FACTORS THAT GO INTO THE COST OF REPLACING A ROOF IN COLORADO SPRINGS
Buying a new roof is a lot like buying a new car. There are a lot of different factors which will affect the final cost of a roof replacement. If you live in Colorado, the most significant thing to consider when setting your budget for your new roof is: Will your insurance company be involved in the re-roof?
Unfortunately, the reality is that there’s how much a roof replacement costs, and there’s how much the insurance companies think it should cost. Those figures are oftentimes far apart.
If your insurance company has totaled your roof because of damage, however, then you will only have three possible out of pocket expenses to plan for:
- Your deductible
- Any upgrades
- Homeowner maintenance issues found during the inspection or roofing process (examples: new roof decking, ventilation changes, etc.)
If your new roof will not be part of an insurance claim, here are the major things for you to consider. The roof replacement costs below represent an average sized home in Colorado Springs, and price ranges are given to reflect roofs that may be larger or smaller than average.
First things first… Be sure you don’t try to choose a roofing contractor based on price alone. Price may be important, but be sure you’ve educated yourself enough about the roofing process and materials to know if the estimates you’ll receive from roofers are “apples to apples.” You don’t want to choose a roofer based on a low price, only to discover later that he’s using low quality materials, cheap labor, and he’s uninsured.
Related Blog: What is the Best Time of Year to Roof a House?
Special Conditions That Could Influence The Average Cost of Your New Roof
- What is the elevation of your home?
If you live in El Paso County and your house is at or above 7000 feet elevation, then code requires you to have a product called ice and water shield installed at all eaves. This is a fairly expensive product, but it must be installed or your roof installation will not pass inspection by Pikes Peak Regional Building Department. If you live in Elbert County, all homes are required to have ice and water shield, and if you live in Teller County, not only are you required to have it at all the eaves, but the amount that is required is typically twice as much as in El Paso or Elbert counties. - Is your roof more than one story and/or steep?
The higher and steeper your roof is, the more expense there is for labor. The safety of the crew is important, and extra steps must be taken, especially the steeper your roof is. - Is your roof simple or complex?
If your roof has a lot of facets and angles, that increases the amount of waste since shingles cut at an angle aren’t re-used. Additionally, if your roof has a lot of ridges and/or “hips” that will increase the cost because those shingles are more expensive per square foot than the normal shingles. - Is your roof huge or tiny?
An average-sized roof in Colorado Springs is normally around 2000 – 2400 square feet. If your roof is smaller or larger than that, that will make the price lower or higher. - Does your home need a new roof deck?
The roof deck (or sheathing) is the wood underneath the shingles and underlayment. Homes that were built before the 1960’s oftentimes used slat decking instead of solid decking. That means that instead of completely covering the roof with solid pieces of plywood, they used 1″ x 6″, 1″ x 8″, or 1″ x 10″ boards, and left gaps between the boards of more than 1/8″. We’ve seen gaps as wide as 1.5″ before. Code requirements now state that shingles must be nailed to a solid surface and the roof deck can’t have gaps over 1/8″. If this is the case on your home, new OSB or plywood will need to be installed over the whole roof (or whatever part has slat decking) before the new shingles can be installed.
It may also be that your house has solid decking, but some of the boards may be bad because of water intrusion, or because they’re thin plywood and they’ve broken over time. - Is there access for roof loading and unloading?
Normally, your new roofing materials are loaded directly onto your roof. If our material delivery truck can’t reach your roof with their conveyor or boom, they’ll have to put the materials on the ground and our crew will then have to hand-load the materials. Additionally, if there isn’t a place where we can park our trailer close enough to the house to facilitate the crew disposing of the shingles directly from the roof into the trailer, the crew will have to drop the waste materials on the ground, and then hand-carry it all to the trailer. Both of these scenarios will increase labor costs.
Finally – Are you wanting to make upgrades and/or changes to your roof? You have a multitude of options for upgrades including underlayment and shingle types. Or you may choose to replace your shingles with metal, which will have a significant impact to the final price.
Related Blog: Functional Vs. Cosmetic Roof Damage: What's the Difference?
The Bottom Line - What Is The Cost Of A New Roof
To give you a starting point to plan for your new roof cost, below are costs for an average-sized roof in Colorado Springs and the surrounding counties. All of the above factors will affect the final price.
- Colorado Springs (South/Central/East): $9000 - $13000
- Colorado Springs (Southwest/West): $12,000 – $18,000
- Colorado Springs (Briargate/Gleneagle): $12000 – $21000
- Elbert County: $12,000 – $18,000
- Teller County: $10000 – $15000
