Dropping a Bid Line Can Void a Warranty: Ask Each Roofer

Most roof bids are built from lines, and a homeowner trying to bring the total down will look for lines to remove. Underlayment upgrades, drip edge, ridge vent, a dumpster allowance and a starter course all look like candidates. Removing one can seem like a simple trim. But some lines are the conditions a shingle warranty depends on, and the bid is where that connection is written down.

Why one line can carry the warranty

Shingle manufacturers publish installation requirements. Keys installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only, and both come with written instructions covering nailing pattern, starter strips, ice and water membrane in valleys and at eaves, and ventilation. A warranty generally covers a roof installed to those instructions. If a bid drops a component the instructions require, the roof can look finished from the street while failing the condition the warranty depends on.

That is why a removed line can cost more later than it saves now. The savings show up on the day of the bid. The warranty question shows up years later, when a claim needs a installation record and the record is missing the line.

Sort the lines before you ask

Ask each roofer to mark every line on the bid as one of three things: required by the shingle manufacturer, required by code, or optional for the homeowner. Then ask which of the required lines appear on the bid at all. Keep the list short. The goal is to find the two or three lines that tie to the warranty, not to rewrite the whole document.

Put the same list to every roofer, in the same order. A single shared list makes the answers easy to compare, and it stops one roofer from talking about a different roof than the others.

Questions to put to each roofer

• Which shingle line is on the bid, and which warranty type comes with it?
• Which lines does the manufacturer's installation document require for that warranty?
• If I remove this line, what happens to the warranty, and who signs the change?
• Will the answer appear on a revised bid or a signed change order?
• Where in the manufacturer's written instructions does this requirement appear?

The last question is the one most homeowners skip. A roofer who can point to the section of the installation instructions has given you something you can check yourself on the manufacturer's site. A roofer who cannot point to anything has given you an opinion.

What a usable answer sounds like

A useful answer names the line, names the document it comes from, and states the effect on the warranty. Answers such as it is fine, we always leave that off, or nobody checks that are not answers. They tell you how the roofer feels about the line, not whether the warranty survives without it.

A roofer who gives a clear yes or no, with a reason, is easier to compare than one who answers every question with a sales point. Note the difference in your comparison sheet rather than deciding in the moment.

Where St. Louis weather makes a line matter more

Freeze and thaw cycles in St. Louis push water under the lower courses of shingles, and ice damming at the eave can force meltwater back up under the roof edge. Lines that handle those conditions, such as ice and water membrane at the eave, are the ones homeowners most often try to remove, and they are also the ones that matter most in a freeze. If a bid leaves them out, ask where the eave water goes instead.

Hail season adds another reason to keep the installation record intact. A roof that is inspected after a storm will be checked against the installation details, so a missing line can turn a simple repair question into a longer conversation about what was installed and what was not.

The warranty is not an insurance claim

Keep these two things apart. A manufacturer's shingle warranty is a product and installation promise. An insurance claim is a separate process with its own paperwork and its own timeline. Missouri law (RSMo 407.725) bars a roofing contractor from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and from saying anything about paying, waiving or covering a deductible. Keys documents damage, puts a written scope with photos and measurements in the homeowner's hands, and attends as the contractor while the homeowner deals with their own insurer. A warranty question belongs on the bid, not in an insurance file.

Get the answer in writing

If a roofer says a line can go without affecting the warranty, ask for that sentence in the bid or in a signed change order. A verbal assurance is hard to hold later, especially once the crew has left and the original salesperson has moved on. Keep the original bid and the revised bid side by side, so the difference between them is visible on one page.

Ask the roofer to name who is responsible for confirming the warranty requirements on your roof. The answer should be a person, not a department.

If the answer is no

If a roofer says a line cannot come off without affecting the warranty, that is useful information too. It means the line is priced for a reason, and the comparison now turns on the other bids and their answers. Call the office at (314) 220-2333 with the bid number and the line in question, and ask for the written reason. A short written explanation is more useful to you than a longer verbal one.

Bring the written reason to your next roofer and ask whether they agree. Their answer, in writing, goes on the same sheet as the others.