Serving Salt Lake City, UT & Nearby Areas
(385) 438-3591
Serving Salt Lake City, UT & Nearby Areas
(385) 438-3591
Because the bids describe different jobs. Quotes on the same roof differ by thousands over scope: which materials are specified, what gets replaced versus reused, and whether code items are included or quietly skipped. Ask why a bid is higher: every one of my estimators can answer in terms that matter to you.
Compare what each bid actually includes, line by line, before you let yourself compare the totals.
Three bids on one roof usually describe three different jobs. The price gap lives in the scope.
Ask every bidder what their number includes for ventilation and underlayment.
In Utah the quiet gap between bids is ventilation: the one that skipped it looks thousands cheaper. Your attic pays the difference.
Mattie Tueller, Master Roofing
Two bids on the same roof can describe two different jobs, and the totals hide it. Before any comparison means anything, you have to know what each number actually buys.
The scope items that quietly move a bid by thousands:
The National Roofing Contractors Association's consumer guidance says the same thing: a proper proposal spells out materials and scope in writing. A bid that stays vague is cheap because it has not committed to anything yet.
The least visible reason one bid runs thousands higher is that it includes work the code requires and the cheaper bid skips. Attic ventilation is the classic case: the residential code sets a required ratio of vent area to attic space, including intake at the eaves. Meeting it costs real money.
Intake ventilation is a real cost. It is a common reason one bid sits higher than another. We price the whole roof, ventilation included, where a lot of companies shortcut around it.
Nobody measures the ratio after the job: a roof can pass inspection and still be under-ventilated, so the shortcut never gets caught. The homeowner sees two numbers and no visible difference. The difference shows up later, as a hot upstairs, winter condensation. A shingle warranty a manufacturer can void over the ratio. The cheaper bid did not find a smarter price; it left part of the job out.
Bids also diverge because they price different materials, sometimes without making that obvious. "Architectural shingle" covers a wide quality range. The class of underlayment, ice shield, and flashing metal underneath it varies just as much.
Ask each bidder to name every product on the bid. The vague ones get specific or get explained.
Some of the price difference belongs to the companies rather than the job: what insurance they carry, who actually does the work, and whether anyone checks it. Those differences are real, they protect you. They cost money that shows up in the bid. Why one company prices higher than another is its own story in the Resource Center.
What you can do with all of this today is compare bids fairly:
The Better Business Bureau recommends comparing multiple written bids on scope. This is exactly why: the totals only make sense once the jobs match.
Most of my customers come to me the same way: three bids on the kitchen table, thousands of dollars apart. No way to tell who is being straight with them. The instinct is to assume someone is padding the number. Usually the truth is simpler and more fixable: the bids describe different jobs.
Take intake ventilation. The code requires it, your attic needs it, and almost nobody checks it. So the cheaper bid leaves it out and looks smart doing it. Master Roofing prices it in. That single line item is often most of the gap you are staring at.
So ask the question that untangles everything: why is your number higher? An honest company answers in specifics, line by line, in terms that matter to you. A company that cannot explain its own price has told you something too. The gap between bids is not noise. It is information, once you make everyone show their work.
This article is general information about Utah roofs, not an assessment of yours. Every roof is different, and no article can tell you what is actually happening on your specific house. Have a licensed roofing contractor look at it in person before you act on anything here.
That shortcut is how passive buyers end up with the worst roofs. The middle number can still describe an incomplete job. The highest can be the only bid that included everything the code requires. Compare scope line by line first. Once the jobs match, the totals finally mean something and the right choice usually gets obvious.
Not always. Sometimes a lower bid honestly reflects a smaller scope, a simpler material, or a company with less overhead. The tell is what happens when you ask for specifics: an honest cheap bid can explain exactly what it includes and excludes in writing. A corner-cutting bid stays vague, because vagueness is where the discount lives.
Named materials with manufacturer and product line, the full scope (tear-off, underlayment, ice shield, flashings, ventilation work, deck repair allowance, disposal), the warranty terms on both workmanship and product, and the total price. If any of those is missing, the estimate is not finished. Comparing it against complete bids will mislead you.
It is common, and it is a red flag. A number produced without the roof's history or a look through the attic is pricing a guess. Guesses get corrected later, in change orders. A real assessment happens before a real number. Treat a driveway quote as a rough opening position, never as a comparable bid.
Some do and some quietly don't, which makes the cheap bid cheaper on paper. Disposal, ground protection. A magnetic nail sweep of the yard are real costs, and a complete bid names them. Ask each bidder directly what happens to six thousand pounds of old roofing. That's because it has to go somewhere, on someone's line item.
We're here to see what's going on with your roof. A real assessment starts with your history and your attic, not a number from the driveway. You'll get a straight answer about what's up there, what it needs, and what it costs. Sometimes the honest answer is: your roof looks great.