# what to charge to build roof.



## bonsellroofing (Dec 14, 2009)

I had an estimate to do today for a 12x25 patio. I've never had to price a roof build like this but He wants a roof built over it that is anchored into the house wall. shingled roof, with soffit under. What would be a resonable price to charge for the job not including permits.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

Ask a question like this one the other forum and watch them shoot you in the foot or get the Tree Fiddy answer. LOL treefiddy...

Anyways, I don't have a simple answer for you. I do however have a long answer that will require you sit down with a sharp pencil, cup of coffee and your thinking cap. Are you ready?

I assume you know your hourly rate, right? If not, close the web browser and call your accountant immediately. As a matter of fact anyone reading this that doesn't know how much each worker costs them per hour, I mean really costs after all burdens and overhead, then please close down your web browser and call your accountant immedietly. Ok so let's assume you know your hourly rate, and let's assume that this rate is $75 per worker per hour. Your real hourly wage may be more or less.

Ok 2nd step, is to guess how long it will take in terms of hours. I can not phathom a guess because your description was ultra vague. I have no clue as to the size of complexity, number of men required, nothing... But strictly for maths sake I am going to say 3 men 2 days... 3 men x 8 hour days = 48 hours x 2 days = 96 man hours to complete the work x $75 = $7,200 labor & over head only. PLEASE do not even think of using this number for your estimate I am just pulling numbers from thin air.

For the next part of the equation, we need to determine your materials. Again, for the reasons listed above, I can not phatom a guess since I do not know enough, however I am going to pull a number out of thin air that is not at all accurate and say $3,000 for materials. 

Also don't forget any dumpsters or equipment you may need to rent, but for simplicity let's leave it off. You get the point.

So you would be out of pocket $7,200 + $3,000. Therefore you would have to charge $10,200 just in order that you do not lose money, but the goal of business is not to break even, the goal is to make money. We are not done yet. I always add 2% for errors and ommissions. Think of it like an insurance policy an architect would have if he screwed up a specification. Except in this case you are insuring yourself incase you screw up and are short on materials, or have a labor overrun. $10,200 + 2% = $10,404.

What else, what about credit cards? I accept credit cards and the credit card company is going to take 3%. I can't afford to pay that convenience tax. However I am gracious enough to split it with my customer. Therefore I mark up the job another 2%. $10,404 + 2% = $10,612. On a side note if a customer ever asks me for a discount, the ability to pay by credit card is the first thing to go, and I can have an immediate price reduction of 2%.

We're still not done... What about the salesman... Stop, before you say that You are the salesman, the time it takes you to read this and put it into practice is TIME; and we all know time is money. If you had a salesman you would pay him to do this, but since you are doing this you should pay yourself to do it. A HUGE problem with our industry is too many owner operators wear too many hats and don't compensate themselves enough for the hats they were. Therefore I submit to you that you DO have a salesman, but that salesman is the man in the mirror. So regardless if you have a salesman or not we are going to pay him for the sale. But how much should a salesman earn? Well like the hourly rate, ask your accountant. I have by the way, answered that question giving 3 pricing structures in another thread many weeks back (feel free to search) I am going to guess 10%... $10,612 + 10% = $11,673. 

Are we done yet? Not quite. I'm sure most, if not all, of us can agree that running a business is an investment. If not you have a job not a business, and are better off working for someone else that understands this... Like all investments we should see a reward. That reward comes in the form of share holder profit. How much should the share holders of your company make on their investment. I'd like to say 10%, but that may or may not be realistic. But for simple math's sake, let's use 10% as our targeted share holder profit. 11,673 + 10% = $12,840. 

By the way, in regards to share holder profit... you'd get somethign like 5% on a certificate of deposite at a FDIC insured bank. So if you are not at least getting 5% on your investment of your business, you really might consider stepping back for a minute and figuring out why.

Now are we finished? Noy yet. There is one last step. You just figured out what your minimum sale price should be on this imaginary job. But the last step is critical, and that is making sure you are not leaving any money on the table, so to speak. Know who you are up against and what they will charge. If you are up against competitiors that you know are charing more money than you time and time again, you may consider further raising your price so that you are not too cheap. This is totally up to your discretion however. 

Take nothing I have said in this post as legal or financial advice nor is it to be considered an attempt at collusion. It simply is an example pricing formula of how anyone can figure out a price for anything. Now you insert your numbers and tell us what it should cost.


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## Nick Tomich (Feb 11, 2010)

LOL @ Grumpy .. It was bout tree fitty!


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## Bracciali (Jun 29, 2010)

*Re:*

I bid my first job this week, 3700 sq ft 2 story home in a prominent neighborhood. Shingle one layer roof. I think I may have over bid (which I do not mind vs. under) for $475.00 an extra $100.00 for build up of moss. I then gave a 15% discount as advertised on my homepage. Roughly $490.00
Sad part is I am not ready. I don’t have the experience quite yet. So, I called Chris from Apple.....and here I am.


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## Joyfully (Jun 24, 2010)

Hi,
It depends on many factors. The area you want to cover and the material used etc. I can give you rough idea. Do-it-yourself materials to install an asphalt shingle roofon an average one-story ranch-style home (with a gently sloping roof of 1,700-2,100 square feet) can run $680 -$3.700, depending on the quality of the materials. Having the old roofing materials removed and new asphalt shingles professionally installed is about $1,700 -$8,400on a typical ranch-style home, depending on materials and location.
It includes lot of factors. Hard to estimate without proper information. 



*Roof Ventilator*


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## jimsonburg (Aug 4, 2010)

Charges varies from place to place it depends on various factors. What area you’re going to work and size of the roof. Which roof martial you have committed to house owner. Labor charges and cost of martial. Including these you can easily estimate the charges.


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## JWilliams (Nov 11, 2008)

I'd say after everything, let me get about tree fidy..


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