Ask Each Roofer Whether Your Water Gets Shut Off, and For How Long

On roof day, the water main is rarely the first thing anyone thinks about, and it is one of the few details a crew can change without touching the roof itself. A tear-off that reaches a vent stack, a hose bib, a water heater flue, or an irrigation line can leave a house without water for a few hours, or for longer if a fitting is damaged. When two roofers quote the same house, the question of whether the water gets shut off, for how long, and who turns it back on belongs on the same sheet as the price.

Roofer comparison

Many roof bids say nothing about water. Some say the crew will 'protect plumbing vents,' which is a different thing from saying whether the supply will be off at any point. Ask each roofer to answer three questions in writing: will the water main be shut off during any part of the job, which fixtures or outdoor lines will be affected, and who is responsible for closing and reopening the valve. A bid that answers all three is easier to compare than one that answers none.

The answers tend to fall into three groups. Some roofers will say the water stays on for the whole job and the crew does not work on any plumbing. Others will say a specific pipe, usually a vent stack that runs through the attic, may need to be cut and capped at one point, and that the homeowner will be asked to shut the main off for a short window. A third group will name the homeowner as the only person who can operate the valve. That is a fair arrangement, but the bid should then say what time the crew expects to need the valve, and what happens if the homeowner is not home when the crew is ready.

Find your main shutoff before any crew arrives. In most St. Louis County homes it sits where the water line enters the house, often in a basement, a utility room, or a crawl space near the front wall. Some homes have a valve outside near the meter. Take a photo of the valve and of the meter, and note whether the handle turns freely. A valve that has not been moved in years can seize, and it is better to learn that on a weekday than on the morning the roof is open.

Where a plumbing vent passes through the roof, the pipe boot is usually replaced during a reroof. That is a roof detail, but the pipe itself is plumbing. A roofer who says the boot will be replaced should also say whether the pipe will be cut, whether the crew will need water off, and whether the boot appears as its own line in the material list. When you read a bid, look for the pipe boot as a named item with its own material, not as a phrase tucked inside a general labor figure.

Outdoor lines matter too. A hose bib or an irrigation zone that runs under the eave, or near where the dumpster will sit, can be struck by placement equipment or by tear-off debris. Irrigation systems often have a backflow preventer and a shutoff of their own. A bid that mentions the sprinkler controller as part of its protection plan has at least considered the system. A bid that says nothing about it has not.

What it costs

A water shutoff itself costs nothing in most bids, but the work around it does not always come free. A pipe that has to be cut and recoupled means a plumber's time, a fitting, and sometimes an inspection if the work goes beyond a simple cap. Ask each roofer whether plumbing work sits inside the roof price or outside it. If the answer is that a plumber will be called in, ask the roofer to name that plumber, or to say plainly that you will hire one directly, and to put the name of whoever does the work on the paperwork.

Missouri does not license roofers at the state level, so a roofer's registration tells you little about who will handle a pipe. Plumbing work is governed by the local rules of the municipality where your house sits, and those rules usually run through that city or county's permit desk. In St. Louis County, the desk depends on the address, so the exact location of the house matters. Ask the roofer which desk they expect to use if any pipe work triggers a permit, and ask them to say so in writing before the schedule is set.

Cold weather changes the cost of a shutoff. If a cut has to happen between October and April, an exposed section of pipe can freeze before it is reconnected, and a burst line costs far more than the roof detail that caused the cut. Some roofers will schedule any plumbing-adjacent work for a mild day and keep the exposed section short. Others will not think about the freeze at all. The difference shows up in the reply to one question: what happens if the forecast turns cold that night?

Also check what a shutoff does to the rest of the house. A water softener, a whole-house filter, or a pressure tank may need a restart after the water is back on. A roofer cannot restart those systems, and their bid should not imply that they will. Write down which of these you own, so the roofer can note them in the scope.

What to ask

Send each roofer the same questions in writing and compare the replies, not the speed of the reply. Ask:

1. Will the water main or any fixture be shut off during the job? If so, for how long, and on which day?
2. Which pipes, vents, hose bibs, or irrigation zones sit inside the work area, and how will each one be protected?
3. Who closes the valve, who opens it, and who checks every joint for leaks before the crew leaves?
4. If a cut is needed in cold weather, how is the exposed section drained, covered, and reconnected before the next freeze?

Ask the same roofers to identify who performs any plumbing work, whether that work is in the roof price, and which permit desk they will use if one is required. Put each answer next to the matching line on the other bids. A gap in one bid is easy to see once the replies sit side by side.

Keys Roofing can put its answers on the water question into the written scope, along with the photos and measurements that go with the rest of the job. Call the Keys office at (314) 220-2333 with the address and a note on where your main valve sits, and ask what the crew would need from you on roof day. Get the answer in writing before you sign, and before anyone sets a start date.