# roof pitches



## drs

i have been subing from this guy who is a great salesman, but... he's not a roofer by any means. the last couple of roofs ive done for him we've butted heads about a few things. one is roof pitch. for myself i have always added x amount to anything above an 8/12 for the simple fact that it is no longer workable and x amount more for 10/12 and up because it is no longer walkable. i can walk on a 9/12 but not very safe to work on without boards, harnest, etc.. he seems to think it should be the same as a 4,5,6/12. how do you guys mark up for differnent pitches and what pitches do you step up your price?


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## dougger222

My base price is for a 3/12 to 6/12. After that I charge X amount per square additional.

Of course most contractors want to pay Mex prices so don't sub much work from contractors. The ones I do sub from I get double to triple what the Mex get. Most just take 20% off the Xactimate price and we both make money...

Just so you know insurance in my area pays $35 a square off/on for a 7-9/12, $55 a square for a 10-12/12 and $70 a square for 13/12+. Height is $17 a square on top of that.

My most profitable insurance jobs are cut up hip roof 7/12's with laminates.


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## buildpinnacle

We start paying extra on an 8. 10's the next bump, then 12, then walls. We pay more for height as well and obiously extra layers. If I charge more, I pay more.


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## FCCR

We jump at 7 then 10. Tell him to walk it if he thinks there is no difference. Opinions change quickly in the air.


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## Slyfox

My price list changes,

Dead flat too 2/12 pitch I treat as commercial grade.

3/12, depends on style 'span of runs, penetrations, etc.' some times additional underlayment steps are needed, some times not.

Walkable.
4/12 - 6/12

Non Walkable.
Low risk. 7/12 - 8/12,
Medium risk. 9/12 - 10/12
High risk. 11/12 - 12/12

Anything steeper than 12/12 or higher than standard 2-story, additional cost depends on style, size, etc.


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## Ed the Roofer

Mine is really similiar to Slys version of price changes for pitch.

Ed


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## lsaver07

well i have to admit mine is different. i refer to mine as 5 on 5 which may be wrong but it has worked for me. 0-4/12 is a flat rate then 5% on 5/12 after that i add 10% for every pitch up. 6/12=15%, 7/12=25%....etc. then for every 8'-10' higher than 10' is an extra 4%. this allows for materials and tools going farther to the roof and uses of extra jacks and safety precautions. for example for 4/12 i charge lets say 215. if its a 9/12 it would be 215x45%=$312 rounded up. if that was a two story i would take 215x49%= $320ish. Never seemed to have any complaints about being to high priced. might work for you might not... happy trails


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## Slyfox

lsaver07 said:


> well i have to admit mine is different. i refer to mine as 5 on 5 which may be wrong but it has worked for me. 0-4/12 is a flat rate then 5% on 5/12 after that i add 10% for every pitch up. 6/12=15%, 7/12=25%....etc. then for every 8'-10' higher than 10' is an extra 4%. this allows for materials and tools going farther to the roof and uses of extra jacks and safety precautions. for example for 4/12 i charge lets say 215. if its a 9/12 it would be 215x45%=$312 rounded up. if that was a two story i would take 215x49%= $320ish. Never seemed to have any complaints about being to high priced. might work for you might not... happy trails


My set price for 4/12 - 6/12 is $230.00.

My set price goes up with anything steeper than a 6/12 and goes up with anything lower than a 4/12.

All tho I do not have a set percentage for how much it goes up, I do have a set price for all circumstances/situations that cause it to go up such as 
more than one layer of existing roofing, wood work, double handling of materials, distance from shop, height of the structure, grade of life span, etc.


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## lsaver07

here is a question for you sly. whats your price at for the 9/12 one story and then a 9/12 2 story. lets pretend its just gable to gable no valleys, no penetrations. not to far from the shop. just straight 30 yr shingles nothing special


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## Slyfox

lsaver07 said:


> here is a question for you sly. whats your price at for the 9/12 one story and then a 9/12 2 story. lets pretend its just gable to gable no valleys, no penetrations. not to far from the shop. just straight 30 yr shingles nothing special


I'll just say it would not be $320.00'sh like you showed yours being,
atleast not in the example you described above.

I can't give exact price quotes like that on here for two reasons,
1. There are atleast four roofing/siding contractors in the CT forum "that i know of" that are direct competitors of mine and may be in the RT as well.
2. The RT forum just like the CT & DIY forum are both open to the public and conversations here also show up on internet search engines.

I have no problem giving my start price, that's the price that I never go less than but almost always go higher than because it only includes the basics of the roofing system.

Just so you don't think I'm simply being paranoid, in 07/08 I posted a fellow contractors company name in the forums about how they had/were using illegal help and a week or a couple weeks "not sure how long it was" later I was contacted via land phone by a government office rep, first to ask me what I knew about that contractor & if I had factual proof and than to inform me that it was illegal for me to post that contractors name like that.


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## lsaver07

well thanks for the reply slyfox. i never meant it to pry a price out of you and i was just seeing if i was in the ballpark price range with my method. i guess i must be fortunate to not have such strict competition! I also wouldn't really care if they did see my posts. where I am from a lot my comp know my price and it all depends on how much the h.o. wants me to do their roof. I am by far not the cheapest. they are definitely paying for the name and the quality I have worked hard on to offer. Again thanks for the reply. hopefully i didn't pull this to far off topic!


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## Slyfox

lsaver07 said:


> well thanks for the reply slyfox. i never meant it to pry a price out of you and i was just seeing if i was in the ballpark price range with my method. i guess i must be fortunate to not have such strict competition! I also wouldn't really care if they did see my posts. where I am from a lot my comp know my price and it all depends on how much the h.o. wants me to do their roof. I am by far not the cheapest. they are definitely paying for the name and the quality I have worked hard on to offer. Again thanks for the reply. hopefully i didn't pull this to far off topic!



Your welcome.

Just to be clearer on my earlier response, in your example of a 9/12 my price would have been less than $320.00'sh, not by a lot, but less just the same.


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## coolfirehotice

For the roof leakage no contractor can estimate a fixed price until and unless they don't inspect the roof properly and determine the how much roof is damaged. 

Correct me if I am wrong.


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## Slyfox

coolfirehotice said:


> For the roof leakage no contractor can estimate a fixed price until and unless they don't inspect the roof properly and determine the how much roof is damaged.
> 
> Correct me if I am wrong.


I'm not sure I understand your comment, if you are referring to how can We have a set price before We inspect the roof the answer is.
A set price is just a starting point that covers all the basics of the average work needing done.
After inspecting the roof you adjust that price according to what you find during the inspection.
It saves you time during an estimate.


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## coolfirehotice

Slyfox said:


> I'm not sure I understand your comment, if you are referring to how can We have a set price before We inspect the roof the answer is.
> A set price is just a starting point that covers all the basics of the average work needing done.
> After inspecting the roof you adjust that price according to what you find during the inspection.
> It saves you time during an estimate.


That exactly what I meant to say. It seems I have to elaborate my comments more correctly. A set price is okay. But an exact figure depends only after thorough roof inspection.


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## Slyfox

coolfirehotice said:


> That exactly what I meant to say. It seems I have to elaborate my comments more correctly. A set price is okay. But an exact figure depends only after thorough roof inspection.


Sorry for the confusion, with my poor grammar skills it very well could have been me simply reading your post wrong.


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## coolfirehotice

Slyfox said:


> Sorry for the confusion, with my poor grammar skills it very well could have been me simply reading your post wrong.


That is quite okay. May be for many people your post will be helpful. Also now I know that I have to be very clear in my post. BTW it was nice to have a talk with you. Hope we will share more information here.


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## Seabreeze Roofing

Labor prices should increase above 7/12 depending on the access.


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## DFWRoofing

FWIW insurance / Xactimate breaks id down into three prices

7/12-9/12
10/12-12/12
>12/12

I pay on 8 and above - I would actually pay on 7s but I say 8 becasue I don't want to have to argue about 6s I should not have to pay on.


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## Seabreeze Roofing

The shingle manufacturers written instruction will designate which shingles can be installed at different slopes. You should contact the materials manufacturers representative for a quick answer. This information can be found on their web sites.

Jacintho Carreiro
SeaBreeze Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc.
www.seabreezeroof.com


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