Ask Each Roofer What Approximately Covers in the Bid

Most roof bids in the St. Louis area are a page or two of numbers and a short scope. Somewhere in that scope sits a word that does more work than its size suggests. Words like approximately, allowance, as needed, about and typical tell you that the roofer has not priced something exactly, and the total you are comparing may or may not include it. This page is for the point in your decision where two or three bids are on the table and their totals look close. Before you pick the lower one, find out what each hedge word covers, in writing.

Why a hedge word shows up in a roof bid

A roofer cannot see under your shingles. The deck condition, the number of layers, the state of the flashing around a chimney, and the rot in a fascia board all get settled after the tear-off starts. Some bids handle that uncertainty by pricing the known work and leaving a line that says the rest will be billed when it is found. Others write an estimate and call it approximate. Neither approach is unusual, and neither is automatically a problem. The issue is that two bids can use the same word and mean very different things by it.

In St. Louis the uncertainty is real. Freeze and thaw cycles lift nail heads and soften old flashing, and a roof that looked sound from the ground can show soft decking once the shingles are off. Hail seasons leave bruised underlayment that is hard to judge from a driveway. A roofer who has torn off many roofs in this metro will know these risks and may put a contingency into the bid. A roofer who is pricing fast may leave the same risk out and let it appear on the final invoice.

The words to look for

Read each bid for the following words, and mark every place one of them appears next to a dollar figure or a quantity:

• Approximately, about or roughly next to a square count or a linear footage
• Allowance next to a material line, such as decking, drip edge or ridge vent
• As needed or as required next to a repair or a replacement
• Typical next to a labor rate or a day count
• Subject to next to the price, such as subject to the site visit or subject to the inspection

Each of these is a place where the total can move. The question for each is the same: what happens to the price if the number turns out to be different?

What to ask each roofer

Ask the same three questions of every roofer you are comparing, and ask them in writing so the answers can be compared side by side.

1. Which lines in your bid carry a hedge word, and what is the quantity or condition behind each one?
2. If the actual quantity is higher, what is the unit price, and is it in the bid or set later?
3. If the actual quantity is lower, does the price come down, and by what method?

The third question is the one most homeowners skip. An allowance that only goes up is a different kind of promise from one that moves both ways. If a roofer will not say whether an unused allowance comes back to you, write that down as a gap.

How a roofer should answer

A useful answer names each line, gives a unit price, and says what evidence will be used to measure the quantity. For decking, that might mean the number of sheets replaced, shown in photographs taken before the new underlayment goes on. For fascia, it might mean the linear feet of board removed and the photographs that show the rot. For shingles, it means the squares counted from the measurement sheet and shown to you before the order is placed.

A weaker answer says the price will be confirmed on site. That may be true for some work, but it does not tell you what you are paying for today. Ask the roofer to write the confirmation rule into the bid itself, with the unit price and the way the quantity will be recorded. If the answer stays vague after a second request, record that the answer was vague and weigh the bid accordingly.

A worked comparison

Suppose two bids for the same house arrive with totals that differ by a few hundred dollars. One bid lists decking as an allowance at a stated rate per sheet, with the sheets to be photographed. The other lists decking as approximately included, with no rate. The lower total in the second bid looks better on the page. Ask what the decking will cost if half the sheets need replacing. If the second roofer cannot answer with a number, the lower total is not yet a comparable number. Put the two bids on one sheet with a column for each hedge word, and fill the column with the answer each roofer gives you.

You can also ask each roofer to show you the measurement sheet behind the square count. A bid that uses approximately next to the squares should still have a measurement behind it. If the roofer will not show the sheet, you have learned something about how the number was built.

When a hedge word is fine

Not every hedge word is a warning. A bid that says the ridge vent quantity is subject to the final measurement, and gives the rate for each foot, is telling you exactly how the number will be set. The point is not to remove every trace of uncertainty from a roof bid, because nobody can see the deck before the shingles come off. The point is to know which uncertainty you are carrying and what it will cost if the roof turns out differently than the bid assumed.

Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333 with questions about a bid you are comparing.