of your home in the section below.

Now, you’ll need the pitch and square footage to find the size of your roof. Look on the chart below for the correct multiplier that matches your slope. You’ll see that a pitch of 6/12 has a multiplier of 1.12. To find your roof size, multiply the square footage by the proper multiplier. The total is the total square footage of your roof!

You need to determine the pitch of your roof. Generally, steep roofs cost more to replace. The angle of a rof is calculated by a ratio. A common roof pitch is a 6-12 pitch. This means that the roof rises 6 inches for every 12 inches it runs horizontally. Any roof with a slope of 8/12 or higher is considered very steep.

How to Measure the Pitch of My Roof:

Go into your attic. Place the end of a level against the bottom of a roof rafter. Hold it perfectly horizontally level. Now, measure from the 12 inch mark vertically straight up to the underside of the rafter. That number is the length that the roof rises in 12 inches that it runs horizontally.

Some roofers over or under estimate the amount of bundles a roof will need in a replacement. This is because an average 30 square home needs more than 30 squares of shingles. You have to consider the waste. Waste generally takes 10% of the material. That equals approximately 4 squares. An average home has 150 feet of ridge, and 240 feet of starter, so that makes up another 3 squares. After all the extra shingles are accounted for, a 30 square roof generally requires 40 squares of shingles. If you’re worried about wasting the edge shingles, see how they can be recycled here

Ridge and starter shingles are very important. 3 Tab shingles are not made by manufacturers with the intention of being used as ridge shingles on an artchitectrual roof that is rated at 110-130 mph. Roofs with that sort of rating need enhanced “ridge shingles” that have the same life cycle (or longer) than the field shingles.

We’ve heard professionals explain this concept with a comparison to car tires. Using cut up 3 tabs as ridge shingles with an architectural roof is like buying three 100,000 mile tires for your car and one 50,000 mile tire. One tire will wear out faster than the rest. Similarly, the ridges will fail faster if they are not of equal or higher quality. The moral of this story is that you need to be sure your roofing contractor is using the correct starter and ridge shingles for your home.

Today, one square of 30 year architectural shingles costs about $78 (without tax). One square of 3 tab shingles costs about $65. If you do the math, the shingles for an architectural roof replacement will cost $3,120. The shingles for a 3 tab roof will cost about $2,600. If you’re wondering which type of shingle you should choose, check out this comparison between architectural and 3 tab shingles.

Roofs not only have shingles, but also felt underneath the shingles and ice and watershield in the valleys. You can get 15 lb felt or 30 lb felt. Both types are generally $20 per roll. 15 lb felt covers 4 squares per roll, and 30 lb felt only covers 2 squares, so you’ll need double the amount of rolls if you use 30 lb felt.

We have some advice from a professional roofer on selecting the proper underlayment (UL). When it comes to asphalt saturated felt paper, there is only one true 30 lb UL. It is made by Tamko and it is called Tamko Underlayment 30 lb felt. It typically needs to be specially ordered. Regular 30 lb felt is a UL 15 or 16, just as regular 15 lb felt is typically a UL 8. GAF Shingle Mate lays nice and flat and is one more Branded Component needed to meet warranty requirements.

If you have a 30 square roof and go with 15 lb felt, it will cost about $160. If you use 30 lb felt, it will cost approximately $320.

Ice and watershield underlayment is installed in the valleys of a roof for extra protection. An average roof needs about 2 rolls of ice and watershield. Each roll costs about $50, so total cost of ice and watershield is $100.

Most homeowners are having new ridge vent installed on their home now. The average home needs 60 feet of ridge vent. Ridge vent comes in 4 foot sections for $10 per section. After doing the math, ridge vent on a home costs $150.

The next thing you need to consider when totaling the cost of a roof replacement is the cost of tearing off your original roof. This depends on the company you hire, the size of your roof, and the intensity of the tear off. The price for tearing off the existing material on an average home is $1,000.

Finally, the last part of the price the price of labor. Roofing is strenuous labor, so it’s not cheap. However, if you can find a good local company without a lot of overhead, they’re more likely to give you a good deal. The average company charges $50 per square for installation. This price varies between companies, so you need to ask the companies that you’re considering for doing your roof. A good rule of thumb is that bigger companies are going to charge more because they have more overhead. smaller, local companies can afford to give you a cheaper price on your home. With this in mind, the average 30 square home will cost approximately $1,500 in labor.

So far, if you’ve done the math, an average roof replacement will cost about $6,190. This is not taking into account the price of the workers traveling to your home, dumpster fees, taxes, and additional materials. After adding in all those additional costs, the average price for a roof replacement can be anywhere between $8,000 to $14,000 on the average sized home. You’ll find that a company without a lot of overhead will charge you within the $8,000-10,000 range, while a company with a lot of overhead will charge anywhere from $10,000-14,000. For help with choosing a roofer, check this out!

Hey everybody,

We are going social and have created a new Facebook group for people who want to know more about roofs, roofing problems, fixes, ask pros, etc. Feel free to join. It is a private group so once we get your request to join we will approve it as quickly as possible.

→ Join Here: Roofpedia Facebook Group!

1. We would like to thank Bill Hubbell with Anchor Roofing Inc. for providing excellent insights.
2. Duane Clarke with E.M. Blue Inc. also gave valuable information.