Your Roof Bid Assumes Dry Ground, Whether or Not It Says So

Every roof bid has a schedule, and every schedule rests on ground. The truck has to reach the curb, the trailer has to stand somewhere level, and the pallet of shingle bundles has to sit on something that will not sink after a night of rain. Most bids never write that down. The ground is assumed to be dry, firm and open, and the crew shows up on that assumption. When it turns out to be wet, soft or blocked, the days move, and the homeowner finds out only after the calendar has already changed.

St. Louis gives that assumption plenty to get wrong. Spring rain soaks the clay that much of the region sits on. Winter freeze and thaw heaves the top few inches of yard, so a lawn that felt firm in October can be soft in March. Summer storms come in fast and leave standing water in low spots along a drive. None of this stops a roof job, but each of these conditions changes where a truck can stop and how long the trailer can stay parked.

Roofer comparison

When you compare two bids, put the ground question next to the start date. Ask each roofer to name the spot the material trailer will use, whether that spot is paved, gravel, grass or a shared drive, and what the crew will do if that spot is soft on the morning of the start. A roofer who has thought about the trailer will have an answer ready. A roofer who has not will say the crew will "figure it out," and that answer is worth noting on your comparison sheet.

Look at what each bid assumes about the days before the start, too. Some roofers stage bundles the week before, and that means the ground has to hold for longer. Others deliver the day of, which keeps the trailer on the road for a shorter window but puts the crew in a tighter spot if the drive is blocked. Neither method is wrong. The question is whether the bid says which method it uses and whether that method fits your yard after a wet week.

Compare, too, how each roofer treats a lawn it has to cross. Some bids include a line for protecting the grass with plywood or mats. Others say nothing about the lawn at all. A written line that names the protection, the path and the area covered gives you something to hold each roofer to. A blank line means the question is still open.

What it costs

Ground protection and staging usually sit inside the labor and equipment lines of a roof bid, not on a separate line of their own. That makes them hard to see. Plywood runs, mats, a second delivery trip and crew time spent moving a trailer out of mud all add cost, and some of that cost lands on the bid total whether or not the bid names it. When two totals are close, ask each roofer which of these costs are inside the number and which are billed later as extras.

A wet-ground delay has a cost too, and it is not always on the bid. If the trailer cannot stand where the schedule expects, the crew may move to another job and return later, which stretches the calendar. A longer calendar can mean more days of exposed deck in an unpredictable spring. Ask each roofer how a ground delay is handled in the contract, whether the start date moves, whether any charge applies, and whether the change is written before the crew leaves. Those answers matter more than a small difference in the bid total.

A lower total with a thin ground plan can cost more in the end than a higher total that spells out how the trailer, the bundles and the crew will be handled. Compare the two numbers only after you have read both plans.

What to ask

Before you pick a roofer, put these questions to each one in writing, and save the replies with the bids.

1. Where will the material trailer stand on the day of the start, and is that spot paved, gravel, grass or shared with a neighbor?
2. Does the bid assume the ground is dry on the start date, and what happens if it is not?
3. Will shingle bundles be delivered the day of the start or staged earlier, and where will they wait?
4. What protection goes on the lawn, the drive and any planting beds the crew crosses, and who pays for repairs if ground is damaged?
5. If the start has to move because of wet ground, does the contract change the start date in writing, and is there a charge?
6. Which crew member makes the call to move the trailer or delay the start, and how will you hear about it?

Write each answer on the same sheet so you can compare them side by side. A vague answer on one bid and a specific answer on the other tells you more than either bid total.

Where your yard enters the plan

You know your yard better than any roofer does on the first visit. Walk the drive, the side gate, the area by the garage and the strip between the curb and the house after a rainy day, if you can, and note the places that hold water or sink under weight. Take photos with dates. Those photos are useful when you compare bids, because they let you point to a specific spot and ask each roofer how it will be handled.

If you have a sprinkler system, a septic field, a buried utility line or a shallow lot edge, mention them to each roofer before you sign. Ground that looks firm can still hide any of those, and a trailer that rolls over a sprinkler head or compacts a drain field creates a second problem on top of the first. A roofer who asks about these items before the start is paying attention to the ground. A roofer who does not ask has not yet thought about where the trailer goes.

Once you have answers from each roofer, put the ground plan next to the start date and the total. If one bid has a clear trailer spot, a stated plan for dry and wet days, and a written rule for moving the start, while the other bid is silent on all three, the silent bid has not finished its schedule. Ask for the missing parts before you choose. Keys Roofing answers these questions from the office at (314) 220-2333, and the answers should appear in your written proposal, not only in a phone call.