I asked my roofer how many squares he estimated for my roof. He told me that he didn’t give out that info. He said that the price he quoted me was a “turn key” price. Is that a common way for roofers to quote prices? It seemed like the details of his calculations were confidential. Seemed like my question was reasonable. My insurance company is paying to replace my roof. My roofer said that his price is usually close to the adjuster’s price. In my case, my roofer is about a $1000 less than the adjuster’s price.
I don’t like that my roofer won’t give me the details of his estimate, but since my ins. company is paying for it, its not really a big deal. Is this typical?
Thanks,
bd
It would be his loss…
There is no reason why he can’t tell you the sq footage of the roof.
If he won’t give you that very simple information…
Get other estimates.
Personally being a contractor, I have never seen the need to deny the home-owner an estimate of squares being replaced. I do know a few others who dont like to give that information for 1 reason or another, just dont do that myself. Your adjuster should have gave you an estimate of what is being replaced regardless. I would certainly want to know what was being installed on the roof being below an adjusters price to insure hes not cutting corners though. Your home is your life investment and you should be certain you are getting everything required to do the job right the first time
he just doesnt want you calling around, and checking his price per square.
oh, and congratulations on saving your insurance company $1,000.
[quote=“Agape”]he just doesnt want you calling around, and checking his price per square.
oh, and congratulations on saving your insurance company $1,000.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s what the roofer said. But I just wanted to know how many squares he estimated, not his price per square.
Thanks, but I’m going to use that $1000 to upgrade the ridge caps. But that should just add about $500.
What should I use the other $500 for?
i kinda like what roofer did.
alot of times h/os ask to many questions and end up
not likin the answers.
roofer stoped that nonsence by not tellin h/o
the sq ft.
no he dont have to answer ten other questions.
alot of roofers like myself dont want to talk
to h/o very much. dont like to answer a bunch of questions.
the more you talk to a h/o, the more you put yourself
at risk of sayin somethin wrong and loosin the
confidence of h/o.
once you loose the confidence, you dont get it back,
and it becomes very difficult to get job done and paid
for.
gweedo.
Hi,
I give a price for a complete roof system. Not to install so many squares.
It is no big deal to me. It just is not all the information you need to figure the price for a new roof.
I have yet to see a customer ask how many squares,that was interested in how many squares were on their roof. It always comes down to how much I am charging.
Lefty is correct.
[quote=“thebluedog”]
[quote=“Agape”]he just doesnt want you calling around, and checking his price per square.
oh, and congratulations on saving your insurance company $1,000.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s what the roofer said. But I just wanted to know how many squares he estimated, not his price per square.
Thanks, but I’m going to use that $1000 to upgrade the ridge caps. But that should just add about $500.
What should I use the other $500 for?[/quote]
did you get 100% of your money to replace your roof upfront?
or did they hold back some depreciation?
[quote=“thebluedog”]
[quote=“Agape”]he just doesnt want you calling around, and checking his price per square.
oh, and congratulations on saving your insurance company $1,000.[/quote]
Yeah, that’s what the roofer said. But I just wanted to know how many squares he estimated, not his price per square.
Thanks, but I’m going to use that $1000 to upgrade the ridge caps. But that should just add about $500.
What should I use the other $500 for?[/quote]
BAIL MONEY!! LOL
Just kidding in all seriousness though if your insurance company gives $6,000 for example for your roof they expect you to pay the contractor you hire $6,000 to install your new roof. If you pay less and pocket the difference they consider that insurance fraud. If someone does it for less than the $6,000.00 then they are just plain stupid and they are only hurting themselves and possibly you the customer. You need to choose a contractor based on services and who you trust the most. Show the contractors your adjusters summary and have them give a proposal on what they will do for that amount. If your adjuster treated you fairly there should be no reason you can’t a good contractor to install your roof for the insurance proceeds. If you find someone to do it for $5,000 for example then the insurance company will say thank you and keep there extra $1,000 bucks that you just saved them.
As far as the square footage that is irrelevant. Personally I wouldn’t mind telling you. Keep in mind if you get 5 estimates you will hear probably 3 different square footage #'s.
[quote=“Lefty”]Hi,
I give a price for a complete roof system. Not to install so many squares.
It is no big deal to me. It just is not all the information you need to figure the price for a new roof.
I have yet to see a customer ask how many squares,that was interested in how many squares were on their roof. It always comes down to how much I am charging.[/quote]
I don’t care how the roofer came up with his price. I was just curious to know how many squares the roofer estimated.
My adjuster showed 46 sq and I just wanted to find out if he was the same or close.
It is not a big deal for me to know. I was just surprised that it was classified info. Thanks for everyone’s input!
did you get 100% of your money to replace your roof upfront?
or did they hold back some depreciation?
Dep. was held back. I’m kidding about where to use the “extra” $500, but would like the larger ridgecaps.
they held back dep?
ok, so here is how it works, just so you know…
if you have a $10,000 Replacement cost
$1,000 deductible
$4,000 depreciation.
your first check is for $5,000
you find roofer “A” for $8,500 bid. he replaces your roof, gives you an invoice for $8,500
you send your invoice in for $8,500, and the insurance company will only send you $2,500 in depreciation. you saved them $1,500.
why?
try sending them a $8,500 invoice with upgraded shingles, and/or ridge/vents whatever. they will still not release all of the depreciation, because they only owe you for what was there. not upgreades.
going to send them an invoice for the full amount? going to lie so you can collect all of the depreciation?
thats insurance fraud, and any roofer who is willing to lie to your insurance company, will be just as quick to lie, and cheat YOU.
[quote=“Agape”]they held back dep?
ok, so here is how it works, just so you know…
if you have a $10,000 Replacement cost
$1,000 deductible
$4,000 depreciation.
your first check is for $5,000
you find roofer “A” for $8,500 bid. he replaces your roof, gives you an invoice for $8,500
you send your invoice in for $8,500, and the insurance company will only send you $2,500 in depreciation. you saved them $1,500.
why?
try sending them a $8,500 invoice with upgraded shingles, and/or ridge/vents whatever. they will still not release all of the depreciation, because they only owe you for what was there. not upgreades.
going to send them an invoice for the full amount? going to lie so you can collect all of the depreciation?
thats insurance fraud, and any roofer who is willing to lie to your insurance company, will be just as quick to lie, and cheat YOU.[/quote]
I understand the process. You do make a good point, though, re: the integrity of a roofer willing to do that.
Question: Some shingle colors require the upgraded ridge caps. Would it be ethical then?
only if u are charged for them… i usually give upgrades for “free”.
The estimate the roofer gave you should have the rough sq footage of the roof, it should have the brand, color, and style of shingle, it should have the color of the drip edge if any.
If ice & water shield is being used it should say which brand.
It should specify the weight of the felt being used, if any.
There should also be a simple description of the work to be performed.
Workmanship warranty should also be included.
** Leaving these things out leaves the roofer far too much leeway to install something different than was sold.**
And for items not specified the customer has little recourse.
None of this information is confidential and a good bid will have even more information.
I agree that the bid is for the whole scope of work involved, it is not an ala cart menu from which the customer can pick and choose.
If the job is quoted as approx 35 sq and the roofer only uses 33 sq, the customer is not entitled to a 2 sq refund.
It goes the other way also, if the roofer bid the roof @ 35 sq and actually used 37 sq, the roofer is not entitled to an upcharge.
I am speaking of a small difference, less than 10%.
For larger differences something needs to be worked out to the satisfaction of both parties.
These are two examples of estimates… one is from a quote I did just last week.
This is my level of detail because I want the customer to understand where my pricing comes from. If not for menu pricing, the customer might think that I am more expensive when in reality, I might be ‘in the ballpark’ when you peel off the items the other quote might have left off.
[quote=“-Axiom-”]The estimate the roofer gave you should have the rough sq footage of the roof, it should have the brand, color, and style of shingle, it should have the color of the drip edge if any.
If ice & water shield is being used it should say which brand.
It should specify the weight of the felt being used, if any.
There should also be a simple description of the work to be performed.
Workmanship warranty should also be included.
** Leaving these things out leaves the roofer far too much leeway to install something different than was sold.**
And for items not specified the customer has little recourse.
None of this information is confidential and a good bid will have even more information.
I agree that the bid is for the whole scope of work involved, it is not an ala cart menu from which the customer can pick and choose.
If the job is quoted as approx 35 sq and the roofer only uses 33 sq, the customer is not entitled to a 2 sq refund.
It goes the other way also, if the roofer bid the roof @ 35 sq and actually used 37 sq, the roofer is not entitled to an upcharge.
I am speaking of a small difference, less than 10%.
For larger differences something needs to be worked out to the satisfaction of both parties.[/quote]
I agree completely. Thanks for your input. bd
[quote=“RanchHandRoofing”]http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s153/RanchHandRoofing/Contract%20Documents/BlankEstimateJan212008.jpg
These are two examples of estimates… one is from a quote I did just last week.
This is my level of detail because I want the customer to understand where my pricing comes from. If not for menu pricing, the customer might think that I am more expensive when in reality, I might be ‘in the ballpark’ when you peel off the items the other quote might have left off.[/quote]
I agree completely. Thanks for the illustration of your estimates. bd