How to price roofing jobs

Roofing pricing guides for homeowners give a range so wide it is almost useless to a roofer: a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands. Your job is to price the roof in front of you, and to do it in a way that holds when you open it up and find soft decking. This guide builds a replacement price from measured squares and your own costs, checks it against what homeowners have read, and shows how to present it as clear options.

Start with squares

Roofers price by the square, which is 100 square feet of roof surface. Roof surface is more than the footprint of the house, because a pitched roof is longer than the ground under it, and steeper roofs are longer still. Measure each plane, or measure the footprint and apply a pitch factor, then add up the planes.

Then add waste for cuts, starter, ridge and mistakes. Simple gable roofs need less; hips, valleys and dormers need more. Use the waste figure that matches your own experience and the shingle maker's guidance.

Koira measures roofs from satellite images for the first number, so you can give a homeowner a price before you climb a ladder. Confirm the measurement on site before you order materials.

What homeowners are told to expect

Sources: Today's Homeowner asphalt roofing cost and Fixr roof replacement cost, both checked October 8, 2026. Fixr's average replacement is about $10,000, or $4.75 a square foot, and it says tear-off can reach $150 a square for heavier materials. Today's Homeowner lists shingle material alone at $1 to $3 a square foot for architectural and $0.70 to $2 for 3-tab.

What a roof really costs you

• Materials. Shingles, underlayment, starter, ridge cap, drip edge, flashing, vents, nails. Price them per square from your supplier's current quote, including waste.
• Tear-off and disposal. Labor to strip each layer, plus the dumpster or dump fees. A second layer adds both.
• Crew labor. Tear-off, dry-in, install, flashing, cleanup, for every person on the roof. BLS's May 2025 survey puts the national mean wage for roofers at $27.95 an hour, median $26.65 (BLS OEWS 47-2181, checked October 8, 2026). Workers' comp for roofing is high; include it in your burden.
• Decking. Unknown until the old roof is off. Price it per sheet or per square foot on the estimate.
• Permits and inspections. Fixr lists $100 to $500.
• Equipment and safety. Fall protection, roof jacks, a lift or hoist, the dump trailer.
• Overhead and profit. Truck, insurance, office, sales time, warranty callbacks, and the profit that keeps you in business long enough to honor the warranty.

A worked example: a 22 square architectural reroof

These are example numbers to show the math. Put in your own.

• The roof: 22 squares measured, one layer to tear off, a simple gable with a moderate pitch. Order 25 squares with waste.
• Materials: an assumed $160 a square for shingles and all accessories. 25 × $160 = $4,000.
• Tear-off disposal: an assumed $500 for the dumpster.
• Labor: a four-person crew for two 8 hour days, so 64 crew hours. Pay of $28 an hour plus 25% burden is $35 an hour. 64 × $35 = $2,240.
• Permit: an assumed $250.
• Job cost: $4,000 + $500 + $2,240 + $250 = $6,990.
• Price for a 35% margin for overhead and profit: $6,990 ÷ (1 − 0.35) = $10,754, about $10,750.

That is about $489 a square on the 22 measured squares, inside Today's Homeowner's $350 to $750 a square for architectural shingles installed, and close to Fixr's $10,000 average. Decking is not in this price. On the estimate it would be a line such as "replace damaged decking at $X per sheet if needed", so the customer agrees to the rate before you find the damage.

The free profit margin calculator runs this math. Note that adding 35% to $6,990 gives $9,437, a 26% margin. On a roof, that difference is more than $1,300.

Build safety into the price

OSHA says falls are the leading cause of death in construction, with 389 fatal falls to a lower level out of 1,034 construction fatalities in 2024, and that workers six feet or more above a lower level are at risk of serious injury or death if they fall (osha.gov/stop-falls, checked October 8, 2026). Its message is plan, provide and train. Fall protection gear and the time to set it up are part of the cost of every roof; put them in the build-up, not in the hope that nobody checks.

Pricing repairs

Repairs do not fit per square pricing. Price them from a minimum that covers the drive, setup, ladder time and a small materials kit, plus time for the specific work: a pipe boot, a flashing reseal, a few replaced shingles. Many roofers use a set repair price list for the common jobs and an hourly rate for the rest. Repairs are also how many replacement customers first meet you, so answer those calls quickly.

Offer good, better and best

Shingle grade makes a clear three-option estimate:

• Good: 3-tab shingles. Today's Homeowner lists a 15 to 20 year lifespan.
• Better: architectural shingles, 25 to 30 years by the same source.
• Best: luxury shingles, 30 to 40 years, or architectural with upgraded underlayment and ventilation.

Showing lifespan next to price helps the customer see what they get for the difference. Koira estimates carry up to three options from your price list, each with a photo and a plain description. The customer picks one, signs and pays the deposit on the same page from their phone, and Koira follows up on day two and day four, then stops. Our guide to good, better, best estimates has more.

Insurance jobs

On storm and insurance work, the homeowner's insurer decides what it will pay. Price your work the same way you always do, show the customer clearly what is included, and do not promise a claim outcome. Keep your own price list as the starting point so insurance jobs and retail jobs stay consistent.

When to raise your prices

• When your supplier raises shingle or underlayment prices. Re-quote materials before signing any job that will be built weeks later.
• When dump fees, insurance or workers' comp go up.
• When you are booked out more than a few weeks outside storm season.
• When your crew's real hours on past jobs show a roof type is losing money.

Put an expiry date on every estimate so a price quoted in spring is not held against a summer price increase.

Where Koira fits

Koira measures the roof from satellite images for the first number, drafts estimates from your price list and photos, takes the deposit when the customer signs, sends progress invoices as the job moves and the final one when you tap done, and can mail cards to the neighbors the morning after. Estimates, invoices, measuring and card payments are on the free Office plan. See how a roofing company runs on Koira and the plans.

Questions contractors ask