Grackle Roosts Near Your Eave Can Set the Roof Start, So Ask Each Roofer

If your house sits beside a stand of tall trees in many older St. Louis County neighborhoods, you have probably seen a flock of common grackles or starlings in the spring and fall. These birds gather in large numbers at dusk, roost in the same branches night after night, and make a noise that carries across the street. For a roof crew, that noise and the droppings under the roost are a scheduling question, not just a nuisance. This page covers what to compare when you have two or three roof bids in hand, and what to ask each roofer before you choose a start date.

Why a roost changes the start time

A roost is a tree, or a group of trees, where birds gather to sleep. Grackles and starlings often choose the same branches year after year, and the flock builds up through late summer and fall. Each evening the birds fly in, and each morning they fly out, usually in a loud, tight group. A crew that starts at seven in the morning can find the flock lifting off directly over the staging area. The birds do not care about the crew, but the crew has to plan around them, because a sudden flight over a tarp, a ladder or a pallet of shingles can mean a dropped bundle, a startled worker on a steep slope, or a truck that cannot unload on time.

Roosts also leave residue. Droppings on a tarp or a shingle wrapper can stain the granules, and they make a driveway slick where workers carry bundles to the eave. Some roosts sit over the roof edge itself, which means a limb may need trimming before tear-off starts. That limb work is a separate decision with its own cost and its own crew, so it belongs in the bid as a named line rather than an assumption.

Roofer comparison: put the same question to each bid

Most roof bids say nothing about birds. That silence is useful. When you ask each roofer about a roost, the answer shows how they plan the day, not just whether they have heard of grackles. Write each company's answer in the same columns you use for the rest of your comparison: the start hour, the pause rule, the cleanup line, and the date the answer was given. A roofer who answers the same way on the phone and in writing is easier to compare than one whose answer changes from one call to the next.

Look for three things in every answer. First, does the roofer name a start hour, or only say "early"? Second, does the roofer describe a stop rule for a flock flight, and say who on the crew makes that call? Third, does the roofer treat droppings as a cleanup item with a named person, or as something the crew will get to when it can? A vague answer on any of the three is a reason to ask again in writing.

• The hour the crew arrives on your lot, and the hour the first material comes off the truck.
• Who on the crew decides to pause when birds lift off a nearby tree, and how many days a pause usually adds.
• Where the tarps and shingle wrappers wait overnight, and whether they are covered.
• Who washes the driveway and walk after the final load, and on which day.
• Whether a limb that overhangs the roof is inside the bid, outside it, or on a separate tree quote.

What it costs

Bird-related work is rarely one line on a roof bid. A driveway wash, a replacement tarp or a second trip to clear a limb may sit inside the labor, inside a cleanup allowance, or outside the total altogether. Ask each roofer which of the three applies. A bid that says "cleanup included" should also say what that cleanup covers: the walk, the gutters, the shrubs below the eave, and the driveway. If the answer is only a phrase, ask for the list.

Schedule costs count too. If a roofer moves the start to a later hour to avoid the evening roost or the morning departure, the job may run an extra day, and that day may be billed. Ask whether a changed start hour changes the total. Ask, too, whether a flock pause is counted as a weather day, a crew day or a delay the owner caused under the contract. Those words mean different things, and the difference can show up on the final invoice. Any cost change should appear in writing with the reason beside it. If you want to talk through the scheduling side before you decide, Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333.

What to ask each roofer

1. Have you worked on a St. Louis roof with a roost in the trees beside it? What did you change on that job?
2. What hour does the crew arrive on my lot, and what hour does the last truck leave?
3. Who decides to stop work when a flock lifts, and how long does a stop usually last?
4. Where do the tarps and shingle wrappers sit overnight, and who checks them before the crew leaves?
5. Is driveway and walk cleanup in the bid, and what exactly does it cover?
6. If a limb must come down, who arranges that crew, and is its cost in my total?
7. Will you put the start hour and the stop rule in the contract, not only in a phone call?

Write each answer next to its question, and keep the date beside it. When two roofers give the same answer, the comparison is easy. When one says "we handle it" and the other names a start hour, the named hour is the one you can hold them to. A roofer who will not name an hour has not yet planned the day, and that tells you something about the bid before a crew ever sets a ladder against your eave.