Check Each Roofer's Reply Against Your Numbered List, Line by Line

By the second week of a roof search, most homeowners have a folder with two or three bids, a few emails, and a voicemail or two. The prices feel like the hard part. The replies are where the comparison actually happens, and they are easy to lose track of because each roofer answers in a different order, in a different format, and sometimes only part of what you asked. This page covers one simple method: write one numbered list, send it unchanged to every roofer on your shortlist, and check each reply against the list line by line before you look at a single total.

Write the list once, before any reply arrives

Start with five to eight questions you need answered before you can decide. Keep each one short enough to read at a glance and specific enough that a yes or no is not the whole answer. For a St. Louis roof, a useful list might cover who pulls the permit and from which desk, which shingle line is quoted, what the crew does on a half-torn roof if rain starts, who answers the phone on a Saturday, and what the written start window looks like. Number each line. The numbers matter later, because they let you point to line 4 when a reply skips it.

Write the list in a note or document that is dated. Do not change the wording between roofers. If one roofer asks you to clarify a line, answer the question once and copy that answer into the list for everyone else, so the comparison stays fair.

Send it the same way to every roofer

Send the list through the same channel to each company: email, text, or a form on the company website. Mixing channels makes the replies hard to compare, since one roofer may answer on a phone call that leaves no record. If a roofer insists on talking first, ask them to confirm the call in writing afterward, with the answers numbered to match your list. Keys Roofing's office line is (314) 220-2333 if you want to put your own list to us by phone, but ask for the answers back in writing either way.

Mark each line three ways

When a reply comes in, go through it against your list and mark each numbered line as one of three things. Answered means the reply gives a specific fact you can check, such as a named permit desk, a date, or a product line. Partly answered means the reply touches the subject but leaves out the part you need, such as saying the crew will clean up without saying who runs the magnet over the yard afterward. Skipped means the line is missing entirely, or the reply sends you back to a brochure or a web page.

Keep the marks in a simple table with the roofer's name across the top and your line numbers down the side. Three columns and eight rows are enough. You do not need to score the answers as good or bad yet. At this stage the goal is only to see which roofers answered what you asked.

What a partly answered line usually hides

Partly answered lines cause the most trouble, because they look finished. A reply that says the company will handle the permit may be accurate, but it does not say which county or municipal desk takes the application, who is listed as applicant, or whether you need to be home for an inspection. In St. Louis County, permit questions can depend on the city or municipality where the house sits, so a short statement that the company handles permits is not yet a fact you can use. Ask the follow-up in the same thread, naming the line number and the missing piece of information.

Weather lines are another common partial. Many replies say the crew will work around rain. St. Louis gets afternoon storms in summer and freeze-thaw swings in late winter, so the useful question is what the crew does on a half-torn roof when the rain begins, who makes that call, and whether the house is tarped before anyone leaves for the day. Hail season adds its own version of this, because a roof left open for a week after a spring storm carries a different risk than one finished in a single day.

Count the skips, then count the days

Once every roofer has replied, count the skipped lines for each one. A roofer who skips two lines out of eight has given you a thinner record than one who answered all eight. Do not treat a skip as a refusal. Sometimes the question was unclear, or the estimator was out of the office that week. Send one follow-up that names only the skipped line numbers and asks for a reply date, then see who answers.

Keep a count of how many days each roofer takes to reply. This is a separate measure from the answers themselves. A roofer who answers every line within a day has shown you one kind of communication, and a roofer who answers half the lines after a week has shown you another. Both are worth recording. Reply timing is often a preview of how the company will communicate once the contract is signed, because the same office and inbox are usually the ones you will use during the job.

Keep the replies together

All replies should stay in one folder, with the original list at the top and each roofer's answers below it in the order received. Do not split them across several inboxes or text threads, because you will need to check them against each other later. When two roofers answer the same line differently, copy both answers next to the line number and keep both. The disagreement is useful information, and it often points to the question you need to ask next.

Save the date and time on each reply, including the time zone if your email client shows it. If a reply arrives after you have already chosen a roofer, the dated record shows what was said before the contract was signed.

When the table tells you to stop

You do not need every roofer to answer every line before you move on. A roofer who still skips three or more lines after a written follow-up has given you a reason to drop them from the shortlist. A roofer who answers every line but does so with general statements, without numbers or names, is a different case. Ask for one specific fact on each general line, such as the shingle product line, the crew size on your street, or the day materials will be delivered. If that fact comes back, the table improves. If it does not, the table has already answered your question.

Missouri does not license roofers at the state level, so a written reply often carries more weight than a credential would. A reply that names the permit desk, the start window, and the person who signs the completion form is a reply you can hold a roofer to. A reply that leaves those out can still be useful, but mainly as a list of things to ask in person before you sign anything.