Check the Shingle Brand on Each Bid Before the Pallet Lands

A roof bid that does not name its shingle brand leaves a gap that shows up on delivery day. The homeowner has no way to check the bundles against the paper, and the crew may have no written standard to hold to. This page is for a St. Louis homeowner who has two or three bids open and needs one specific fact from each: which brand and product line the roofer is pricing.

Why the brand line matters in a comparison

Shingle prices are built on a product, not on the word shingles. Two bids that both say architectural shingles can carry different products, different wind and impact ratings, different warranty terms, and different prices for the same square count. If one bid names a brand and the other does not, the totals are not comparing the same roof, and the sentence in the proposal is the only evidence you will have when the truck arrives.

Keys Roofing installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only. That means a Keys bid should name one of those two brands and a product line within it. If another roofer's bid names a different brand, that is an answer you can compare, and the next step is to ask whether the brand in the bid is the brand that gets loaded onto the truck. Do not assume the brand is the same across bids because the shingles look alike at the store.

What each bid should name

Ask each roofer to put the following in writing before you choose:

• The manufacturer and the product line, spelled the way it appears on the bundle wrapper
• The color name as the manufacturer lists it, not a nickname the crew uses
• The number of bundles per square the bid assumes, which follows from the product's piece size
• The underlayment product and the ice and water membrane, named separately from the shingle
• Who orders the shingles, and whether the bid assumes a standard lot or a custom order

The product line matters more than the brand alone. A manufacturer can sell several lines with different mat weights, sealant strips and wind ratings, and the bid's price depends on which one is in the proposal. A line that reads Shingle in one bid and Architectural in another may be the same product, or it may not, and the difference is worth one phone call before you compare totals.

Check the bid line against the pallet

Each shingle bundle carries a wrapper with the product name, a color name, a plant code and a date code. Those printed marks are the record of what is on the truck. Before the crew unloads, check the first few bundles against the bid line. This is a simple check, but it only works if the bid named the product in the first place.

Some things to look for at the truck:

• The product name on the wrapper matches the product line in the bid
• The color name matches the color you chose, not a close shade
• The bundle count on the delivery ticket matches the square count times the bundles per square in the bid
• No bundle is torn, crushed, wet, or curled at the edges

If the wrapper and the bid do not match, stop the unload and call the roofer before any bundle goes on the roof. A substitution caught at the curb is far easier to reverse than one discovered after the nails are in.

Ask the roofer how a substitution is handled

Nearly every roofer will say they will not substitute without asking. The useful question is what the written process is. Ask each roofer who has to approve a change, how the change is written down, whether the price moves, and whether the new product's wrapper is photographed before it goes up. A roofer who answers with a process is giving you something to compare. A roofer who answers only with a promise is giving you a short answer that you can hold them to in writing.

Ask also whether a discontinued color or line is likely. Manufacturers change lines, and a bid priced on one line may not match what is still in stock by the time your start date arrives. Ask each roofer what the fallback is, and whether the fallback is named in the contract or left to be decided on the day the truck shows up.

What the brand line does not settle

Naming the brand does not tell you how the roof will handle wind, what the warranty covers, or whether the install follows the manufacturer's instructions for nailing, starter strips and ventilation. Those are separate questions, and each one needs its own line in the bid. The brand line is a starting point for the comparison, not the whole comparison.

It also does not tell you who stands behind the product after a failure. Warranty paperwork is a separate document with its own terms, and the roofer who installs the roof is not always the party named in the warranty. Read that paperwork before you rely on it, and keep a copy in the same folder as the bid.

A short checklist for two or three bids

1. Write down the brand and product line from each bid, side by side
2. Write down the color name each bid uses
3. Note any bid that does not name a brand, and ask that roofer to add it in writing
4. Ask each roofer how the wrapper check at delivery is done, and who makes it
5. Ask each roofer what happens if the named product is unavailable on your start date

If you want to talk through a St. Louis bid line by line, Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333, and a written scope with photos and measurements can be put in your hands before you decide.