Ask Each Roofer for a Plain-Language Summary, Then Check It Against the Contract

A roof contract in St. Louis usually runs longer than the bid that led to it. The bid gives you a number and a scope of work. The contract adds the terms that control what happens next: payment steps, change order rules, what counts as a start, and what happens when weather or a permit desk moves the schedule. A plain-language summary is a shorter version that the roofer writes for you. It is useful only if you can match each line in it to a sentence in the contract you would actually sign. This page explains how to request that summary from every roofer on your list and how to run the check before any signature goes down.

Ask for the summary in the same words from every roofer

Send the same request to each company, in writing, and keep the wording identical: "Please send a plain-language summary of the contract you would ask me to sign, with each line pointing to the clause that says it." If one roofer sends a summary and another sends only the contract with no summary, record that difference in your call log. A missing summary is an answer too, and it tells you how much work you will do alone at the kitchen table.

Ask for the summary after the scope is written and before anyone talks about a deposit. A summary written before the scope will describe a job nobody has measured. A summary you receive after paying will describe terms you can no longer negotiate.

What a usable summary covers

A good summary is short enough to read in one sitting and specific enough that you could check it against the contract. For a residential reroof, it should address at least these points:

• The scope, one sentence per trade or stage: tear-off, deck repair allowance, underlayment, drip edge, flashing, shingles, ventilation, and cleanup.
• The start date language, including what the contract calls a start and what it calls a finish.
• Each payment step, and the specific finished work that must exist before that payment is due.
• How a change order is requested, how it is priced, and how it is signed.
• What happens if rain, a freeze, a failed inspection, or a delayed material delivery moves the schedule.
• Who pulls the permit, who calls the inspector, and who is responsible if the inspector returns the job.
• The warranty paragraph, quoted in the words the contract uses, not paraphrased.
• How either side can end the agreement, and what is owed at that point.

If a summary leaves out one of these items, ask the roofer why. Some companies leave out the cancellation language on purpose, and some simply did not think to include it. Either way, you should know which before you sign.

Match each summary line to a clause number

Print the contract and number its clauses or paragraphs. Then go through the summary one line at a time and write the matching clause number beside each line. Two patterns matter most.

A summary line with no clause number is a promise the roofer has not put in the contract. Ask them to point to where it is written, or ask them to add it. A clause with no summary line is a term the roofer chose not to mention. That does not mean it is unfair, but it is worth asking about before you rely on the summary.

Here is a common mismatch. A summary reads "Final payment due at completion." The contract says "Final payment due within ten days after the Owner receives written notice that the work has reached Substantial Completion." Those two sentences do not mean the same thing. The first sounds like payment is due when the crew leaves. The second makes payment depend on a written notice and on a term the contract may define somewhere else. Ask each roofer to define Substantial Completion in writing, and ask whether the notice is the crew's, the office's, or yours to send.

Where summaries and contracts usually disagree

Four areas cause most of the gap between what a summary promises and what a contract says.

• Payment timing. A summary often says "on completion" or "on final walk." The contract may tie payment to lien waivers, a signed completion form, or a city inspection sign-off that the crew cannot control.
• Weather and schedule days. A summary may say that weather delays are excused. The contract may say that only days with rain that stops work on the roof count, or that a day counts only if the crew is on site and then sent home. Ask how many days of delay have been written into the start date, and whether the count is working days or calendar days.
• Materials. A summary may name a shingle line. The contract may say "or equal," which lets the roofer substitute a different product later. Ask which named products would qualify as equal, and whether any substitution needs your signature before it ships.
• Cleanup and magnets. A summary may say "full cleanup." The contract may specify a magnetic sweep of the lawn and driveway, with no mention of the flower beds or the gutters. If the old roof is going into a dumpster on your drive, the contract should say where that dumpster sits and for how long.

Timing that changes the wording in St. Louis

The local calendar affects the contract language more than most homeowners expect. A contract signed in October for a spring start needs clear terms for a freeze that delays the job, a cold-weather limit on sealing, and what happens to an open roof if a cold snap arrives before the deck is covered. Ask the roofer to write those terms into the contract, not into a separate email. If the start depends on a St. Louis County or municipal permit, the contract should not promise a date the permit desk has not confirmed. Permit desks across the county keep different hours and different review times, and a contract that treats the permit as a formality will leave you holding the schedule risk.

Ice damming at the eave is another reason to read the start and finish language closely. If the tear-off begins in late fall and the roof is open over a hard freeze, the contract should say who makes the call to cover the deck, who pays for the crew to return, and whether the warranty clock starts on the day of tear-off or the day of final walk.

What to do when the two documents disagree

When a summary and a contract say different things, ask the roofer in writing which document controls. Many contracts include a sentence that the written agreement governs over proposals, brochures, and verbal statements. Ask the roofer to confirm that sentence exists and to point to it. If it does not exist, ask them to add one before you sign.

Then ask for one of two fixes. The first is a corrected contract that matches the summary. The second is a short addendum, dated and signed by both sides, that changes only the clause in question. Do not sign the summary as if it were binding. A summary is a guide to the contract. It cannot add a promise the contract does not contain.

A summary that is more generous than the contract is still a problem. If the summary says the roofer covers a delay, and the contract does not, the summary has no legal weight once you sign the contract. Treat the more generous summary as a sales statement, and treat the contract as the thing you are agreeing to. Write down the difference in your log, with the date and the roofer's name.

Compare the summaries side by side

Once each roofer has sent a summary, set them up in one sheet with a column for each company. Use the same rows for every roofer: scope, start language, payment steps, change orders, schedule and weather, permit responsibility, warranty, and exit terms. Read across each row before you read down any column. The row shows where the roofers agree and where they differ. The column shows how each company handles the whole agreement.

Keep the blank cells. A blank in the payment row means the roofer did not state the payment steps. That is an answer to put beside the price. A roofer whose summary is complete and whose contract matches it line for line has given you something you can use. A roofer whose summary is vague in the same rows where the other roofers are specific has given you a different kind of answer, and you should weigh it that way.

If you want to walk through a summary with the contract beside it, you can call the Keys Roofing office at (314) 220-2333 and ask for the summary before you choose a start date. Ask for the clause numbers as well. A contract you can check line by line is the one that is easiest to hold a roofer to, and easiest to live with after the crew has gone home.