“How much does a new roof cost?” is usually the first question a Melbourne homeowner asks me, and it is the hardest one to answer honestly, because it depends on the roof. So instead of a guess, here are real numbers. I looked at 31 roofs Hippo completed and got paid for in Melbourne this year. The range ran from about $12,600 to just over $95,000, and most jobs landed between $30,000 and $38,000. Here is what moves a roof from one end of that range to the other, and what to do with the number once you have it.
Size
Roofers measure in squares, and a square is 100 square feet of roof surface. A 52-square roof costs a lot more than an 18-square roof, and the size of the roof is not the same as the size of the house. Steep pitches, dormers, and porches all add surface.
Material
Metal generally costs more up front than shingle and can outlast it by decades, which is the whole reason our METAL ROOF SAME PRICE AS SHINGLES® offer exists: on most qualifying homes, a DefenderRoof® metal roof is the same price as a shingle roof on the same house. When that is the case, material stops being the thing that moves the price, and the choice comes down to which roof you would rather come home to. Premium systems, upgrades and color selections move the number up from there.
What is under the old roof
This is the one nobody can see from the driveway. Once the old roof comes off, the crew can see the deck. Rotted or delaminated plywood has to be replaced, and that is written up as a change order with the price on it before the work is done. A roof that has leaked for years usually costs more than one that has not.
Why we quote in writing after walking the roof
The number that matters is the one for your roof, not the average. That is why we do not quote over the phone. We walk the roof, measure it, look at the deck where we can, and give you a written estimate you can hold us to. For a deeper look at what goes into that estimate, our roof cost page walks through it line by line.
If the total feels like a lot
It does not have to be paid all at once. Financing, including programs like Home Run PACE, and for qualifying homeowners, insurance claims for storm damage, both change the “how do I pay for this” question. We have covered both in separate posts on this blog.
Want a real number for your roof, not an average? Book a free roof visit and we will give you a written estimate on the spot.
