How Much Should You Pay for Shingles?

When you’re facing a roof repair or replacement for your home, you have a lot of important decision to make. However, most likely, the primary thing on your mind is how much the new shingles for your roof might cost. As with any home improvement, it’s important that you closely examine how much your shingles might cost to make sure you pay the right amount. Fortunately, after doing your research, you’ll be able to get a great price on shingles so that you can repair your roof effectively. Here are a few important factors that can affect the cost of shingles that you should be aware of before you start your next roofing project.

The Cost of a New Roof

Roofing projects come with a wide range of costs that you need to be aware of as a homeowner. For example, if you have a standard roof of about 2,200 to 2,600 square feet, your quote could be anything from $5,000 to over $12,000. Roofers work in something called squares—ten by ten foot sections of your roof. When you get a new roof, you have to figure in the costs to remove the old, do any necessary repairs and then replace the roofing materials. Oddly shaped roofs, or roofs that are particularly steep or are two or more stories high, will of course be a more expensive project. The cost of shingles for your roof will be directly related to the size of your roofing job.

Removal and Replacement

In addition to the material cost of your roofing project, you will also need to factor in the cost of removing your old roofing. Removal costs can vary due to a few different factors. First, the amount of roofing materials your contractor will have to remove can change the cost. A single shingle layer can cost anywhere from $100 to $150 dollars per square to remove. If you have a double layer of shingles, that cost can go up to $165, on the high end, and a triple layer can go up to $175. Other roofing materials like slate or metal can mean additional costs.

Once everything is removed it’s time to add your new shingles. If you live in a standard residential home, the most common roofing choices are asphalt shingles. The costs for asphalt shingles are usually much lower than other roofing types, with prices falling between $120 and $140 per square foot to replace.

Repairs and Shingling Over

If you’re looking to lower your costs as much as possible, you may be able to save a little money by doing something called shingling over. With shingling over, roofing contractors don’t remove anything; they just put new shingles over existing ones. While this can save you money, if there are any issues that need repaired, they might be missed.

Remember that the costs of removal and replacement don’t include any roofing repairs that need to be done. Since they may not be discovered until the job begins, it is hard to estimate what those costs will be in the early stages of picking a contractor.

Keep the Cost of Shingles Low By Doing Your Research

If you’ve decided that it’s time to fix up the roof on your home, one of your first tasks should be to know exactly how much the costs may be. Fortunately, when you do your research and shop around, you should be able to keep the cost of shingles low so that you can affordably repair your roof.