What goes into a real roof estimate

Pick the closest match. If it looks like none of these, choose Not sure and we will identify it on the roof.

Asbestos-cement shingles are regulated. Testing and state and local asbestos rules come before any removal. We don’t break or remove them as part of an estimate.

Example photoSlateFlat stone pieces, each nailed individually.

Example photoClay tileCurved or flat fired-clay tiles.

Concrete tileHeavy molded tiles, often flat or low-profile.

Asbestos-cement shinglesHard, flat shingles, often set on a diagonal.

Example photo3-tab asphalt shinglesEven tabs separated by slots.

Laminated (architectural) asphalt shinglesLayered shingles with uneven, dimensional tabs.

Designer asphalt shinglesFor example CertainTeed Grand Manor, GAF Grand Sequoia, CertainTeed Landmark TL.

Example photoMetalStanding seam or ribbed metal panels.

Example photoWood shakeSplit wood shakes or sawn shingles.

Example photoLow-slope / flat (membrane)A flat or nearly flat roof covered in sheet membrane.

Not sure

Pick the city, town or county that issues the building permit. For these 11 Colorado places we show what the local code says, with sources, on the next screen.

The rating is usually printed on the bundle wrapper; if you have a leftover bundle, the product name is on it. On the roof, we tell product lines apart with a shingle gauge, which measures exposure and thickness.

Modern asphalt shingles are built on a fiberglass mat. Impact-resistant lines either reinforce the back with a fabric or scrim, or use SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene) polymer-modified asphalt that flexes instead of fracturing. Class 4 is the highest impact rating under UL 2218 (UL).

Exposure is how much of each shingle shows. It decides which replacement shingles will match on a repair.

Ridge cap covers the peak where two slopes meet. The type changes both the look and the labor.

Example photo

High-profile ridge cap

Pre-cut hip and ridge shingles

Ridge cut from 3-tab shingles

Not sure

A rough count from the ground is enough. We count them on the roof.

Old roofing can be too brittle to repair. On asphalt shingles, the sealant can tear the mat out of the shingle being lifted, leaving it stuck to the course below. We test this on the roof before promising a repair.

Order matters. Spray foam over TPO is a different roof from TPO over foam, and each layer is another tear-off. Start at the deck and add each layer going up.

Count every layer down to the deck, including old membranes, insulation and coatings. A rough count is fine.

Spray foam is a rigid, sprayed-on foam that is usually coated. It looks like a thick, slightly bumpy, painted surface.

TPO is a white, tan or gray single-ply membrane with heat-welded seams.

Older built-up and coal-tar pitch roofs can have asbestos in the felts or flashing cement. That is regulated and tested before anything is disturbed. We take a sample; we don’t guess.

Saturated insulation must come off; dry insulation can sometimes stay. We confirm with moisture readings or a core cut on the roof. Pick all that apply.

Coping is the metal cap over the top of a parapet wall. Gravel stop and drip edge are the metal strips at an edge with no wall.

A termination bar is a thin metal strip screwed along the top edge of the membrane on a wall, holding it down, usually with a bead of sealant over it.

Count separate condensing or window-style air conditioners. Rooftop heating and cooling units are the next question.

An RTU is a large packaged box that heats, cools or both, sitting on a curb on the roof. Each one needs its curb flashed.

Count roof drains, scuppers, plumbing and exhaust vents, and any other pipes. A rough range is fine.

The year is enough. If you do not know it, skip this or choose Not sure.

Flashing is the metal at valleys, walls, chimneys and edges. Copper has a brown or green color, lead is soft and dull gray, terne is dull gray and often painted; galvanized or painted steel is gray or painted.

Starter on the rakes adds a sealed edge along the sloped sides, which helps resist wind lift. Eaves are the bottom edges. Rakes are the sloped side edges.

Drip edge is metal along the roof edge that sends water off the deck. At the eaves a gutter apron goes under the underlayment; at the rakes the drip edge goes over it.

Ice and water barrier is a self-sealing membrane under the roofing in the places water gets pushed.

International Residential Code R905.1.2 requires the ice barrier to extend from the eave to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall line, where your local code requires an ice barrier. On roofs 8:12 or steeper, some codes also require it at least 36 inches up the slope from the eave. A deep overhang can mean one roll does not reach.

Ask us what your local code requires for this roof type.

Example photo

Ice dams are ridges of ice at the eaves that back meltwater up under the roofing. Winter ceiling stains along exterior walls are a common sign.

A valley is where two slopes meet in a V. Open valleys show a strip of metal. Closed-cut valleys are covered by cut shingles. Woven valleys interlace the shingles from both sides.

Open (metal showing)

Closed-cut

Woven

Not sure

Pipe jacks, also called pipe boots, seal the plumbing vent pipes where they pass through the roof. We list each one on the estimate.

Example photo

Type of pipe jack

Lead

All-plastic (polypropylene)

Metal base with a plastic or rubber collar (adjustable “3-in-1”)

Metal base sized to the pipe

Not sure

Count a masonry chimney that comes through the roof surface.

We ask because a chimney wider than 30 inches needs a cricket (a small peaked saddle) on its up-slope side: IRC R903.2.2, where your local code requires it.

Example photo

Step flashing runs up the side in pieces. Counter flashing is the cover metal that laps over it, either set into the chimney or mounted on its surface.

Example photo

A rough look from the ground is fine. We measure it on the roof.

A curb-mounted skylight sits on a raised frame. A deck-mounted one sits flat on the roof deck. Reflashing keeps the unit and replaces the metal around it.

That means a dormer or a second story rising from the roof. Step flashing is the row of small bent metal pieces along the wall. A kick-out is the angled piece at the bottom that sends water into the gutter instead of behind the siding.

We check whether the existing step flashing can be reused and whether it’s properly interlaced with the shingles.

Step flashing is the row of small bent metal pieces along the wall. We check each piece on the roof.

A kick-out is the angled piece at the bottom of the wall that sends water into the gutter instead of behind the siding.

Ventilation works when intake and exhaust are balanced. On a full tear-off we check intake and exhaust against current code. Pick all that apply.

Count each box vent, turbine or fan. A ridge vent counts as one.

IRC R806.2 places the upper vents not more than 3 feet below the ridge, measured vertically, when vent area is figured at the 1/300 ratio.

Intake at the eaves should roughly match exhaust at the ridge.

These are the round or square caps over bathroom and kitchen fans, the kind often made by Broan. Each one needs its own flashing.

Model numbers are examples so you can match what you see; other brands make the same sizes.

These are the metal pipes that carry combustion gases out. Each one needs its own flashing.

The pipe size is printed on the pipe or the appliance, or measure across the pipe. A rough size is fine.

The cap is the cover on top of the pipe. It is either the same size as the pipe or wider.

B-vent is double-wall metal pipe, with an inner and an outer wall. Not sure is fine.

We find out how much decking needs replacing once the old roof is off. Soft spots you have felt from inside help us plan for it.

Local codes generally limit how many layers a roof can carry. Extra layers mean more tear-off and disposal.

Example photo

Old roofs can have five or six layers of felt under two layers of shingles. We count them at tear-off.

Example photo

Steepness changes the safety gear and the time on the roof. Answer from the ground; do not climb up to check.

One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. If you do not know it, skip this: the address lets us measure.

If materials have to be carried around the building instead of set at the eave, that’s added labor. A dumpster or trailer also needs room close to the work, and landscaping or pools near the walls need protecting.

Gutters and gutter guards come off and go back on around roof work.

The gutter apron is the metal at the eave that guides water into the gutter instead of behind it.

Spikes and ferrules are long nails through a sleeve. Hidden hangers are brackets inside the gutter. A rough size from the ground is fine.

Aluminum is light, painted or unpainted; steel is heavier and gray or painted; copper is brown or green.

Gutter guards are covers or screens over the gutter.

Some neighborhoods and districts review the materials and colors of a roof before work starts. The city code facts come from the panel shown after you pick where the roof is. Pick all that apply.