ROOF REPORT STORY 3
Cheapest Roofer vs Quality Roofer:
The Real Difference in
What You Get
Three Roofers Show Up.
They All Quote You Different Numbers. Now What?
This is how it usually goes:
Roofer A quotes
Roofer B quotes
Roofer C quotes
Most homeowners pick Roofer A. Some pick Roofer C because they assume “more expensive = better.”
Almost nobody understands what’s actually being charged differently between them — and that’s where homeowners get burned for the next 15 years.
Here’s the real breakdown.
What the Cheapest Roofer Skips
When the price drops $5,000 below market, something got skipped. Always. Here’s the usual list:
Inspection
A “free inspection” took 10 minutes. There’s no written report. There are no photos. There’s no documentation of what was actually wrong before the new roof went on.
Why This Matters
When something fails 18 months later, there’s no record of what state the roof was in when they started. You have no recourse.
Read: What a Real NRCIA Inspection Actually Includes. →
Underlayment
The cheap roofer uses 15-pound felt. Sometimes nothing at all. Real synthetic underlayment runs more
Why This Matters
When the shingles fail (and they will, in 12–15 years instead of 25), the underlayment is your only defense against water reaching the decking. 15-lb felt won’t stop water for long.
Ice & Water Shield
Code requires it in the first 24″ past the wall line in cold climates. Most roofs need it in valleys, around penetrations, and along eaves. Cheap roofers skip everywhere except the strict code minimum — or skip code entirely.
Why This Matters
Ice dams and wind-driven rain are the #1 cause of “I have a leak and I just got a new roof” calls. This is what stops them.
Drip Edge & Starter Strip
Both are code in most jurisdictions. Both get “forgotten” routinely. The cheap quote often doesn’t include either.
Why This Matters
Without drip edge, water runs behind your gutters and rots fascia. Without proper starter strip, wind lifts your bottom course shingles and the roof unzips.
Flashing
Both are code in most jurisdictions. Both get “forgotten” routinely. The cheap quote often doesn’t include either.
Why This Matters
Flashing is the #1 long-term leak source. Re-using flashing on a new roof is putting a new engine in a car with the same old leaking gaskets.
Ventilation
Cheap roofers slap shingles on whatever vent setup already existed. Quality roofers assess whether intake and exhaust ventilation is balanced — and fix it if it isn’t.
Why This Matters
Improper attic ventilation cooks shingles from below. A roof that should last 25 years can fail in 12–15 because of bad ventilation. The cheap roofer just sold you a roof that’s already failing.
Manufacturer Certification
GAF Master Elite, Owens Corning Platinum Preferred, CertainTeed Select ShingleMaster — these certifications matter because they unlock the manufacturer’s extended warranty. The cheap roofer doesn’t carry them. You don’t get the warranty.
Why This Matters
That “lifetime warranty” on the shingle is meaningless if your installer isn’t certified to register it.
Workmanship Warranty
The cheap roofer either gives you nothing in writing, or gives you 1 year. The quality roofer writes a real warranty — 10+ years, transferable, in plain English.
Why This Matters
When something fails, the cheap roofer’s phone has been disconnected. The quality roofer is still picking up.
Read: How the New Warranty Works. →
What the Cheapest Roofer Pays Their Crew
This is the part nobody talks about.
A roof that goes on in 4 hours by a crew of 5 day-laborers is the kind of roof that comes off in pieces during the next storm.
Roofing is craft work. Speed is fine. Speed at the expense of nail placement, course alignment, and flashing detail is not fine.
Quality roofers pay their crews more, run smaller crews, take longer per roof, and supervise the work. That costs money.
That money is in the higher bid.
The Five-Year Cost Comparison
Same homeowner. Same house. Same neighborhood. Different roofer.
| Cheapest Roofer (A) | Quality Roofer (C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Install Cost | $9,000 | $22,000 |
| Inspection Report | None | Written, photo-documented |
| Underlayment | 15-lb felt | Synthetic |
| Ice & Water Shield | Code minimum | Valleys + eaves + penetrations |
| Flashing | Re-used | Replaced |
| Ventilation | Existing setup | Assessed + corrected |
| Workmanship Warranty | 1 year | 10+ years, transferable |
| Manufacturer Warranty | Standard | Extended (cert’d installer) |
| Insurance Documentation | None | Full file, NRCIA report |
| Expected Roof Life | 12–15 years | 25–30 years |
| Year-5 Status | First leaks appearing, no warranty coverage | Roof in like-new condition, fully covered |
| Insurance Discount Eligibility | No (no Class 4, no documentation) | Yes (10–30% off premium, depending on carrier) |
| Resale Value Impact | “It has a roof” | “It has a documented, warranted, Class 4 roof” |
The $13,000 price difference, spread over a 25-year roof life
- $520/year for the quality roof
- Offset partially by insurance premium savings (often $200–600/year for Class 4 + documentation)
- Avoided $1,000–5,000 deductible every time a hailstorm rolls through (and it will, in this part of the country)
- No phantom $4,000 re-roof at year 12 when the cheap roof fails out of warranty
Real annual cost difference, accounting for the recoveries:
Usually $100–300/year. For a roof that lasts twice as long, looks better, sells better, and won’t keep you up at night.
How to Tell Which Roofer Is Which
“Can I see your written inspection report before you give me a quote?”
Yes, here it is.
“Don’t need one, I can see it from the ground.”
What underlayment do you install? What about ice & water shield placement?
Detailed answer, brand names.
“Whatever the standard is.”
Are you NRCIA-certified? Manufacturer-certified for the shingle you’re installing?
Yes, here are the certifications
Change of subject.
What’s your workmanship warranty term, and is it transferable when I sell?
Clear written terms, transferable.
“We stand behind our work” (meaningless).
What happens if my roof leaks two years from now?
Warranty kicks in, here’s the process.
Vague answers, fast topic-change.
If any of the answers feel like a dodge, that’s your dodge.
Where Heirloom Fits
We’re not the cheapest roofer in northeast Oklahoma. We’re not trying to be.
We’re NRCIA-certified. We inspect before we quote. We install Class 4 shingles. We replace flashing. We assess ventilation. We register your manufacturer warranty correctly. We write you a workmanship warranty that’s actually transferable. We document everything for insurance and resale.
That costs more on day one. It costs dramatically less by year 10. And it’s the only kind of roof you don’t have to think about every time a storm rolls in.
Kevin Barton is the founder of Heirloom Roofing in Claremore, Oklahoma. He’s a NRCIA-certified roof inspector who has sat across from more adjusters than he can count and helped homeowners overturn denied or underpaid storm damage claims — not by negotiating against the insurance carrier, but by making sure the roof was documented so thoroughly that the carrier had nothing to negotiate against. Reach Kevin at (877) 847-0121.