Bring Your Own Numbers to the Second Roof Visit

A second visit from a roofer is where many St. Louis homeowners start to lose track of the numbers. The first walk produces a rough figure, the second produces a document, and somewhere between them the figures begin to drift. The fix is inexpensive. Write down what you counted yourself before the second visit, then hold each written bid against that list. Keys Roofing is the contractor behind this site, and the office line is (314) 220-2333 if you want to check any step below before you call.

Count what you can see from the yard

Stand on the sidewalk across the street, then walk the side yard, and count the roof planes you can name. A hip roof usually shows four planes, a gable roof shows two, and a cross-gable or dormer adds more. Write the count down. Next, count the chimneys, plumbing vent pipes, exhaust hoods, skylights and attic vents, because each one is a line that a bid either prices or leaves out. Note every valley where two slopes meet, and every spot where a lower roof runs into a wall. None of this needs a ladder, and none of it should involve one.

Check the gutters too. Count the downspouts, and note which corner each one sits on. A roofer who measures the house without looking at the gutter line often misses the lower edge where the water drops off, and that edge controls the drip line and the flashing under it.

Count what you can see from the attic

If you have an attic hatch, go up in daylight with a flashlight and look at the underside of the deck. Note any dark stains, bowed rafters, or spots where the sheathing looks soft or has been patched before. Count the attic vents and check whether the soffit vents are open. Photograph each area and keep the photos with their dates. Do not walk on anything except the joists, and do not step onto drywall or insulation. If the attic has been finished, write that down, because a finished attic changes what a roofer can see from below.

Why the square count drifts between bids

Roofers quote in squares, and one square is 100 square feet of roof surface. The measured area is only the start. Each bid adds a waste allowance for cuts, valleys and offcuts that do not fit a course, and each bid picks its own percentage. Two bids can begin from the same measured area and still finish several squares apart before a single shingle is ordered. Ask each roofer to write the measured area, the waste percentage and the final square count on separate lines. If a bid gives only a total, the number in your comparison is a guess until you see the parts.

Ask who took the measurement and when. A measurement from a visit three months ago can miss a repair completed since, or a rotted board found on a later walk. Write the date beside each figure.

What a St. Louis second visit should answer

St. Louis roofs take a particular beating. The freeze and thaw cycle lifts shingle tabs and opens seams in winter, and a cold snap can crack a repair that looked sound in October. Ice damming at the eave shows up as a thin band of ice along the lower edge of the roof, and it often means the attic ventilation or the eave underlayment needs a second look. Hail season runs through spring and into early summer, so a bid written in April may need a fresh count before a fall start.

Permits add their own clock. The City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and the smaller municipalities each run their own permit desk, and each has its own rules about who can pull the permit and how inspections get scheduled. Ask each roofer which desk they will file with, who will be listed as the applicant, and how long that desk usually takes to issue the permit. Write the answers down, and compare the roofers on the same line.

Missouri does not license roofers at the state level. That means the written answers you get on permits, insurance certificates and workmanship are the record you will rely on, so ask for every one of them in writing.

The insurance line, and what a roofer may not do

If the roof damage is part of an insurance claim, the second visit is also where a roofer may offer to take over the claim. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) forbids a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and it also forbids saying anything about paying, waiving or covering a deductible. A roofer who offers to deal with your adjuster on your behalf is describing something the statute does not allow. What a contractor can do is document the damage, put a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands, and attend as the contractor while you deal with your own insurer. Write down whether each roofer says that plainly, and in what words.

Hold each bid against your own list

Put your counts in one column and each roofer's answer beside it. Use the same order for every roofer, so the gaps show up at a glance. A blank cell is an answer too, because it tells you the roofer did not price that item or did not think it needed a line.

1. Roof planes, with each bid's count written beside yours.
2. Penetrations, including chimneys, vents, hoods and skylights, each on its own line.
3. Measured area, waste percentage and final squares, shown separately.
4. Permit desk, applicant name and the expected time to issue.
5. Written scope for the attic deck, including any soft spots found and how each would be priced if found.
6. The date each measurement was taken.

Write each visit down the same day

Keep one page per roofer. Put the date, the time, the name of the person who walked the roof, and the questions you asked. Write their answers in their own words, and mark anything they promised to send you. If a roofer quotes a number on the phone that is not in the written bid, write that down too, with the time of the call. Weeks later, the difference between what was said and what was written is often the only thing that settles a disagreement, so keep the notes somewhere you can find them.

If you want to check a figure with the office before you decide, the Keys Roofing line is (314) 220-2333. Call with your list open, and ask the same questions the other roofers answered, so that you are comparing the same facts as of the same date.