How to Compare Roof Replacement Estimates in Bend

People ask us for a price over the phone every week, and we understand why. Here’s why we don’t give one, what moves the number, and how to compare the estimates you do get.

Why there’s no price list

Two houses on the same street can be thousands of dollars apart. One has three roof planes and a straight driveway; the other has six planes, two skylights, a chimney, and pavers we have to hand-load over. A range wide enough to cover both is useless, and a number narrow enough to be useful would be wrong for one of them. So we give you a real number instead: a free inspection, then a line-item proposal, usually the next business day.

What moves the number

• Size and shape. Square footage, and how many planes, valleys, hips and dormers cut it up.
• Pitch. Steep roofs are slower and need more staging.
• Material. Architectural shingles, or metal, which costs more up front and lasts longer.
• What’s underneath. How many layers come off, and whether the decking is sound. We can usually tell from above; we can’t always.
• Access. Whether trucks can get to the roof, or we hand-load over a paver driveway.
• What’s on the roof. Skylights, chimneys, vents, solar panels that have to come off and go back on.
• Protection. A box over the garden, tarps over the deck and the AC. It’s in our proposal; ask whether it’s in the others.

Compare line items, not totals

Two proposals can land near the same total and cover different work. Put them side by side and go down the list:

• Is tear-off and disposal included?
• What underlayment, and where does the ice and water shield go?
• Is the flashing new, or reused?
• What happens, and what does it cost, if they find rot?
• Are vents and pipe boots replaced?
• Who cleans up, and how?
• What’s the workmanship warranty, and does it transfer?
• What’s excluded?

A lower bid is often a narrower scope. A higher one may include things you’d want anyway. Neither means anything until the scopes match. If a bidder can’t or won’t list the scope, that tells you something too.

Repair or replace is a separate question

A replacement proposal shouldn’t be the thing that decides whether you need a replacement. If a repair is a real option, a good inspection says so, and you should get both numbers. Here’s how we think about it.

If insurance is involved

Photos and a contractor’s line-item scope are what an adjuster works from. Your policy decides what’s covered. Oregon’s insurance regulator recommends confirming coverage and deductible before you file; their guide is here.

Request a free inspection and get the real number. It usually takes about two days.