How Many Roofer Bids Is Enough, and How You Know to Stop

Most St. Louis homeowners who get a roof bid start by asking how many roofers they should call. The honest answer depends on what you are trying to learn, and it is worth deciding before the first truck comes to the curb. A count set in advance keeps the comparison from drifting, and it keeps you from collecting a fourth or fifth number only because the first three were hard to line up.

Two bids feel safe because there are two sides to a choice, but two numbers rarely show you a pattern. If one roofer says the tear-off is included and the other says it is extra, you have a disagreement, not a comparison. A third bid usually tells you which of the two was describing the normal job. Beyond three, the gains get smaller unless the first three disagree in ways you cannot explain. This is a working rule, not a law. Missouri does not license roofers at the state level, so no state board sets how many contractors you must hear from, and no statute says three is the minimum.

Set the count by the question you need answered

Start with the question. If you need to know whether your roof needs replacing at all, you may want a repair-or-replace opinion from more than one source, plus one inspection that does not end in a sale. If you already know you need a new roof and the only question is which contractor to hire, the count is about the scope and the people who will be on your lot.

For a repair decision on an older three-tab roof, the useful comparison is often between a patch and a replacement. Past a certain age and condition, repairs stop making sense because the shingles that remain no longer bend enough to be lifted, and matching the old color becomes a guess. Two or three roofers who look at the same slopes and give the same reasoning will tell you more than five who each give a different number for a patch.

For a full replacement, the count matters less than the consistency. Give each roofer the same written description of your house: the number of slopes, the pitch if you know it, the penetrations, and what you want removed. Then compare what comes back. A roofer who measures differently from the rest is the one to question first.

What each extra bid costs you

A bid is not free to collect. Each one takes a site visit, a set of photos, a measurement, and a call back. In St. Louis, a roofer's calendar can run weeks out in spring and early summer when hail season sends people to the phone, so a fourth visit can push your start date into the next month. Each visit also means a stranger walking your yard and climbing a ladder, which is worth planning around if you have pets or children at home.

Time costs matter in another way. Freeze and thaw cycles in winter can make a half-finished roof hard to close, and a start date pushed into December can add risk. If your existing roof is leaking, waiting for a fourth quote may cost you more than the price difference between two bids.

There is also a cost to your own attention. Comparing five written quotes means lining up five sets of line items, and most homeowners end up comparing totals instead of scopes. Three well-read bids give you more to work with than five skimmed ones.

Keep the bids the same shape before you count them

A count only helps if the bids can be compared. Before you tally how many roofers responded, check that each bid covers the same things. Does it include tear-off, underlayment, drip edge, ice and water membrane at the eaves and valleys, flashing, ridge vent, and the disposal of old material? Does it name Atlas or Malarkey, or does it say a comparable shingle? Those are the lines where two bids that look close on the first page quietly differ by thousands.

Ask each roofer for the same thing in the same form. A short list works: the scope in writing, the materials by product name, the start window, the warranty terms as the manufacturer and the contractor each state them, and the price with its breakdown. If one roofer answers in a phone call and another sends a document, note that. The gap in how they answer is information.

Signs the comparison is finished

You can stop collecting bids when three things are true. The bids agree on the scope once you line them up, so that any remaining difference in price has an explanation you can write down. The roofers answer your questions the same way when you ask them twice, and their answers do not change each time. And you have a clear sense of which bid you would sign if the choice were made today.

If none of those is true after three bids, the problem is usually the request, not the count. A fourth bid will not fix a scope that was never described in writing. Go back to the first step, write the description of your roof and your house more carefully, and send that same description to the roofers you already heard from.

Where the count meets the permit and the insurer

Many St. Louis County and city jurisdictions require a permit for a re-roof, and the permit desk will want the scope that matches the work. If you are comparing bids to file a permit, make sure the scope you choose is the one that will be permitted. A bid that changes the decking or the venting after you sign may need a revised permit, and that can reset the schedule.

If your roof damage came from a storm and you are working through your own insurer, the bid count can run alongside that process. 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. A roofer can document damage, put a written scope with photos and measurements in your hands, and attend as the contractor while you deal with your own insurer. Your insurer, not your roofer, decides what the claim pays. Keep each bid as its own document, and do not count an insurer estimate as a roofer bid.

Missouri has no matching statute for roofs. If the question of matching a new shingle to an older roof comes up while you compare bids, the answer turns on the wording of your policy, not on a state rule.

A simple way to set the count today

Write down the question you need answered. Decide on three roofers before you call the first one, and tell each of them that you are collecting three bids, which is useful information for them too. Send the same written description to each. Line the bids up by scope before you look at the totals. If the first three agree once they are aligned, you have a comparison. If they do not, decide what missing piece would close the gap, and ask for that piece in writing before you add a fourth name.

If you want to talk through what a comparison should include for your house, Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333. The point of the count is to get the same answers from each roofer, so you can make the choice on the evidence and not on who called last.