Is my roofing quote too high? How to read a roofing estimate

Most roofing quotes aren't too high. They're incomplete, and the missing pieces show up as extras halfway through the job. Here's how to read one before you sign.

By the LevelQuote reviewer, a Halifax lead carpenter turned facilities managerUpdated October 31, 2026

This guide is about asphalt shingle re-roofs on houses, the job most Canadian homeowners get quoted. Metal, flat and cedar roofs carry different lines, but the way you read the paper is the same: check that every part of the job has a line, then ask what moves the price.

What a complete re-roof quote carries

A roofing quote is a list of materials and labour laid on top of each other, in order. If a layer is missing from the quote, one of three things is true: it's rolled into another line, it's not being done, or it'll be an extra. You want to know which. Here's the stack, bottom to top.

1. Tear-off, and how many layers

"Remove existing shingles" should say how many layers. One layer is normal. Two means the last roofer shingled over the old roof, and the tear-off takes nearly twice the labour and fills more bins. If the quote doesn't state the layer count, the roofer either hasn't looked closely or is leaving room for an extra when they find the second layer.

2. Decking repairs

Nobody knows what the plywood looks like until the shingles are off. A fair quote handles this one of two ways: it includes a set number of sheets ("up to 3 sheets of 1/2" plywood included") or it states a unit price for replacing sheets beyond that. A quote that says nothing about decking is a quote with an unpriced extra built in.

3. Ice and water shield, against the code minimum

This is the self-adhering membrane that goes on the eaves and in the valleys. It's the single most common vague line I see: "ice and water shield as required." Required by whom? The National Building Code's eave protection rule, carried into the provincial codes, calls for membrane from the roof edge at least 900 mm up the slope, reaching a line at least 300 mm inside the inner face of the exterior wall. On most houses that works out to more than one row of a standard 914 mm roll. The code lists exceptions (steep roofs of 1 in 1.5 or more, overhangs beyond 900 mm, unheated garages and porches, and mild regions with few heating degree-days), so check them against your own house; a normal overhang in a Canadian winter climate needs the full rule. Valleys, around chimneys and skylights, and low-slope sections should be membrane too. Ask for the number of rows on the eaves to be written down.

4. Underlayment

The synthetic or felt layer over the rest of the deck. The quote should name the product type. "Synthetic underlayment, full coverage" is the normal spec on a new roof today. Some low bids skip underlayment on the field of the roof entirely. Shingle manufacturers tie their warranty to it, so a missing line here can void the warranty on the next line.

5. Shingles: grade, product and warranty

Three-tab shingles are the budget product. Architectural (also called laminate or dimensional) shingles are the standard on most re-roofs now, thicker and rated for higher wind. The quote should name the manufacturer and product line, not just "25-year shingles". Then two warranties: the manufacturer's material warranty (often described as "limited lifetime", which has a specific meaning in the fine print) and the roofer's own labour warranty, which is the one that matters when a valley leaks in year three. Five years on workmanship is a common offer in the trade; some roofers give ten. Get the labour warranty in writing on the contract, not just on the website.

6. Starter strip, hip and ridge cap

Small lines, often lumped into the shingle price. They should still be mentioned. Starter strip along the eaves and rakes, and matching ridge cap shingles rather than cut-up three-tabs, are the difference between a roof that holds in a Nor'easter and one that loses its first course.

7. Flashing, vents and drip edge

Drip edge along the eaves and rakes, new step flashing at every wall and chimney, new pipe boots, and the venting. On venting, the quote should say what's there now and what's going on: ridge vent, box vents, or a mix, and whether the soffit intake is adequate. A roof that's vented wrong rots from the inside, so a roofer who says nothing about ventilation hasn't finished thinking about your attic. Reusing old flashing is a cheap shortcut; the quote should say "new" or it probably isn't.

8. Disposal

Bin rental and dump fees. A two-layer tear-off on a 2,200 sq ft roof is a lot of weight, and the fee is real money. This line is missing more often than any other. If it isn't on the quote, ask whether it's in the price and get the answer in writing.

9. Permits, where required

Most municipalities don't require a building permit for a like-for-like re-roof. Halifax lists "replacing roofing or cladding with similar materials" among the jobs that don't need one. But if the job changes the structure, adds skylights, or re-sheets a deck in a way your municipality treats as structural, the rules can change. A fair quote says "no permit required for like-for-like re-roof" rather than leaving the line blank, and says who pulls one if the scope grows.

10. Start and finish dates, and the deposit

A start window, a completion date (most re-roofs take one to three days once started), and a payment schedule. Deposits in the trade run 10 to 25%; a re-roof needs very little money up front because the materials get delivered the morning the crew arrives and most roofers have supplier credit. The balance is due on completion, less any holdback your province's lien law gives you. The deposits and holdbacks guide has the percentage and the clock for every province.

11. Insurance and WCB

Roofing is the trade where this matters most, because it's the trade where people fall. Certificate of liability insurance and a WCB clearance letter, before you sign. The red flags guide explains what each one is.

Why two quotes for the same roof differ

When homeowners send me three roofing quotes that are thousands apart, the gap is almost never pure greed. It's usually one of these.

• Pitch. A 4/12 bungalow roof is walkable. An 8/12 or steeper roof needs staging, roof jacks, harnesses and slower work. Steep roofs cost more per square, and they should.
• Layers to tear off. Two layers is more labour and more weight to dispose of than one. A roofer who quoted one layer and finds two will charge for it.
• Complexity. Valleys, dormers, chimneys, skylights and wall intersections all take flashing and time. A simple gable roof and a cut-up roof of the same square footage are different jobs.
• Access. A house on a tight lot with no room for a bin or a delivery truck, or a roof three storeys up, slows everything down.
• Decking repairs. Rotted or delaminated sheathing has to be replaced. One quote may include a plywood allowance, another may not, and the cheaper quote will catch up when the shingles come off.
• Product grade. Three-tab versus architectural, a basic synthetic underlayment versus a premium one, and how many rows of ice and water shield are included.
• What's left out. Disposal, drip edge, new flashing, venting and the labour warranty. The lowest quote is often the one with the most blanks.
• Region and season. Labour rates, dump fees and material delivery costs differ between Halifax, Toronto and Calgary, and between June and November. A national average tells you very little about your street.

So is the price too high?

I don't publish a price-per-square table on this page, and I'd be careful with any site that does. Roofing prices move with asphalt and labour costs, and a number that was right in Halifax last spring can be wrong in Regina this fall. When I review a roofing quote, I research current pricing for the customer's own city and give a fair range for that roof, in writing, with the quote marked line by line against it. That's the part of a review you can't get from a national table.

What you can do on your own: once each quote has a line for everything above, the totals become comparable. Add disposal to the one that left it out. Add the plywood allowance to the one that didn't include it. Then compare. Most of the time the "high" quote is the complete one, and the "cheap" quote is the complete one minus two or three lines.

Questions to ask before you sign

Send these in writing. A fair roofer answers all of them without friction.

1. How many layers are you removing, and is the tear-off priced for that?
2. How many sheets of plywood are included, and what's the price per sheet beyond that?
3. How many rows of ice and water shield go on the eaves, and is it in every valley and around every penetration?
4. What underlayment, what shingle product, and what's the labour warranty in years, in writing?
5. Is all flashing and drip edge new? What venting are you installing?
6. Are disposal and dump fees in the price?
7. What start and completion dates go in the contract?
8. Can we set the deposit at 10 to 15% with the balance on completion, less the holdback that applies in our province?
9. Can you send your certificate of insurance and WCB clearance letter?

A worked example: $18,900, 2,200 sq ft bungalow

This is the sample quote from our home page. The contractor, customer and numbers are made up to show the method; the pricing comments are for Halifax Regional Municipality in 2026 and would be researched fresh for your city.

Verdict on the price: fair, with questions. The shingle line and the tear-off are honest for a 2,200 sq ft architectural re-roof in HRM. HST is in the total, which is a good sign. Verdict on the terms: don't sign as written. Three red flags out of eight: the deposit is 50%, there are no dates, and two scope gaps (ice and water rows, disposal) are exactly where the surprise extras will come from. Close those in writing and this becomes a quote worth signing.

The five questions I'd send on this one: set the deposit at 15% ($2,835) with the balance on completion less the Nova Scotia 10% holdback; certificate of insurance and WCB clearance letter; number of ice and water rows, with eaves protection to code minimum stated in the contract; whether disposal is in the $18,900 and if not, the fixed cost; and the start and completion dates. The full sample report shows how this reads on paper.