Compare St. Louis Roofer Answers in One Sitting, Not Over a Month

Most homeowners in St. Louis collect roofer answers the way the mail comes in, one at a time over several weeks. A call on a Tuesday, a text on a Thursday, a written bid that shows up the following Monday. By the time the last bid lands, the first roofer's answer has faded from memory, and the comparison ends up being a comparison of how each conversation felt. This page argues for a different method: pull every answer you have into one sitting, put them on one page, and read across the rows before you decide anything.

Roofer comparison

Start by choosing a single evening, ideally after you have received every written bid you plan to get. Lay out the answers from each roofer in the same order. Use one row per question and one column per roofer. If a roofer has not answered a question, leave the cell empty and write the word missing in it, because a blank cell is information too. The point of the sitting is that every answer is in front of you at the same time, so you can see when one roofer said the crew would be on site by seven and another said it depended on the weather.

Dates matter most in this exercise. A spring estimate written in March may describe a shingle price that no longer applies in June, and a fall estimate may assume a start date the calendar cannot reach before the first hard freeze. Write the date of each answer next to it. When two answers on different dates disagree, the later one usually reflects what the roofer knows now, but the earlier one is still the answer they gave you, so keep both and ask the roofer which one stands.

Keep your notes separate from the roofers' paperwork. Your comparison belongs to you. Copy the words from each bid into your own sheet rather than marking up the originals, so the proposal you signed or might sign stays clean. If you later need to show a roofer what they said, the dated copy is the record.

What it costs

The price line is the easiest number to compare and the easiest to misread. A single total at the bottom of a bid hides the choices behind it. One roofer may price a full tear-off to the deck while another prices an overlay. One may include disposal and another may list it as a separate charge. Before the sitting, split each total into the same pieces: materials, labor, tear-off and haul-away, underlayment, flashing and vents, permit, and any allowance or contingency line. Where a bid does not show a piece, write that down rather than guessing its value.

Then compare the cost of the answers that will not show up in the total. Ask each roofer what a change order costs per hour, what a return trip costs if a missed item turns up after the crew leaves, and whether a weather delay is billed. A bid that is $800 lower can become the more expensive choice if every extra visit is priced at a rate the lower bidder never wrote down. In St. Louis, a roof job that starts in late October and runs into a hard freeze can also add cost through idle crew days and rescheduled material deliveries, so write down how each roofer would charge for a stop.

Permit fees deserve their own row. St. Louis County and the municipalities around it each run their own permit desk, and the fee and the inspection schedule can differ from one city to the next. Ask each roofer whether the permit is in the bid, who pulls it, and whether the fee is an estimate or a fixed number. Put the answers side by side. Two bids that both say permit included may mean very different things.

What to ask

Before the sitting, check that you have an answer for each row. If a row is empty for a roofer, ask the question again in writing and request a reply by a set date. A short list covers most of the ground:

• What brand and product line will be installed, and will it be Atlas or Malarkey shingle, or another brand?
• What is the start date in writing, and what happens if weather or material delivery moves it?
• Who is on the crew each day, and who is the supervisor on site?
• What does the bid cover for decking repair found under the old shingles, and at what rate?
• What is the change order rate, and how is each change approved in writing before the work is done?
• Who removes the debris, and where does the dumpster sit on your lot?
• What does the warranty cover, and who handles a claim after the job is finished?

Ask the same questions of each roofer, in the same order, and record the answers in the same format. This is the core of a fair comparison. A roofer who calls a warranty "lifetime" should be asked to show the wording and the length of coverage in the document, not just the phrase used in the sales conversation. Keys Roofing can be asked the same questions, and its written scope will show the materials, the measurements, the photos taken during the walk, and the steps in order.

When the sheet is complete, do not decide the same night. Read it again the next morning. Mark each row with one of three words: answered in writing, answered by phone only, or not answered. The number of rows marked answered in writing is often a better guide to how smoothly a job will run than the lowest total. If two roofers are close, the one that put more of its answers in writing has given you more to hold it to.

Keep questions about your own insurance separate from the roofing comparison. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) forbids a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and from saying anything about paying, waiving or covering a deductible. A roofer may document damage and give you a written scope with photos and measurements, and may attend while you deal with your own insurer, but the claim itself stays between you and your insurer. Missouri also has no matching statute for roofs, so whether a new shingle has to match an old one turns on the wording of your policy. Ask your agent that question directly, and file the answer with your bids.

To reach Keys Roofing about your comparison questions, call the office at (314) 220-2333.