Ask Each Roofer Where the Spare Flashing Waits Until the Final Walk

Every roof bid carries a few pieces of metal that nobody thinks about until the crew is on the ladder and one piece is short. Step flashing at a sidewall, counterflashing on brick, pipe boots, valley metal, drip edge and the cricket behind a chimney all get cut to fit a specific roof. Roofers order a few extras of the common pieces so a bent sheet or a miscut corner does not stop the crew for a day. Those extras have to wait somewhere. This page covers where they wait, and who can say so before the trucks arrive.

Why the spare pile matters

Flashing is the part of a roof that stops water where two surfaces meet. In St. Louis that junction takes the worst of the weather. Freeze and thaw cycles open small gaps at a chimney base every winter, hail season strikes metal on the windward side first, and ice damming at the eave pushes water back up under the edge. A piece that is cut short or bent at the wrong angle rarely fails on day one. It fails the first time a cold front and a heavy rain arrive together, and by then the crew has left.

A bid that names its spare pieces has thought about the day a spare is needed. A bid that is silent on spares has either left the question open or has not priced the extra pieces at all.

What counts as spare flashing

• Extra step flashing, sized for the sidewalls and dormer cheeks on your roof
• Counterflashing or reglet metal for brick, where a bent piece has to be reset rather than replaced
• Pipe boots and vent flanges in the sizes your penetrations need, plus one or two that can cover a miscut
• Valley metal and drip edge cut to length, with the cut-off ends kept for small repairs
• Cricket metal for the uphill side of any chimney, which is often fabricated on site from a roll

Some of these pieces are stock items and some are made to measure. A pipe boot in a common size can sit on a shelf for months. A custom cricket cut from a coil has to be bent by hand on the day it is needed, and a bent piece that does not fit gets set aside rather than returned. Ask which of your spare pieces are stock and which are fabricated. The answer tells you how long the spare will sit and what a replacement costs if it goes wrong.

Where each roofer says the spare waits

Spare metal usually waits in one of four places. It can ride on the crew truck, which keeps it close at hand but exposes it to rain, road grime and the loose tools that get tossed into the bed. It can sit in the front yard or on the driveway apron, which is convenient but puts thin metal where children, dogs and passing traffic can reach it. It can sit in a garage or shed on your property, which is the safest place for metal but raises questions about access and who holds keys. Or it can stay at the supply branch until the crew calls for it, which means the crew waits on the phone instead of on the roof.

None of these is wrong by default. The bid should say which one applies and why. A roofer who keeps spares on the truck should say how the metal is strapped down and whether it is covered. A roofer who uses your garage should say what goes in, what comes out and when, and whether the crew will touch anything else in that space. A roofer who leaves spares at the branch should say who makes the call and how long a pickup takes.

Questions to put to each roofer

1. How many spare pieces of each flashing type are in the bid, and which ones are included in the price?
2. Where do the spares wait from delivery to the day they are needed, and who is responsible for them while they wait?
3. Who counts the metal when it arrives, and does that count get written on the delivery slip you sign?
4. If a piece is bent or wrong, is the replacement priced in the bid, and how long would a new piece take to reach your roof?
5. What happens to unused spares at the final walk, and do they leave with the crew or stay on your property?

Write down each answer in the words the roofer uses. If one roofer says the spares wait in the truck and another says the branch holds them, that difference belongs in your comparison. The number of spare pieces matters less than whether the answer is clear enough to check on the day the metal is needed.

What to check at delivery and at the final walk

Metal usually arrives in a bundle or on a pallet, and it is easy to sign for the shingles and miss the flashing. Ask that the flashing count be written next to the shingle count on the delivery paper. Walk to the bundle and look at the edges for dents, crushed corners and paint scrapes. A piece that is already damaged is far easier to replace at the supplier than on a pitched roof.

At the final walk, ask to see the leftover pieces. A roofer who kept a tidy spare stack will have it ready. A roofer who cannot show you the leftovers should explain where they went. Unused metal that leaves in the crew truck is still your material if it was in your bid, and the closeout packet should name what came back.

Some St. Louis municipalities send an inspector who looks at flashing at final, particularly at chimneys and wall junctions. Ask the permit desk for your city or county what the inspector checks, and whether the spare pieces or their fastener schedule need to be visible at that visit. The answer changes what you should keep on hand until the inspection is signed off.

What a written answer looks like

A useful answer is short and specific. It names the piece, the count, the location, the person responsible and the date the metal leaves your property. It does not say we handle everything. If you hear that phrase, ask what it means in a sentence you can read back.

If you want to check a point by phone, Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333. Ask each roofer the same question in the same words, and write each reply beside the bid it belongs to. The spare flashing question takes two minutes to ask, and the answer can save a crew day on a roof that is already open.