Asphalt shingles
- Best when
- Accessible budgets and a broad installer network
- Think twice if
- Shorter planning life than premium systems
- Service-life lens
- 15–30 yr planning range
The independent roof field guide
What’s over your head shouldn’t feel over your head.
Compare materials, estimate realistic costs, decode contractor quotes, and plan the right roof for your building and climate— without the sales pitch.
Free to use · No contact information required · No account
Roof coveringThe weather-facing material
UnderlaymentA secondary water-shedding layer
DeckThe structural surface below the system
Air + heat controlInsulation, sealing, and ventilation strategy
- Understand
- How a roof works
- Compare
- Systems and tradeoffs
- Estimate
- Ranges, not false precision
- Buy
- With a clearer scope
Start with your situation
What brings you here?
Roofing advice makes more sense when it begins with the decision you actually face. Pick a path; change it anytime.
Your clearest first step
Start with repair or replace
Leaks, storm damage, stains, or a roof that suddenly looks different.
Follow this pathNo account or contact information required.Your clearest first step
Compare roof systems
Build a realistic plan before materials, proposals, and timing pile up.
Follow this pathNo account or contact information required.Your clearest first step
Decode my quotes
Normalize scope, allowances, warranties, and exclusions—not just totals.
Follow this pathNo account or contact information required.Your clearest first step
Build a due-diligence list
Understand age, condition, likely capital needs, and inspection questions.
Follow this pathNo account or contact information required.Your clearest first step
Open the commercial guide
Plan low-slope systems, maintenance, disruption, drainage, and lifecycle cost.
Follow this pathNo account or contact information required.The tradeoff explorerThere is no best roof.
There is no best roof.
Only the best fit.
Every system moves cost, service life, repairability, weight, weather performance, and appearance in a different direction.
Standing-seam metal
- Best when
- Long horizons, snow shedding, and heat-aware design
- Think twice if
- Higher upfront cost and detail-sensitive installation
- Service-life lens
- Up to 50+ yr planning range
Slate
- Best when
- Historic character and very long ownership horizons
- Think twice if
- Weight, cost, and specialist repair requirements
- Service-life lens
- 60–125+ yr planning range
Low-slope membranes
- Best when
- Commercial and large-span roof assemblies
- Think twice if
- Drainage, seams, edges, and maintenance drive outcomes
- Service-life lens
- Assembly-specific
The service-life spans above are rough planning ranges shown for comparison. They are not warranty terms, test results, or sourced figures yet, and system design, exposure, workmanship, maintenance, and product details all change the outcome.
Roof Lab 01
Price the shape of the problem.
Start with a transparent national range, then learn which local details can move it. Results stay ungated.
Roof Lab · Beta
Quick replacement range
Four inputs. A visible formula. No email wall.
Plan area under the roof including overhangs, in square feet. Accepts 400 to 12,000.
Every change is written into this page’s address—copy it to bookmark this range, reopen it later, or send it to someone else.
National planning range$9,400–$27,100
Estimated roof surface2,012 sq ftfootprint × pitch
Price basis2,214 sq ft-equivsurface × complexity
Illustrative order area2,254 sq ftsurface × waste · not priced
How this range is built1,800 sq ft × 1.118 (6:12) × 1.10 (typical) = 2,214 sq ft-equivalent2,214 sq ft-equivalent × $4.25–$12.25 per sq ft = $9,400–$27,100
Uses a pitch multiplier, an editable complexity allowance, and broad third-party national material ranges. The waste allowance is shown for ordering context only and is not part of the price. It excludes project-specific decking, permits, access, and local labor effects.
See assumptions & next inputsPlanning estimate only—not a contractor quote or code determination.Why this is a range
A real proposal depends on measured planes, tear-off, deck repair, access, flashing, ventilation, permits, labor, and the exact tested assembly—not simply square footage.
Read pricing methodologyA calmer buying process
From first clue to final inspection.
Save the useful pieces, skip what does not apply, and keep one roof plan as the project changes.
Preview the buying kitDiagnose
Separate symptoms from likely causes.
Compare
Choose systems by fit, not slogans.
Price
Build a range and name the unknowns.
Scope
Define the same work for every bidder.
Hire
Verify, compare, document, and inspect.
East Coast climate desk
One coast. Several roofing realities.
Snow and ice, mixed humidity, coastal wind, salt, heat, and storm rain do not reward the same details. Our regional guides begin with climate corridors—not copy-and-paste city pages.
Explore East Coast guidanceNortheast
Freeze–thaw · Ice dams · Snow · Historic materials
Mid-Atlantic
Mixed humidity · Rowhouses · Wind-driven rain · Low-slope additions
Coastal Southeast
Uplift · Hurricane rain · Salt compatibility · Heat
Field notes
Short answers now. Full guides as they are written.
Each question below is answered here, in a sentence. The link opens that section’s outline—the 30-second answer and the topics its guide will cover—because the long-form guide is not published yet.
Is a roof replacement really necessary?
Age matters, but leaks, deck condition, failure pattern, and repairability matter more.
Open the repair-or-replace outlineHow do I compare roofing quotes fairly?
Normalize tear-off, decking allowances, flashing, ventilation, permits, and warranties first.
Open the quote-comparison outlineWhich roof works best on the East Coast?
There is no single answer—the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and coastal Southeast pose different risks.
Open the East Coast outlineTrust is part of the product
You should always know where an answer came from.
Each rule below is a condition of publishing rather than a badge. While the site is still in draft, the banner at the top of every page says so.
Sources beside the claim
Primary codes, government guidance, test data, and plainly labeled market sources.
Named review and dates
Author, technical reviewer, material update date, and next review date.
Visible uncertainty
Ranges, assumptions, and limits instead of pretend precision.
Separate commercial interests
Referral compensation never determines editorial guidance.