How to price a roofing job from a measurement report
Turn a measurement report into a price: order squares and edges into materials, labor with pitch and storey adds, tear-off, overhead, then margin done right, not markup.
To price a roofing job from a measurement report, build cost in a fixed order: materials from order squares and edge lengths, labor per square adjusted for pitch and height, tear-off and disposal, then your overhead share. Divide that total cost by one minus your margin, and that's the price.
The report gives you quantities. The rates are yours. Skip either half and the number is a guess.
Read the report before you open a price sheet
Four things on the report drive the price. What is inside a digital roof report walks through each page; this is what to pull off it:
- Measured and order squares. Measured squares are the roof as it sits; order squares add waste. Tear-off runs on the first, material on the second. Check the waste the report used against waste factor by roof type before you accept it.
- Edge lengths by type. Eaves, rakes, hips, ridges, valleys, step and headwall flashing. Accessories come from these, not from area.
- Pitch bands. How many squares sit at each pitch. A roof that's mostly 9/12 with a 4/12 porch isn't priced like a 6/12 roof.
- Penetrations. Pipes, vents, chimneys, skylights. Each one is a part and a labor line.
Add what the report can't see: number of layers, number of stories, deck condition, access for the dumpster.
Build the cost, line by line
Fill in your own numbers as you go:
- Field material = order squares × your material price per square (shingles plus underlayment, from your supplier's quote).
- Accessories = each edge length ÷ the coverage on the wrapper, rounded up, × unit price. Starter from eaves and rakes, cap from hips and ridges, drip edge from eaves and rakes, ice and water from eaves and valleys, boots and vents by count.
- Install labor = order squares × your base labor per square, if that's how you pay your crew.
- Steep-pitch add = squares above your crew's walkable pitch × your steep add per square.
- Second-storey add = squares on the upper roof × your height add per square.
- Tear-off = measured squares × your tear-off rate per square, more for extra layers.
- Disposal = containers needed × your hauler's price.
- Overhead share = your yearly overhead ÷ the jobs you expect to run this year.
Total cost is the sum of lines 1 to 8. Profit isn't in it yet.
For the full material list behind lines 1 and 2, free roof estimating software: from measurement to a number counts every bundle and roll.
A worked example
The report says: 34.0 measured squares, 12% waste, so 38.1 order squares. Pitch bands: 26 squares at 9/12 on the two-storey main roof, 8 squares at 4/12 on a one-storey porch. Edges: 190 lf eaves, 40 lf rakes, 110 lf hips, 35 lf ridge, 24 lf valley. Four pipe boots. One layer off.
Example rates, not market prices. Every dollar figure below is a placeholder to show the arithmetic. Your supplier quote, crew rates and hauler's price replace all of them.
- Field material: 38.1 × $150 = $5,715
- Accessories: starter 230 lf ÷ 105 → 3 bundles × $60 = $180; cap 145 lf ÷ 25 → 6 × $75 = $450; drip edge 230 lf ÷ 9.83 → 24 + 1 spare = 25 × $12 = $300; ice and water 4 rolls × $115 = $460; boots 4 × $12 = $48. Total $1,438
- Install labor: 38.1 × $90 = $3,429
- Steep add: 26 × $15 = $390, the 9/12 squares only
- Second-storey add: 26 × $10 = $260, the same main roof
- Tear-off: 34.0 × $55 = $1,870
- Disposal: 2 containers × $550 = $1,100
- Overhead share: $1,200
| Line | Basis | Example total |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | Order squares + edge lengths | $7,153 |
| Labor | Order squares, plus pitch and storey adds | $4,079 |
| Tear-off and disposal | Measured squares, containers | $2,970 |
| Overhead | Yearly overhead ÷ jobs | $1,200 |
| Total cost | $15,402 |
Note where the adds land. They ride on the 26 steep, high squares, not all 34. Spread a steep add across the porch and you overprice the easy part of the roof.
Margin, not markup
Margin is profit as a share of the price. Markup is profit as a share of the cost. Same dollars, different denominator, and mixing them up is the most expensive mistake in this whole sequence.
The formula for a target margin:
Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin)
At a 30% margin: $15,402 ÷ 0.70 = $22,003. Profit is $6,601, and $6,601 ÷ $22,003 = 30%.
Now the mistake. You want 30%, so you multiply cost by 1.30: $15,402 × 1.30 = $20,023. Profit is $4,621, and $4,621 ÷ $20,023 = 23%. You meant 30% and priced 23%, which leaves $1,980 on the table on one roof.
If your sheet only does markup, convert: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). A 30% margin needs a 42.86% markup: $15,402 × 1.4286 = $22,003.
Divide the price by measured squares for your sanity check: $22,003 ÷ 34.0 = $647 per square. Compare that to your recent jobs at similar pitch and height, not to a number someone quoted at the supply house.
RoofStruct's Cost & Takeoff worksheet does this arithmetic for free from the measurement with your own rates, and branded Good / Better / Best estimates are on Pro.
Where you trip
- Markup for margin. Covered above. Check the formula in your spreadsheet, not the label on the column.
- Tear-off on order squares. Waste doesn't exist until you cut it. Tear-off on 38.1 squares bills 4.1 squares of roof you won't strip.
- One pitch for the whole roof. Pricing by the steepest pitch overcharges the low sections; pricing by the average undercharges the steep ones. Use the bands.
- Accessories from area. Two roofs with the same squares can have very different hip and valley footage. Price the edges.
- Forgetting overhead. Without it, your "margin" is paying the truck, the office and insurance before it pays you.
FAQ
Should the steep-pitch add apply to the whole roof?
No. Apply it to the squares above the pitch your crew walks. The report's pitch bands tell you how many that is.
Is a 30% markup the same as a 30% margin?
No. A 30% markup gives about a 23% margin. For a 30% margin, divide cost by 0.70, or mark up by about 42.9%.
Do I price tear-off on measured or order squares?
Measured squares. You're removing the roof that's there; waste only applies to new material.
Where does overhead go, before or after margin?
Before. Overhead is a cost, so it goes into total cost, and margin is applied to that total.
Close
Quantities from the report, rates from your books, adds where the roof is steep and high, overhead in the cost, then divide by one minus your margin.