Roof Repair Costs: What Drives the Price

What does a roof repair cost in Baltimore? It mostly depends on five things: the type of damage, the roof material, how hard the roof is to reach, whether the wood underneath is wet, and whether flashing or a chimney is involved. A few shingles or one piece of flashing is a small job. Soaked decking costs more.

People ask what a roof repair costs all the time, and it's a fair question. The honest answer is that it depends on what's wrong and where it is. We don't put a price list on the website, because a number without seeing the roof usually ends up wrong one way or the other. What I can do is explain what actually changes the price, so you know what to expect and how to compare quotes.

What affects the cost of a roof repair?

The type of damage. A few missing shingles or one loose piece of flashing is a small job. Water that's been getting in for a while and soaked the wood underneath is a bigger one.

The roof material. Each material is repaired differently:

• Asphalt shingles are usually the simplest to work on
• Slate needs matching pieces and careful hands, since the slate around the repair can crack if it's handled wrong
• Flat roofs on rowhomes, like modified bitumen, EPDM, or TPO, need the right patch material and attention at the seams
• Copper and other metals need matching metal and the right kind of seams

How hard it is to reach. A low ranch roof in the county is a different setup than a three-story rowhome with no alley access, or a steep slate roof in Roland Park. Height, pitch, and getting ladders and materials up there all affect the job.

How wet the wood is. If the decking under the leak is soft, it has to be replaced before the new roofing goes on. You often can't know that until the old material comes up, which is why a good quote explains what happens if rotten wood turns up.

Whether flashing or masonry is involved. Many "roof" leaks are really chimney or wall leaks. If a chimney needs repointing or a new crown along with new flashing, that's more work than a shingle patch.

How much of the roof is affected. One spot versus several areas, or one slope versus the whole roof.

When does a repair turn into a bigger job?

Most of what we do is repairs. If the roof still has years left, we fix the problem and leave the rest alone. Sometimes a roof is worn out end to end, and patching it keeps costing you without solving anything. When that's the case, we'll tell you and show you pictures so you can see why. Our roofing FAQs cover more on how we make that call.

How to compare roof repair quotes

When you're looking at more than one quote, check that you're comparing the same thing:

• The same scope. Is one roofer fixing just the leak while another is redoing the whole flashing? Ask.
• The materials. What exactly is going on the roof?
• What's included. Cleanup, any wood replacement, and haul away of old material.
• The license. In Maryland, home improvement contractors need an MHIC license. We're licensed and insured, MHIC #154344. Make sure any roofer you hire is too.
• How they explain it. A good roofer can show you pictures of the problem and tell you in plain words what they'll do.

How do I get an accurate roof repair price?

The fastest way to get a real price is to let us see the problem. Start by texting your address and a few pictures of the stain, the spot on the roof, or the chimney. Then we come look, take our own pictures, and give you a price before any work starts. You can see the types of work we handle on our roof repair page and how we track down leaks on our roof leak detection and repair page.

Roof repair cost questions

Why won't roofers give a price over the phone?

A price without seeing the roof is usually wrong one way or the other. Pictures help me tell you what it looks like, but wet decking or bad flashing often only shows up in person, so we look first and then I give you a written price.

Is it cheaper to repair or replace a roof?

A repair is almost always cheaper when the damage is in one area and the rest of the roof has years left. Replacement makes sense when the whole roof is worn out, the decking is soft in many spots, or leaks keep showing up in new places.

Why does a slate or flat roof repair cost more than shingles?

Slate needs matching pieces and careful work so the slates around the repair don't crack. Flat rowhouse roofs need the right patch material and careful seams. Asphalt shingles are usually the simplest to repair.

What should a roof repair quote include?

A good quote spells out the scope, the materials, whether wood replacement is included, cleanup and haul-away, and the contractor's MHIC license number. Ask for pictures of the problem so you can compare quotes fairly.

If you're not sure what you're looking at, text your address and a few pictures to 443-900-4815 or give us a call. I'm licensed and insured, MHIC #154344.