Nobody can tell you what your roof costs without measuring it. What we can do is explain exactly what drives the number, so that when three estimates land on your kitchen table you can tell which one is complete and which one is cheap because something has been left out. That second skill is worth more than the first.
Want the actual number for your roof? We measure, itemise and put it in writing, at no cost and with no obligation.
Roofing is priced by the square, not the square foot. One square is 100 square feet of roof surface. A typical Dallas single family home falls somewhere between 15 and 40 squares.
Two things immediately follow that most homeowners do not expect.
Your roof is bigger than your house. A 2,000 square foot home does not have 2,000 square feet of roof. Pitch adds surface area, and so do overhangs. A moderately pitched roof on that house is commonly 2,400 to 2,800 square feet of actual roof surface, so 24 to 28 squares rather than 20. Anyone quoting off your home’s floor area rather than a roof measurement is guessing.
Material is the minority of the cost. On a typical asphalt replacement, the shingles themselves are usually the smaller share. Labor, tear-off, disposal, underlayment, flashing, ventilation, permits, insurance and overhead make up the majority. This is why two quotes using the identical shingle can differ enormously, and why “what shingle are you using” is a much less useful question than most homeowners think.
The single biggest driver. Any serious estimate starts with a measurement, either walked with a tape or pulled from satellite and aerial measurement software, then verified on site. Ask to see the measurement report. A contractor who will not show you one has not done one.
Pitch is the rise over a 12 inch run. Anything up to about 6/12 is walkable and priced normally. From 7/12 upward, crews need staging, harnesses and roof jacks, work slows down substantially, and a steep charge applies. A steep roof can add a large percentage to labor on an otherwise identical house.
| Pitch | Description | Effect on labor |
|---|---|---|
| 2/12 to 4/12 | Low slope | Standard, though very low slope may need a different underlayment system |
| 5/12 to 6/12 | Conventional, walkable | Standard |
| 7/12 to 9/12 | Steep | Noticeably higher, staging required |
| 10/12 and above | Very steep | Substantially higher, full fall protection and slower production |
A simple gable roof with two planes is the cheapest thing to install. Every valley, hip, dormer, chimney, skylight, turret and wall intersection adds cutting, flashing, waste and time. Two houses of identical square footage can differ by a wide margin purely on how many planes and penetrations the roof has. Complexity also correlates with leak risk, because every intersection is a place water can find.
Broadly, from least to most expensive across the DFW market:
Removing the old roof is labor plus disposal. If there are two layers, that roughly doubles the tear-off portion and the dumpster cost. Texas code generally limits you to two layers total, so a second layer means a full tear-off is mandatory rather than optional. Anyone offering to shingle over an existing second layer is proposing something you do not want.
This is the line item that changes after work starts, and the one that causes most of the friction between homeowners and contractors. Nobody knows the condition of the decking until the old roof comes off. Rotten or delaminated sheets have to be replaced.
A good contract handles this honestly by stating a per sheet price up front and confirming replacement with you before it happens. A contract that is silent on decking is a contract with an open-ended hole in it. Ask the question before you sign, not on day two.
These items are easy to leave out of a quote to make the headline number look better:
If the attic is under-ventilated, replacement is the moment to fix it, and it is not free. Balanced intake and exhaust extends shingle life significantly in Texas heat and reduces cooling load. Adding soffit intake where none exists is real work.
A tight lot with no room for a dumpster, a long carry from the street, mature trees or delicate landscaping all add labor. Permit fees vary by municipality across DFW. And a contractor carrying proper general liability and workers compensation has a higher cost base than one who is not, which is a difference that only becomes visible when something goes wrong.
Why we do not publish a price per square here. Material costs move, labor availability swings hard after a major storm, and the honest range across the variables above is wide enough that any single number would mislead more people than it helped. Every estimate we give is measured, itemised and free. If a competitor gives you a firm price over the phone without measuring, ask yourself what they are assuming.
We will measure the roof, itemise every line and explain what each one is for. No cost, no obligation, and you keep the estimate whether you use us or not.
The most useful thing you can do is stop comparing totals and start comparing scopes. Put the three quotes side by side and check each one for the same items.
Check the squares. If one contractor says 24 squares and another says 31 on the same house, one of them has not measured. That difference alone explains a large price gap and has nothing to do with quality.
Run down the accessory list item by item. A quote that omits drip edge, starter and ridge cap will always look cheaper, and you will pay for those items eventually either as a change order or as a leak.
There are always two. The manufacturer warranty covers defects in the shingle, and its length depends on the product and on whether the installer is certified. The workmanship warranty covers the installation, is offered by the contractor, and is the one that actually matters, because the large majority of roof leaks come from installation rather than product failure. Get its length and its exclusions in writing.
Ask every bidder for a certificate of insurance showing general liability and workers compensation, and confirm they will pull the permit. Texas does not license roofing contractors at state level, so this diligence is genuinely on you.
If two quotes are close and one is dramatically lower, the cheap one is usually missing scope, planning a change order, using an uninsured crew, or will not be in business when the workmanship warranty is called on. Occasionally it is a genuinely leaner operation. Reading the scope tells you which.
These are completely different transactions and it is worth being clear which one you are in.
If the roof was damaged by hail or wind, the insurer pays the agreed scope minus your deductible. Your cost is generally the deductible. The critical detail is recoverable depreciation: on a replacement cost policy the first cheque is the actual cash value, and the remainder is released after the work is completed and invoiced. Homeowners who take the first cheque and have a cheap repair done leave that second payment on the table, often several thousand dollars.
Our hail damage and storm damage pages cover the claim process in detail.
If the roof simply reached the end of its life, there is no claim and you are buying a roof. Here the trade-offs are real and worth thinking through:
Knowing the sequence helps you judge whether a crew is working properly, and it tells you what to prepare for.
A final walkthrough with you, photographs of the completed work, the permit inspection if your municipality requires one, and your written warranty. If you are on a claim, the final invoice goes to the carrier so the recoverable depreciation can be released.
Already covered above, and it remains the expensive one. The cheapest quote is frequently the most expensive roof once change orders and the second roof in eight years are counted.
This is the single most costly mistake we see. The first cheque is not the settlement, it is the depreciated portion. Doing a minimal repair forfeits the recoverable depreciation, which is often thousands of dollars, and leaves a compromised roof.
Under-ventilated attics in Texas run extremely hot and cook the shingles from underneath. Declining a few hundred dollars of ventilation to shave the quote can take years off a roof that cost many thousands.
If the per sheet price is not in the contract, you have no way to challenge the number when it appears. Ask, and get it written down.
Contracts presented the morning after a storm frequently bind you to whatever the insurance pays before anyone has been on the roof. Take a day. Nothing is so urgent that it cannot wait for a second opinion, other than tarping an active leak.
If you are paying out of pocket anyway, ask your insurance agent what a Class 4 impact resistant roof does to your premium before you choose the shingle. In this market the answer is frequently large enough to change the decision.
We work across the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex from our DeSoto office, including Dallas, DeSoto, Duncanville, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, Red Oak, Glenn Heights, Ovilla, Midlothian, Waxahachie, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Irving, Garland, Mesquite, Rowlett, Richardson, Plano, Carrollton and the surrounding communities.
For our full range of work as a Dallas roofing company, start here.
It depends on measured size, pitch, complexity, material, tear-off layers and accessories, and the honest range across those variables is too wide for a single figure to be useful. We measure and itemise for free, so you get your actual number rather than an average.
Most Dallas homes are one to two days on site once materials are delivered. Large, steep or complex roofs take longer, and weather moves schedules.
No. We do ask that vehicles are moved off the driveway and that anything fragile hanging on walls in the upper floor is taken down, because tear-off vibrates the structure.
Less than the number on the packet. Sustained heat, UV and hail all shorten real service life here compared with milder climates, which is why ventilation and material choice matter more in this market than in most.
Texas code generally allows a maximum of two layers, so it is sometimes technically permitted. We do not recommend it. You cannot inspect the decking, the new layer runs hotter and fails sooner, and the added weight is not always accounted for.
Yes. Options are on our financing page and we can walk through them during the estimate.
Yes. We will meet your adjuster on the roof, provide our documentation, and help make sure the approved scope covers what the job actually requires.
We show you, and we agree it before replacing it. Our contract states the per sheet price up front so there is no surprise number later.
Scheduling is easier outside the post-storm rush, and crews have more availability. Material pricing does not swing much seasonally, but labor availability does, particularly in the weeks after a major hail event when every crew in North Texas is booked. Cold installs need hand-sealing of the adhesive strips, which is a detail to confirm is included rather than a reason to avoid winter.
In this market it mostly removes an obstacle rather than adding a premium. Buyers in DFW are alert to roof age because of hail, inspections flag it immediately, and a roof at end of life becomes a negotiation item that usually costs the seller more than the work would have. A documented recent replacement with a transferable warranty removes that friction entirely.
You largely cannot once the shingles are down, which is why the contractor matters more than the product. Ask what nail pattern is specified, ask for photographs during installation, and make sure the permit inspection actually happens. Nailing errors are the most common cause of premature wind failure and they are invisible from the ground.
Free measured estimate, fully itemised. You will know what every line is for, and it is yours to keep whoever you use.