Nobody can price your roof from a web page, and you should be suspicious of any site that tries. What we can do is show you exactly what the estimate will hinge on, so when you get one, you can tell whether it’s fair.
Written by the team at OnlyOneContractor · Last reviewed October 2026
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Two houses with identical square footage can be thousands apart. One has a walkable 4/12 pitch and one layer to tear off; the other is a steep 10/12 with two layers, soft decking underneath, and a chimney to flash. Nobody knows which one you have until they’re up there.
Materials also don’t cost the same everywhere, and local code can require work your old roof never had. A firm price generated before anyone has seen the roof isn’t an estimate; it’s bait, and it changes on the day.
So there’s no calculator on this page. There’s something more useful instead: the list of things your estimate will actually turn on.
Roofers price in squares — 100 square feet of roof surface each. That surface is always bigger than your floor plan, because of pitch and overhangs, so a 2,000 sq ft house is never a 20-square roof.
A shallow roof a crew can walk gets done quickly. A steep one means harnesses, staging, and slower going the same square footage, considerably more labor.
The biggest single lever. Asphalt shingle is the baseline; architectural shingle sits above it; metal, tile, and wood shake run well above that and need crews who specialize in them.
How many layers come off, and what the decking looks like once they do. Soft or rotten decking has to be replaced, and it's the line that most often movesafter work starts — which is why is why a good estimate says up front what replacement costs per sheet.
Valleys, dormers, skylights, and chimneys all need flashing, and flashing is where roofs leak. Add stories, a tight driveway, or nowhere to put a dumpster, and the day gets longer.
Labor and material prices vary by market, and local code can require underlayment, fastening, or ventilation your old roof didn't have. Permit costs sit here too.
These are national market ranges, not our prices and not a quote. They’re here so you can sanity-check the estimate you’re given; an outlier in either direction is worth a question.
| Material | Typical range per square | What pushes it to the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| Three-tab asphalt | [RANGE — SOURCE, YEAR] | Steep pitch, multiple layers to remove, decking replacement |
| Architectural asphalt | [RANGE — SOURCE, YEAR] | Upgraded underlayment, ridge venting, wind-rated fastening |
| Standing-seam metal | [RANGE — SOURCE, YEAR] | Panel gauge and finish, complex roof lines, specialist crew availability |
| Tile | [RANGE — SOURCE, YEAR] | Structural reinforcement, breakage allowance, underlayment specification |
| Wood shake or composite | [RANGE — SOURCE, YEAR] | Fire treatment, local restrictions, availability of trained installers |
[FIGURES AND SOURCE — marketing to supply, with the publication and year named in the table footer and a review date on the page. Do not ship invented ranges, and do not present these as OnlyOneContractor pricing. Refresh annually or remove.]
Print this. If a line is missing from the estimate you’re handed, ask why before you sign anything.
A roof in its last few years is usually worth replacing rather than patching, you pay the access and labor twice otherwise. A younger roof with localized damage often isn't.
Tell us in the questionnaire and we'll match you with a roofer who does claim work.
We take no part in the claim itself — we don’t advise on it, negotiate it, or speak to your insurer.
OnlyOneContractor is run by TGUC Financial, a home improvement lender. We can check what you qualify for before anyone visits, so you go into the estimate knowing the number.
Most single-family asphalt roofs are a one- to three-day job, weather permitting. Tile, metal, and complicated roof lines take longer.
For the estimate, yes, you’ll want to walk through what they found. For the work itself, usually not, though you’ll need to move cars off the driveway.
Manufacturers typically rate architectural asphalt at 25 to 30 years. What you actually get depends on ventilation, installation quality, and your climate; a badly ventilated roof ages far faster than its rating.
Sometimes it’s permitted and it does save money on tear-off. It also hides whatever is wrong with the decking underneath, and it shortens the life of what goes on top. Ask your roofer to explain the trade-off for your roof specifically.
Usually because they don’t cover the same work. Compare the line items: layers removed, decking allowance, flashing, ventilation, and warranty before you compare the totals.
A deposit against materials is ordinary. Being asked for the full amount before work starts is not, and neither is being pushed to sign on the day of the visit.
Two minutes of questions, one vetted local roofer, one call. And if you want to know what you qualify for first, we’ll check that too.
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