Ask What a Roof Discount Is Taken Off Before You Count It

A discount on a roof quote is a subtraction, and a subtraction only means something if you know what it is taken from. Many homeowners see a line that says discount, or a total that is marked down from a higher figure, and read the lower number as the price. Before you count the saving, find the number it came off, and find out whether that starting number reflected the real cost of the job.

What the discount is attached to

On a roof bid, a discount can attach to almost anything: the labor, the materials, a single line such as shingles or underlayment, the whole total, or a line the roofer added so the total would look smaller. Ask which one. A discount on labor is a different thing from a discount on materials, because labor changes with crew size and the number of days on site, while materials are set by the square count and the shingle you choose. If the discount is not tied to a named line, you cannot check whether it still applies once the scope changes.

Two quotes can show the same final figure and still mean different things. One may price the job at a higher gross number and then take off a discount. The other may price it lower to begin with and show no discount at all. The second number is the one you can compare across bids, because it does not depend on a reduction that may expire or may come with terms you have not read yet.

The conditions that come with a discount

A discount is often conditional. It may depend on signing by a certain date, paying a deposit at signing, booking within a set window, or agreeing to a particular shingle. Each condition has a cost somewhere else. A signing deadline shortens the time you have to compare quotes. A deposit requirement ties your money to the contract before the crew has touched the roof. A shingle requirement may move you off the product you wanted and onto one with a higher list price, so the discount is only a saving against a number you did not plan to pay.

Ask the roofer to write each condition beside the discount, in the same document you will sign. If the discount depends on a payment schedule, ask for that schedule too. If it disappears when the scope grows, ask what the scope has to be before the discount stops applying. A discount that cannot be written down as a condition is a verbal promise, and a verbal promise has no place in the total you are comparing.

What a discount does to a change order

Roof jobs grow after the tear-off. Soft decking, a valley that was not visible from the ground, or a flashing detail that has to be rebuilt will all add cost. If the original quote was discounted, ask whether the discount applies to that added work. Some roofers take the discount off the original contract only, so every change order is priced at the full rate. Others apply the percentage to the whole job, including the additions. The difference can be large on a bid where the discount is a big share of the total.

Write this question down before you sign: when extra work is found on the roof, is the discount applied to that work, and at what rate? The answer tells you whether the total you were shown is the number you will pay if the roof has problems under the shingles. It also tells you how to read a change order when one arrives.

Why a large discount deserves a second look

A discount that is large relative to the total is worth a second look, because it means the starting number was set high enough to leave room. That is not always a sign of bad faith. Some roofers build a margin into their pricing and give part of it back to win the job. But a homeowner should know which of the two happened. If the gross number is close to what other roofers price for the same square count, shingle and scope, the discount is a reduction from a fair price. If the gross number sits far above the others, the discount may only bring the total back to where it would have been without the inflation.

Ask for the gross price per line, then compare it with the figure from another roofer who measured the same roof. A gap of this kind usually shows up quickly once the scopes match, because the same drip edge, underlayment and ridge vent appear on both sheets at the same unit price.

Comparing a discounted bid with an undiscounted one

To compare fairly, take each bid to the same starting point. Remove every discount from both, so you see the gross cost of the same scope. Then add back only the discounts that are written, conditional, and carried into change orders. This gives you two numbers you can read side by side. If one bid looks lower only because of a discount that expires before you can get the other bids, the comparison has a timing problem, and the gross numbers will show whether the lower bid is lower at all.

Check the square count and the scope before you compare totals. A discount on a bid that measured the roof too small will still produce a low number, and that low number will be wrong. A discount on a bid that left out the drip edge or the ridge vent will look better than it is. A discount does not correct a scope gap, so the scopes have to match before the discount means anything.

What to ask

1. What is the gross price before any discount, and which lines does the discount come off?
2. Is the discount tied to a date, a deposit, a payment step or a specific shingle?
3. Does the discount apply to change orders found after the tear-off?
4. Is the discount written on the proposal I sign, with the same conditions stated?
5. If I do not sign by the stated date, what is my price?

Put these questions to every roofer, including Keys, and file the answers with the proposal. A written discount with written conditions is something you can check. A discount you heard about on the phone is something you can only remember.