Roofing estimate guide: what to include and how to price it.

• The measurement, in squares. One square is 100 square feet. State the measured squares, the pitch, and the waste factor you applied. A number with no measurement behind it is just an opinion.
• Tear-off, by layer. How many existing layers the price covers removing, priced separately from the new roof.
• A decking allowance. Per-sheet price for replacing damaged decking, billed only for sheets actually replaced, with photos taken during tear-off.
• Underlayment. Synthetic or felt, plus ice-and-water shield in valleys and around penetrations where your practice or code calls for it.
• The roofing material itself. Shingle line and grade (or metal, tile, or membrane), ridge cap, and starter, named, not lumped.
• Flashing and ventilation. Step and counter flashing, pipe boots, valley treatment, and ridge or box vents. Reused flashing should be a stated decision, not a silent one.
• Permits, disposal, and cleanup. Permit fees, dump fees, and magnetic nail sweep, each visible.
• Both warranties, separately. The manufacturer's material warranty and your workmanship warranty run on different terms. Listing one as if it were both is how disputes start.

Take a straightforward replacement: a 24-square roof (2,400 square feet of roof area), moderate pitch, one existing layer, architectural shingles. With a 10 percent waste factor for cuts and ridges, material is ordered at roughly 26.5 squares. Priced per square with labor included in the per-square lines, the estimate might read:

Notice the shape: the allowance sits outside the total, named and capped, so a rotten sheet is an $85 line the customer already agreed to, not a mid-job argument on a torn-off roof. The waste factor is stated, so the material count looks deliberate instead of padded. And the estimate carries its condition: final scope confirmed once tear-off exposes the deck.

After a storm, speed matters and so does honesty, because storm work often involves an insurer as well as a homeowner. The workflow that holds up:

• Safety first, photos from the ground. Missing shingles, creased tabs, damaged flashing, and debris can all be documented from the yard. Nobody prices a roof by climbing a wet, damaged one for a photo.
• Document like it will be read later. Wide shots of each slope, close-ups of the damage, and interior photos of any leak stains, all date-stamped. This set serves the estimate and the customer's claim file at the same time.
• Separate emergency work from the roof price. Tarping or a temporary dry-in is its own line, priced now; the permanent repair or replacement is estimated conditionally until someone is on the roof.
• Name what photos cannot settle. Decking condition, hidden moisture, whether creased shingles are wind damage or wear, and how many layers exist are confirmed on the roof. Saying so in writing protects the customer with their insurer and protects you from a number you cannot defend.

For the bigger picture on storm work, see InspectAI's storm response page, and the general method in our photo estimates guide.

• No waste factor. Running short on install day costs a delivery, a delay, and sometimes a visible dye-lot mismatch.
• Tear-off priced without a layer count. The second layer is pure unpaid labor and dump weight.
• No decking allowance. Rot is common enough that “we'll see” should be a priced allowance, not a hope.
• Permits and disposal absorbed silently. They are real, fixed costs on every replacement.
• One lump number. Homeowners compare it against a cheaper lump number from a crew that quietly plans to reuse flashing and skip underlayment upgrades. Line items are how the honest price explains itself.