What Will a New
Roof Cost?
Four questions and you'll have a budgeting range in about thirty seconds. It won't be exact — nothing is until someone gets on the roof — but it will tell you whether you're looking at five figures or six.
What This Tells You,
and What It Doesn't
It's good for
- Working out whether to plan for this year or next
- Comparing what different materials cost on your roof
- Deciding whether financing is worth exploring
- Having a number in mind before anyone quotes you
It can't account for
- Decking condition — invisible until the covering comes off
- How many valleys, hips and penetrations you have
- Whether your underlayment needs full replacement
- Access, height, and what your building department requires
Treat the number as a bracket, not a price. A real quote comes from someone standing on your roof — and ours is free either way.
Roof Cost Calculator
Four questions and you'll have a budgeting range. It won't be exact — decking condition and roof complexity only show up on site — but it will tell you which bracket you're in.
What this doesn't include. Replacement decking, structural repairs found once the covering is off, skylights, chimney work, or anything your building department requires that we haven't seen yet.
It might be less than this. Plenty of roofs need a repair rather than a replacement — and on tile, a lift and relay runs roughly 60–70% of a full replacement. Worth an inspection before you budget for the full number.
What Actually
Moves the Price
Five things decide what a roof costs. The calculator handles the first three. The last two only show up on site.
Square footage
Roof area, not floor area — a roof is always larger than the house beneath it. If you're unsure, your home's square footage plus 50% is a reasonable starting point for a pitched roof.
Material
The largest single lever. Architectural shingle is the value option at 20–25 years. Metal runs roughly twice that life at a materially higher cost. Concrete tile lasts fifty years but needs a structure that can carry it.
Pitch
Steeper roofs cost more because they take longer and require harnesses above a certain angle. A 10/12 roof is a materially different job from a 5/12 of the same area.
What's under the covering
The variable nobody can price from a screen. Decking condition is unknown until the roof comes off. We price replacement decking per sheet up front so you know the rate before we start — and so the final invoice holds no surprises.
Complexity
Roofs fail at transitions, and transitions cost money. Valleys, hips, dormers, skylights, chimneys and pipe penetrations all add labour. A simple gable of 2,500 sq ft is cheaper than a cut-up 2,000.
Three Ways It
Might Be Less
You may not need a replacement
A cracked pipe boot, one failed flashing, or a blocked valley are repairs. Florida's code generally permits localised repair affecting under 25% of the roof area in a twelve-month period — and plenty of roofs described as beyond repair sit under that line. Roof leak repair →
On tile, a relay costs far less
Concrete tile lasts fifty years; the membrane beneath it lasts twenty to twenty-five. If your tile is sound and only the underlayment has aged out, a lift and relay resets the waterproofing at roughly 60–70% of a full replacement — and the house looks identical. Tile relay →
The state may contribute
The My Safe Florida Home programme has provided matching funds toward qualifying hurricane mitigation work. It's state money and it goes unclaimed regularly. My Safe Florida Home → — and financing and offers covers the rest.
Four Questions That
Explain Any Price Gap
If one quote comes back materially cheaper than another, the answer is almost always in these four. Ask every contractor in writing.
How many nails per shingle?
Florida code requires six on architectural shingle. Four is faster, cheaper, and it's where a roof fails in high wind.
Which underlayment, by product name?
Not "synthetic" or "premium" — the actual product. Self-adhered peel-and-stick costs substantially more than #30 felt and performs completely differently when a covering comes off in a storm.
Is secondary water resistance a line item?
It's what qualifies you for the state grant programme and it improves your wind mitigation report. If it isn't itemised, it probably isn't included.
What's the per-sheet price for replacement decking?
This is where cheap quotes get made up afterwards. Every roof needs some decking. If the rate isn't agreed before work starts, it gets decided while your roof is open.
A quote with four nails and #30 felt will always be cheaper than six nails and peel-and-stick. That's not a better price — it's a different roof.
Roof Cost FAQs
How accurate is this calculator?
It's a budgeting bracket, not a quote. It handles area, material and pitch — which covers most of the cost — but it can't see your decking condition, how many valleys and penetrations you have, or what your building department requires. Treat it as the range you're in, then get a real number from someone on the roof.
How do I work out my roof's square footage?
Roof area is always larger than floor area because of pitch and overhangs. For a rough figure, take your home's heated square footage and add about 50% for a standard pitched roof — more if it's steep or heavily cut up. We measure properly during the free inspection, using aerial measurement software rather than estimates.
Which material gives the best value?
Depends on how long you're staying. Architectural shingle is the lowest cost per square foot at 20–25 years in Florida. Metal runs 40–50 years at materially higher cost — better value if you're staying twenty years, worse if you're moving in five. Concrete tile lasts fifty-plus but its membrane needs replacing at twenty-five, and the structure has to carry the weight.
Why can't you just quote me over the phone?
Because the two variables that most often change a price — decking condition and roof complexity — aren't visible from anywhere but the roof itself. Anyone giving you a firm number without seeing it is either guessing or leaving themselves room to revise it later. The inspection is free and takes about an hour.
Does a bigger roof always cost more?
Not necessarily. A simple gable roof of 2,500 square feet can cost less than a cut-up 2,000 with multiple valleys, dormers and penetrations. Roofs fail at transitions and transitions take labour — most of the work on a complex roof is in the details rather than the open field.
Is financing available?
To approved applicants, through a third-party lender. It's a consumer loan rather than a payment plan with us — the lender sets all terms. Worth reading financing and offers first, because there are three ways to make the number smaller before you finance anything.
Now Get the
Real Number
Free inspection, aerial measurements, photographs of what we find, and line-item pricing with decking priced per sheet. If your roof has good years left, that's what the report will say.