Compare Who Pays If Your Shingles Are Recalled After the Roof Is On

Shingle recalls after a roof is installed are uncommon, but they happen, and the question of who pays for the redo is one most homeowners never ask before they sign. A maker can issue a notice months or years after a lot left the plant. The lot number is printed on the wrapper of each bundle, and the roofer who bought the shingles should be able to say which lot went onto your house. This page sets out what to ask each roofer in writing, so you know who carries the cost before the first bundle reaches the driveway.

Roofer comparison

Each bid should answer three separate questions about a recall. Who pays for the replacement material? Who pays for the crew hours to tear off and reinstall the affected slopes? Who decides whether a notice applies to your roof at all? These are different costs, and a roofer can answer one while leaving the others open. A manufacturer's warranty is written mainly around the product. It rarely covers the labor to remove shingles and put new ones on, and the workmanship promise is the roofer's own, so read that promise in the contract rather than assuming it.

Keys installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only, which narrows the question to two makers. Even so, ask Keys to name the product line on your bid and to state in writing how it would handle a notice on the lot that reaches your house. The same question should go to every roofer you are comparing, because the answers can differ even when the shingle is the same. One roofer may register the warranty in your name at install. Another may keep the registration with the company and only give you a copy later. Neither is wrong by default, but the difference decides who you call when a notice arrives.

Ask each roofer to put this in the bid or in a separate letter: the shingle maker and product line, the lot numbers that will be delivered to your address, who holds the warranty registration, and who receives a recall notice first. Ask whether the notice goes to you, to the roofer, or to both, and how many days pass before you hear about it. A roofer who says the manufacturer handles everything has not answered the labor question, and a roofer who cannot name the product line before signing has not answered the material question either.

Ask what happens if the lot is recalled between signing and install. The roofer should say whether a different lot is ordered, whether the price changes, whether the schedule moves, and whether any of that is written into the contract. A material change after signing belongs under the change order clause, so read that clause before you accept any substitution. A substitute that changes the wind rating or the impact rating is a different roof, and you should not accept it without a written spec showing the new numbers.

What it costs

The cost of a recall repair has three parts. The first is the shingles. The second is the labor to strip the affected slopes and install the replacements, which for a single-family roof can run to a full crew day or more on one face, and longer if the redo covers several slopes. The third is the work that comes with any redo: protection of landscaping, dumpster and disposal, and the cleanup and magnet sweep that follow the tear-off. A material warranty may cover the first part. It usually does not cover the second or third unless the roofer's contract says it does.

Ask each roofer to show the redo labor as its own line in the bid, even if the line is a hypothetical. This is not a second bid and it does not commit you to anything. It lets you see the number instead of guessing it. Two roofers can be close on the base roof and far apart on this line, and that gap only shows up when someone writes it down. When you total the bids, look at whether the figure includes redo labor or leaves it for a later change order. A bid that is lower because it leaves recall labor out is not lower for the same roof.

Price-hold language matters too. Shingle prices move between the quote and the install date, and a recall can land in that gap. Ask whether the quoted price holds if the product must be replaced with a same-spec product, and whether any substitution needs your written approval before the crew starts. If a roofer says the price is firm, ask what the firm price covers. A firm price on the bundles is not the same as a firm price on the labor to reinstall them.

Read the shingle maker's own warranty document too, and find the section on labor. Most product warranties are written around the material and describe what the maker will send, not who pays the crew. The roofer's written workmanship terms and the maker's material terms can both apply to the same redo, and the two can leave a gap between them that falls on the homeowner. Find that gap before the first bundle is delivered.

What to ask

Send these questions to each roofer in writing and keep the replies with your bid.

1. Which shingle maker and product line is on this bid, and which lot numbers will be on the pallets delivered to my address?
2. Who registers the shingle warranty, and where will I find the registration number?
3. If the maker issues a recall notice for my lot, who receives it first, and how many days will pass before you tell me?
4. Who pays for the replacement material, and who pays the tear-off and reinstall labor?
5. Will the redo labor appear as a line in this bid, or will it be left to a later change order?
6. Does the quoted price hold if a same-spec substitute is needed, and who must approve that substitute in writing?
7. Will any replacement keep the same wind rating and impact rating as the shingle named in the bid?
8. Where in the contract does the workmanship promise cover a shingle that is replaced after a maker recall?

Written answers take a few minutes to request, and they settle the question before the crew is on the ladder. If you want to put these questions to Keys by phone, the office number is (314) 220-2333.