What a Roof Replacement Costs Here
Full roof replacements in West Michigan typically start around $500 per square (about $5.00 per square foot) and can exceed $1,000 per square (about $10 per square foot) for architectural asphalt shingles, depending on materials, roof complexity, existing layers, and what we find when the old roof comes off. Standing-seam metal starts around $12 per square foot and can exceed $25 to $30, three to five times asphalt.
A square is 100 square feet of roof surface. Your roof is bigger than your house, because it follows the pitch and hangs past the walls, so an 1,800-square-foot ranch is often 22 squares and a 2,000-square-foot two-story with a steep roof and dormers can be 30 or more. That's why we don't put whole-roof dollar figures on this page. A "$15,000 roof" tells you nothing until you know how many squares it is. Our cost-per-square page explains the whole thing.
Roof Replacement Cost by System
Architectural Asphalt Shingles
$5 – $10+ per square foot installed
The best value for most West Michigan homes. GAF and CertainTeed, Class H wind, Class A fire, rated 20 to 30 years. Most of the range is decided by the other 60 percent of the roof: complexity, layers, deck, flashing, ventilation.
Standing-Seam Metal
Starts around $12 per square foot, can exceed $25 – $30
Forty to seventy years, sheds snow, no exposed fasteners. Most of the cost is the accessory work at every edge and penetration. See our metal cost page.
Modified Bitumen, Residential Flat Sections
$6.25 – $12 per square foot
Porches, additions, dormers. Our first choice on a house because the granulated cap sheet can usually be matched to the shingles.
What Moves the Number
Two houses the same size can be thousands apart. Here's what decides where yours lands.
- Roof size and complexity. How many squares, and how many valleys, hips, dormers, chimneys, skylights, and penetrations. Every one is a detail, and every detail is where the crew stops running shingles and starts fabricating.
- Pitch. Steep roofs, 8/12 and up, need harnesses, roof jacks, and slower work. Often 10 to 25 percent more labor per square.
- Layers. Michigan Residential Code Section R908.3.1.1 caps a roof at two layers. If you have two, the next job is a tear-off, and two layers is twice the tear-off labor and disposal.
- Deck condition. Rotted or soft sheathing found at tear-off has to be replaced before anything goes back on. Priced as an allowance up front or per sheet once we can show you the damage, your choice. The number you sign is the number you pay.
- Ventilation. If the attic can't breathe, a new roof over it ices at the eaves and cooks from below. We fix it during the replacement, because it's the cheapest time to. It's a line item, and it's one the low bid skips.
- Overlapping trades. Siding that has to come off to flash a wall right. Gutters down and back up. Rotted fascia and rafter tails. We're a licensed builder and we handle it.
- Material. Architectural asphalt versus standing seam metal is a three-to-five-times difference on the same roof.
Same Size House, Different Roofs
Here's why "how much for a 2,000-square-foot house" has no answer.
- A simple ranch. 2,000 square feet of living space, 4/12 pitch, one chimney, one layer, no dormers. About 22 squares. Architectural shingles as a full system, roughly $12,000 to $16,000 depending on the deck and ventilation.
- A two-story colonial. Same living space, 8/12 pitch, two dormers, a chimney, a skylight, and a valley on each side. About 28 squares, and steep. Same shingle, roughly $18,000 to $26,000, because every one of those details is labor and the pitch slows everything.
- The colonial in standing seam. Same 28 squares. Now $34,000 to $70,000, because every edge and penetration is a custom-formed metal detail and the crew moves five to ten times slower.
Ranges reflect full tear-off and a complete system: underlayment, ice and water shield, all new flashing, ventilation, permit, cleanup, and both warranties. They exclude significant deck repair or structural work, which is priced as an allowance or approved once we can see it.
Three houses that would all be "2,000 square feet" on a listing. Three very different roofs. That's why we measure by satellite before we arrive and inspect on the roof and in the attic before we quote.
Nothing's More Expensive Than a Cheap Roof
Twenty years and 5,000 roofs have taught us one thing over and over. You save two, three, four thousand dollars picking the low bid. Then a valley leaks, or a chimney, or the ice dams get in because the ventilation was never right. You call someone out. Then someone else. Then us. In our experience, within the first five or six years you've paid back everything you saved, and then some. And that only fixed the one or two things that were done wrong. The rest of the roof is still the cheap roof.
The shingle is about 40 percent of a roof. The other 60 is the deck, the ice and water shield, the underlayment, the flashing at every wall and penetration, the ventilation, and tens of thousands of nails that all have to be in the right place. That 60 percent is where the low bid cuts, because it's the part you can't see from the driveway. It's also where roofs fail.
How to Read a Roofing Bid
When you compare estimates, make sure they're pricing the same roof. A complete West Michigan replacement includes:
- Full tear-off and disposal of every old layer
- Synthetic underlayment across the field
- Ice and water shield at eaves, valleys, and penetrations, run past where the ice dam forms, not just to the code minimum
- Starter strip and ridge cap
- New drip edge, all new step and counter flashing, kick-out at every wall, nothing reused
- Ridge and intake ventilation sized to the attic
- Six nails per shingle, hand-sealed when the weather calls for it
- Deck repair priced as an allowance or approved before it's done
- Permit, cleanup, magnetic nail sweep
- Manufacturer's enhanced warranty registered on your behalf, plus a workmanship warranty in writing
If one bid is dramatically lower, look for what's missing. No ice and water shield, or too little of it. Reused flashing. Four nails instead of six. Ventilation skipped. An overlay instead of a tear-off. A workmanship warranty that isn't in writing. Those aren't a lower price. They're a smaller roof.
What the Warranty Actually Covers
Two warranties come with a roof, and they're not the same thing. The manufacturer's warranty covers the shingle. Its enhanced tiers, the ones worth having, require installation by a certified contractor using the manufacturer's full system of accessories, and they require adequate attic ventilation to stay valid. Stellar is GAF Certified Plus and a CertainTeed ShingleMaster, so those tiers register on your roof. The workmanship warranty covers the installation, and it comes from the roofer. Ours is in writing. Ask any roofer for both, in writing, before you sign.
Spread It Out
Stellar Roofing Company finances everything from a small repair to a full replacement, residential and commercial, through multiple lenders that cover strong credit, average credit, and credit that's taken a hit. Storm claims can be paired with financing to cover the deductible. Ask about it at your inspection.
Why We Won't Quote from the Driveway
Not because we're hiding the price. Because we haven't measured the roof, counted the details, or looked in the attic yet, and every one of those changes the man-hours. Get us out for a free inspection and you'll have a firm, itemized number in writing, with the assumptions spelled out, before anyone touches the roof.
Keep Reading
Roof Replacement Cost Questions
How much does a roof replacement cost in West Michigan?
Architectural asphalt runs $500 to $1,000-plus per square, about $5 to $10 per square foot, as a full system. Standing-seam metal starts around $12 per square foot and can exceed $25 to $30. Your number depends on how many squares the roof is, the pitch, the number of details, the layers, and the deck, and none of that shows in a phone call. We measure by satellite and inspect before we quote.
Why can't you give me a price for a 2,000-square-foot house?
Because a 2,000-square-foot house can have a 22-square roof or a 32-square roof depending on pitch and overhangs, and a simple gable and a cut-up roof with dormers are very different jobs at the same square count. The roof, not the house, decides the price. See our three-roof example above.
What's included in your replacement price?
Full tear-off and disposal, synthetic underlayment, ice and water shield past the ice line, starter and ridge cap, all new drip edge and flashing with kick-out at every wall, ventilation sized to the attic, six-nail fastening, permit, cleanup, magnetic sweep, and both warranties. Deck repair is priced as an allowance or approved before it's done.
Why is one bid so much lower than the others?
Usually because it's a smaller roof. No ice and water shield or too little, reused flashing, four nails instead of six, ventilation skipped, an overlay instead of a tear-off, or a workmanship warranty that isn't in writing. Nothing's more expensive than a cheap roof.
Do I need a full tear-off or can I go over the old shingles?
Michigan code allows one overlay on some roofs, and we don't do it. Overlays hide deck rot, skip new ice and water shield, reuse flashing, trap heat, and typically cut the second layer's life in half. And if you already have two layers, tear-off isn't a choice, it's the code. Full tear-off, always.
Can I finance a roof replacement?
Yes. Stellar Roofing Company finances everything from a small repair to a full replacement, residential and commercial, through multiple lenders. Ask about it when you schedule your free inspection.
What This Page Cites
- Michigan Residential Code, Section R908.3.1.1, Roof Recover Not Allowed
- GAF and CertainTeed enhanced warranty program requirements: certified contractor installation, full accessory system, and adequate attic ventilation