Roofing Questions, Answered

A roofing quote that comes in thousands of dollars below the others is almost always cheaper because of scope, not efficiency: it prices one layer of tear-off when you have two, skips a decking allowance, re-uses the old chimney and wall flashing, specifies a thinner underlayment, or leaves disposal, permits and GST off the page. In our pricing model the same 2,000 sq ft two-storey Greater Victoria roof in asphalt spans $6,900 to $12,600 before GST, so a gap of $3,000 to $5,000 between honest quotes is normal. A gap larger than that needs a line-by-line comparison before you sign.

Usually yes: a standard Greater Victoria replacement quote, and every rate in our pricing model, includes tearing off one existing layer of roofing, hauling it away and paying the landfill fee. What is not automatically included is a second or third layer (another $0.75 to $1.25 per square foot of roof in our model), heavy moss that adds weight and mess to the tear-off, and any decking that turns out to be rotten once the shingles are off. The safe move is to make the quote say 'tear-off of X layers and disposal included' in writing.

For a single-layer roof, tear-off and disposal add nothing visible because they are already inside the installed rate; in our pricing model that asphalt rate is $5.50 to $10 per square foot of roof including removal, hauling and the landfill fee. What adds cost is a second layer, $0.75 to $1.25 per square foot of roof in our model: roughly $900 to $1,500 on a typical 1,200 sq ft two-storey roof and $1,800 to $3,000 on a 2,400 sq ft bungalow roof. Heavy moss adds another $0.25 to $0.50 per square foot.