Had a new roof installed last week ......

[Floridatennisplayer]

Got 5 quotes. One company, well established, been around for 35 years, sent a drone over my house to measure. The rest of the companies did it the old fashioned way....you know, guy on the roof taking measurements.

The drone company came in with the lowest bid by nearly 4K! All the others said the drone drastically under measured and not to use them. I went with the drone company. Lifetime 30 year guarantee. They were amazing and professional. And.............when they finished, they even had one box of shingles left over to give me! Under measured? Nope. Hum, have we been overpaying in the past and then they keep 3 or 4 cases for the next job?

The drone company told me their drone measurements have been amazingly accurate vs. manually done with mistakes and helped them lower costs to consumers.

 

[Omalley]

Perhaps the use of the drone technology is a sign that the company is forward-thinking in their use of technology in other aspects of their business operations (scheduling, procurement, payroll) allowing them to operate much more efficiently than their competitors.

 

[REWahoo]

I got three estimates to replace our roof a few years ago, two were done the old fashioned way by walking the roof. The third was estimated using satellite photos - no one physically came to look at the house. All three estimated the number of shingles needed within one square of each other.

 

[eytonxav]

After storm damage most insurance adjusters use drones to measure the roof and assess damage.

 

[gwraigty]

We had a new roof installed last month. We got 2 quotes. Lowe's used a 3rd party company that didn't send anyone out to look at the roof. Their quote was about $1K less than the quote from a roofer, who actually went up on the roof, looked at an issue that we knew we had because of faulty construction, and quoted a price that included fixing that issue. (Lowe's quote also supposedly included a discount on shingles with an expiration date.) We felt it was better to pay a bit more for the assurance that the issue would be fixed at the agreed-on price.

 

[Bamaman]

Good luck on estimating my roof. I must have 12 planes up there--mostly triangles on a very steep angle. I want one roofing company that removes the roof one day and fully installs the roof the next day.

It's a shame that black streaks are on so many roofs before their lifespan is actually up.

 

[razztazz]

There's more to roofs than just eyeballing shingles. I would submit a quick walk along the surface could discover some things just looking at it cant. Unless the drones have some sort of infrared "3rd eye" capability that can see structural deficiencies.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

They also had a guy walk the entire roof solely to inspect for issues. But he did no measurements.

 

[Senator]

How were the estimates in terms of sq footage?

I suspect that most estimates should be close in terms of measurements. The labor cost may be where the real difference is.

 

[jimnjana]

In the final stages of the new roof journey that began back in January. All satellite software estimates.

 

[REWahoo]

It's a shame that black streaks are on so many roofs before their lifespan is actually up.

You need more hailstorms.

 

[ERD50]

...

It's a shame that black streaks are on so many roofs before their lifespan is actually up.

I notice those on our 20 YO roof (been there for a few years). Roof is in pretty good shape, but will be due in a few years.

If I were to put the place up for sale, I'd look into a cleaning service. It seems minor, but I really do think it (maybe sub-consciously) affects 'curb appeal', and that first impression. Just looks kinda dingy.

-ERD50

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Well, I just called a driveway blacktop sealer this afternoon to come out and give me a quote. He said, I’ll have your quote here in about 30 seconds. What? Don’t you need to come out? No here is your quote, I just did it by satellite. Yikes!!!!

 

[ERD50]

Well, I just called a driveway blacktop sealer this afternoon to come out and give me a quote. He said, I’ll have your quote here in about 30 seconds. What? Don’t you need to come out? No here is your quote, I just did it by satellite. Yikes!!!!

Why "yikes"? That happened on my last call. Their sq foot estimate was as close as the guy who came out a few years earlier to give me a quote for a tear-out/replace using the tape-wheel and walking it out.

Even if they were 10% off, I doubt their variable costs matter much after the required markup. Two guys come out for a few hours, us X amount of raw material +/- a few %, there's your cost.

-ERD50

 

[Badger]

I got tired of replacing my roof every 10-12 years here in Florida. With the harsh sun damage, northeasterns, hurricanes, etc. they don't last long. Even the shingles that had a 35yr warranty. Even if they are a major brand and go bad early like mine they are prorated for the cost of the shingles only which becomes an insignificant cost after 10 years. Finally got smart and bit the bullet for a quality metal standing seam roof.
Now there are no leaks, wind resistant more than any fiberglass shingle, helps reduce heating and cooling costs, and will last beyond my lifetime. I will never have to worry about replacing my roof again. Even though it costs more than fiberglass shingles I will come out ahead since I won't have to pay for another roof replacement.


Cheers!

 

[pb4uski]

.... It's a shame that black streaks are on so many roofs before their lifespan is actually up.

Dark brown roof here so even if we did have black streaks they wouldn't be so noticeable.

 

[GravitySucks]

Had three estimates this spring. Everyone had a guy on the roof with a tape.
Was talking to the guy I chose and learned he and his crew subcontracted for one of the higher bid ders. Could if had the same crew for more money if I went with th e more expensive bid.

 

[GenXguy]

For a thread about quotes and estimates, I don't see a single one in this thread.

My roof is about 2300 sq. ft. and a shallow pitch, and I figure it will be over $12,000 for architectural shingles. There's one warped area at the overhang. Another concern is that the tacked-on overhangs on the sides of the house are sagging a few inches, causing the gutters to overflow, so I have to get that fixed first.

 

[REWahoo]

For a thread about quotes and estimates, I don't see a single one in this thread.

That's because the thread is about how the measurements were done, not what the dollar amounts were.

 

[sengsational]

Good luck on estimating my roof. I must have 12 planes up there--mostly triangles on a very steep angle. I want one roofing company that removes the roof one day and fully installs the roof the next day.

I modeled my house using Sketchup, so I can select all of the roof planes, then it spits out the square footage. The measuring for the model was done while on the ground, plus I got the angles by going to the attic.


We had a hail damage roof replacement and they did it all in ONE day!

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Had three estimates this spring. Everyone had a guy on the roof with a tape.
Was talking to the guy I chose and learned he and his crew subcontracted for one of the higher bid ders. Could if had the same crew for more money if I went with th e more expensive bid.

Reminds me of the time I bought one exterior basement door from Lowes, and 2 exterior doors and storm doors from Home Depot. I also included the installation for them in the purchases, and they were bought a couple of days apart.

I was surprised when the same guy got the installation for all of them. He did everything in a single day.

 

[Ronstar]

We got a new roof a couple of weeks ago. One company estimated the job from Google Earth or some other aerial photo app. Another company (low estimate company) measured the house. But they didn't go on the roof. I told him the roof pitch, and they figured the amount of roofing from that.

We hired the low estimate company. They tore off half of the old roof. And brought in roughly half of the new shingles. They shingled that batch and rough figured out what they needed to complete the job.

Then a 2nd load of shingles were delivered and they finished the job. Took about 2 weeks with 2 sometimes 3 guys. They gave me the 2 bundles of shingles that were left.

 

[jazz4cash]

Our roof is 20 yrs old. A few yrs ago I was looking for someone to do an inspection and found a contractor that offers “roof tuneups” for 149. They inspect, make minor repairs, and provide before and after pics. They repaired some nail pops and resealed some flashing for us. They also said a rubber boot needed replacement and it was extra ($60). Otherwise roof was ok for its age. We had them back again last yr and they replaced another boot and estimated 3-5 yrs life remaining. I sure hope we have a reliable high tech contractor that can save us 4K!!

 

[atmsmshr]

After the 2004 hurricane season ruined our 4 year old asphalt roof with two hurricanes we wanted a standing seam metal roof. The quotes were outrageous because demand was outrageously high.

Being stubborn and frugal, I physically measured over 40 squares and custom ordered standing seam cut to length from Lowe's just before the factory was overwhelmed. $12k

And then I installed the roof and passed all permit inspections by felting over the remaining old shingles. Took 6 months of weekends. Very physically demanding to cut the angles for the 14 different slopes, install, and rivet for additional wind protection. Age 44.

Hurricane tested by Wilma right away in 2005 with no leaks or damage.

 

[CRLLS]

You guys with black streaks ever try "wet n forget"? or it's similar product - spray and forget. I understand that the black is an algae. It does wonders on keeping the green mold off my deck and siding on the North side of the house.

https://www.askwetandforget.com/why-are-there-black-streaks-on-my-roof/