Sort Each Roof Bid Line Into Required or Optional Before You Compare

A roof bid is a list of lines, and not every line is the same kind of thing. Some lines exist because the building code or the permit desk requires them. Some exist because the shingle maker's installation instructions call for them, so the product performs as sold. Some exist because the roofer chose a particular method and wants to be paid for it. When two bids come in with different totals, much of the gap usually sits in the third group, and the first two groups are where you can check whether the roofers agree at all.

Before you compare totals, ask each roofer to mark every line with one of three labels. The labels do the sorting work that a homeowner cannot easily do alone, because nobody outside the trade can read a bid and tell which line is code, which line is product and which line is taste. The exercise is short, it can be done by email or on the phone, and the answers come back in a form you can lay side by side.

The three labels to ask for

Ask for the labels in this exact form, so the replies match each other:

• Required by code or permit. The city, the county or the building official will look for this line at inspection. Examples include the attic ventilation that the code calls for, the flashing at roof penetrations, and any item the permit application names.
• Required by the product. The shingle maker's instructions call for this line so the installation stays within the product's published method. Starter strip, the nailing pattern, and the underlayment or ice barrier at the eave often sit here.
• A choice. The roofer or the homeowner picked this. A higher-grade underlayment, a ridge vent upgrade, or a decision to replace rather than repair a single section falls here.

A line can carry more than one label. An ice and water barrier at the eaves can be required by the product in one section of the roof and a choice in another. Ask the roofer to write both labels when that happens, and to name the section.

What the permit desk settles and what it does not

St. Louis County and the municipalities inside it handle roof permits through their own desks, and the rules for what must be shown on a permit application vary by jurisdiction. Some desks ask for a scope of work and a material description. Others look at the roof structure only when a change is proposed. Ask each roofer which permit desk they will file with, and ask them to say which bid lines that desk will look at. A permit card posted on the job is not a price, and an inspector who signs off a roof has not checked your bid against anyone else's bid.

Missouri does not license roofers at the state level, so a roofer's registration with a city or county says little about how that roofer has priced your roof. The line-by-line labels do more of that work than a license would, because they show how the roofer thinks about each part of the job.

Freeze and thaw changes which lines are required

St. Louis roofs go through repeated freezing and thawing from late fall through early spring, and that cycle is why some lines that a warmer region might call optional end up required here. Ice at the eave can push meltwater back under the first course of shingles and up past the edge of the deck. A roofer who understands that will be able to point to where the membrane goes, how far up the deck it runs, and which line in the bid pays for it. A roofer who cannot point to it has either left the line out or folded it into a general heading like labor.

Hail season adds its own items. Drip edge, valley metal and the ridge are often checked against the storm record when a roof is assessed, so ask each roofer which of those lines the storm documentation depends on. Keys documents damage with photos and measurements and puts a written scope in the homeowner's hands, and that scope names each of these items so you can read them yourself before you decide.

How to ask each roofer

The request goes smoothly when it is short and specific. Send the same message to each roofer on the same day, and keep the replies in one folder so the answers can be compared later.

1. Ask for a copy of the bid with a column added for the label on each line.
2. Ask which lines they consider required by the permit desk, and name the desk.
3. Ask which lines the shingle maker's installation instructions require, and which edition of those instructions they follow.
4. Ask which lines they consider choices, and what each choice would cost if you drop it.
5. Ask what they would be willing to put in writing about any line marked as a choice.

The last question matters more than the rest. A choice that the roofer will put in writing with a price is one you can accept or decline. A choice that cannot be found in writing is one you should not count on when the totals are compared.

Reading the labels side by side

Once the labels are back, lay the bids in columns and read down the rows. A line that one roofer labels as required and another roofer omits is a question to ask, not a verdict. Either the second roofer disagrees about the code or the product requirement, or the line has been folded into something else on the bid. Call back and ask which one it is, then write down the answer and the date.

A roofer who will not label the lines at all is giving you information too. It may be that the bid was built from a template and nobody checked it against the permit or the product sheet. It may be that the roofer prefers not to commit to a reason for each line. Either way, you are left comparing totals without knowing what the totals include, and that is the situation the labels are meant to prevent.

Pay attention to the lines marked as choices. A bid with a long list of choices may look thin on the required side and heavy on the optional side, and the total can move a good deal depending on which choices you accept. Two bids with the same required lines and different choices are not the same roof at the same price. They are two different roofs, and the labels are the only place the difference shows up in a form you can read.

If you want to talk through a bid before you decide, call Keys at (314) 220-2333. Ask for the label on each line, and ask the office to show you where each one sits in the written scope.