Any homeowner would, at some point, face roof maintenance issues. Whether they want to repair their roof or replace it altogether, they’ll be looking at major costs. Hiring someone without having a preliminary idea of how much you’re about to pay for your roof repairs or a replacement is a bit risky, as you don’t want all your savings to be spent in one go on roof maintenance. Thus, you’re only left with one option, which is to calculate the cost yourself. There are a lot of variants that you’ll need to factor into your calculations, but once you get the basics and take a look at the prices on the market, you’ll have a rough estimate of the costs. If you don’t know where to start, take a look at this guide.
Roofing Size
Getting the roofing size won’t be much of a problem if you already have documents that detail the size you’re working with. So, make sure to look for these documents if they exist. If not, you’ll have to estimate the size on your own. Don’t worry, though, as this isn’t as a difficult task as it might seem. If you have already measured the area of your home, you can easily calculate the roofing size. If your roof has multiple pitches, these sections would be best calculated separately. Doing this will help you know more accurately the costs of replacing your home’s roof.
Roof Pitch
We’ve already talked about the roof pitch in the previous point, but if you don’t know what it is, it’s the slope of your roof. Of course, calculating the roof area you’re working with can be extremely dangerous, so if you have little to no experience in pitch calculations, you’d better leave that task to the experts. A roofer will be able to tell you whether your roof pitch is low, medium, or high.
Tiles vs.Shingles
Prices will also vary depending on the material. While tiles can be four times more costly than shingles, they are more durable and will last for about 100 years. Shingles are the cheaper option, of course, but they will only last for 25 years, especially if they are made of asphalt. However, roof tiles offer a better variety of materials, like fiberglass, metal, clay, or wood. All these materials will have different costs according to which roofing service you decide to hire, so ensure that you check their prices first before deciding on the materials.
Ground Area
If you don’t already know the ground area of your home, you will need to calculate the width and length of it. You can do that using a landscaping tape measure to find the length and width of one section of your home. Once you do that, you can multiply the length and width together, which will give you the ground area of that section. The last step you’ll have to do is divide that number by 100, which will provide you with the ground area in squares. Squares are more used by roofing experts than square feet. This step is essential not only to calculate the cost of your new roof but also to know how many squares of roofing shingles you’ll need, as this is usually determined by the size of your ground area.
Hidden Costs
Nothing really can ruin your plans like hidden costs. Before you decide to hire a contractor, you’ll have to make sure that they’re trustworthy and that the estimates they give you are accurate and transparent. To avoid scams, you can choose a local, reliable contractor with a good reputation. If a contractor requests a large cash deposit or entire replacement upfront, make sure to avoid them. Also, avoid contractors who will pressure you into signing a contract immediately. You should also be knowledgeable about labor costs for that contractor. Usually, labor costs can be anywhere between $1.50 and $3.65 per square foot but knowing how much they’ll exactly cost; will also give you a better estimate of the total cost.
Once you know how to perform these steps, you won’t have to worry about extra costs or being scammed. It might not be easy to choose a roofing professional who will get you a roof to your exact specifics, and that’s why you’ll need to do thorough research on local contractors and get a roof estimate Austin. If you know someone who has replaced their roof before, asking for a contractor recommendation from them might be a useful step to take.
