Why Does My Roof Cost So Much?

When it’s time for a new roof, it can be surprising how much they cost, so it is important to be educated on what all is being paid for when you are purchasing a new roof.  It’s not just supplies!  In today’s market, a new roof costs between $8,000-10,000.  The rise in costs can be contributed to a couple of things.  First, the rise in oil costs caused the cost of shingles to skyrocket 3 times the average cost, and they never went back down.  Another contributing factor is that Ohio has a monopoly on workers’ compensation, and there are no other companies other than the State of Ohio from whom workers’ compensation can be received, so companies are tied to their prices.  Because roofing is one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs in America, the average price for workers’ compensation is 41-51 centers for every dollar that they make.

Some other things that contribute to higher roofing costs are:

  • Roofing companies have a 9 month cycle, meaning they have to make their money in 9 months versus 12 but still have 12 months of overhead
  • New vehicles and updated maintenance on vehicles are both necessary so that the vehicles don’t leak on customers’ driveways that they try so hard to keep clean
  • Training of contractors on rain days, training tools, and school for employees to get better and be the best – these are the things that help us and make us better

So while shopping around, you may notice that roofing costs will vary.  The prices of legitimate contractors will be similar for the reasons listed above, along with other necessary costs that only legitimate roofing companies will face.  We at Triple Peaks Roofing define a legitimate roofing company as a company who is using workers’ comp, legitimate roofing insurance (not carpenter’s insurance, which some roofing companies use, but it doesn’t cover everything that legitimate roofing insurance should cover).

Why does roofing cost more with a legitimate contractor?

  • Payroll taxes, RITA taxes, county taxes, etc – sometimes up to 25 different cities in a year because taxes are paid in each city in which the contractors work
  • 1099 contractors are paid cash, contractors then give them 1099, and that person has to pay his own taxes. This harms our economy more than it helps because it doesn’t give us a good tax base.
  • Work with high-end products – no products out of Big Box Stores, which are made just for the Bix Box Stores and do not have the same quality as what we buy from our supply houses that only deal with roofing companies
    • We tend to gravitate toward CertainTeed Roofing because they have the best warranties and a company with the longevity of being in business for 150 years, and you will never find a CertainTeed shingle in one of the Big Box Stores.
  • Free estimates – nothing in life is free; the time, gas, ladder racks, and overhead costs from estimates all have to be paid for somehow
  • Commercial plates on vehicles instead of regular plates
  • Following OSHA regulations and having proper safety gear – contractors work slower in safety gear, and the safety gear costs money, but safety is a big concern for us
    • Government regulations are always passed onto the consumer, which means the home or business owner has to pay for these regulations to be properly followed

Triple Peaks Roofing does use subcontractors to try to maintain our costs to continue to do work.  Our subcontractors go through the same training as our employees, and they also have to come into the office on rain days for training and must be re-certified with us every year.

To book your free estimate for a new roof with Triple Peaks Roofing or for more information on our company, please visit our website or give us a call!