Open Roof Days: Compare How Long Each Roofer Leaves Your House Exposed

When a roofer quotes your job, the number on the page usually covers the shingles, the labor and the cleanup. What it rarely says is how long your house sits with its roof off. That gap matters in St. Louis, where one afternoon of wind or a passing thunderstorm can turn an open deck into a wet ceiling. Before you compare roofers on price, compare how long each one expects your house to stay exposed and what each crew does with the opening at the end of every workday.

Why exposure time is a comparison point

An open roof is a roof with the old shingles stripped and the new layer not yet on. The underlayment, if it goes down the same day, is the only thing between the attic and the sky. Some crews tear off one slope in the morning and dry it in before lunch. Others strip the whole house on day one and leave the deck bare for two or three days while they wait on material or a second crew. Both approaches can be sound. They are not the same job, and bids often hide the difference.

Ask each roofer for two numbers in writing: the number of days from first tear-off to final nail, and the number of nights the deck will be open at the end of a workday. The first number tells you about the schedule. The second tells you about the risk you carry while you sleep.

What the bid should say about the open deck

A written answer should name the sequence. Which slope comes off first. Whether the crew will dry in each section before it moves on. What covers the deck, and with what, when the crew leaves for the evening. A line that says the roof will be protected is not an answer. A line that says the crew will install underlayment on each slope before leaving, and tarp any section that is not dried in, is an answer you can check against the crew when it arrives.

Ask how the tarps are secured too. Ask whether the crew holds a tarp down with sandbags, boards or fasteners, and who checks it when the forecast turns. Those details belong with the schedule, not in a separate conversation after the first rain.

Material staging and the open night

The open deck is not the only exposure on a roof job. Shingle bundles stacked on the drive or along the side of the house can sit in the same weather for a day or more. Plywood sheets waiting for a soft spot repair need a dry, covered place near the house. If a roofer's delivery is late, the crew may strip more roof than it can finish, which leaves the house open longer than the schedule showed.

Ask where each roofer stages material, who signs for the delivery when it arrives, and what the crew does if a pallet is short on the day it was supposed to be dried in. A roofer who has a clear answer for a late truck usually has a clear answer for a storm. A roofer who has no answer for the truck is telling you something about the schedule too.

The St. Louis weather question

Late spring and early summer bring the storms that matter most here. Hail season overlaps the months when many roofers are busiest, and a line of thunderstorms can move through faster than a crew can cover an open slope. Fall brings a different risk. Cold nights and the first freeze-thaw swings can work moisture into exposed deck edges, and a dry afternoon can mislead anyone into thinking the roof is safe to leave open for another day.

Ask each roofer what they do when the forecast shows rain after the crew has already stripped a slope. The useful answer names a time, a person and an action. For example, the crew lead checks the forecast at a set hour, and if rain is likely, the remaining shingles are not removed and the open section is covered before the trucks leave. If a roofer answers only that they watch the weather, you have learned very little.

Compare the answers side by side

Put each roofer's answers in one list, using the same questions in the same order. A simple table on paper works. Write down the number of days to final nail, the number of nights the deck stays open, the slope order, the covering method, and the name of the person who decides whether to stop. Blank cells count as answers too. A missing number of open nights tells you the roofer has not planned for it, or would rather you not ask.

• Days from first tear-off to final nail, in writing
• Nights the deck stays open at the end of a workday
• Which slope comes off first, and whether each slope is dried in before the crew moves on
• What covers an open section overnight, and how it is fastened
• Who checks the covering before dark and after a storm
• What the crew does when the forecast turns or a delivery runs late

Watch for the vague answer

Some answers sound complete and say very little. 'We are fast' is not a number. 'We never leave a roof open' may be true on a good day and false when material is late. Ask the roofer to walk through a case where the shingles do not arrive on schedule, and listen for whether the crew strips less roof, covers what is open, or keeps going. You are looking for a plan, not a promise.

If two roofers give you different open-night numbers for the same house, log both answers with the date. Ask each one to explain the gap. A roofer who plans for one or two open nights and a roofer who plans for none are not making the same offer, even if the totals look close.

What to do with the answers

Once you have the numbers, decide which risk you can accept. Some homeowners prefer a shorter open window even at a higher price, because less time open means less time for a storm to find the deck. Others prefer a crew that works in smaller sections and dries each one in before moving on. Neither choice is wrong. The mistake is choosing a roofer without knowing the number at all.

If you still have questions about how a roofer plans the open deck, call the Keys office at (314) 220-2333 and ask for the written schedule and covering plan. Ask for the answers in writing before you sign, and keep them with the rest of your comparison. When the schedule changes during the job, ask for the change in writing too, with the new open-night count beside it.