What a Roof Replacement Costs in Tennessee

The published figures, and what each one assumes

These are other people's published estimates, quoted with their assumptions. We hold no pricing data of our own and no roofer's quote is bound by any of them.

Why they disagree

Put the first two rows side by side. Both land on roughly $5 to $7 a square foot for architectural shingles. The $7,000 figure is a 1,282 square foot roof; the $25,000 figure is a roof three to four times that size with hips, valleys and a tear-off. The disagreement is almost entirely roof area, and roof area is the number homeowners most often get wrong, because it is not the floor area of the house.

The arithmetic for your own roof

1. Start with the footprint, including the garage and the overhangs, not the heated square footage. A 2,000 square foot single-storey house with a two-car garage and eaves covers about 2,600 square feet of ground.
2. Multiply for pitch. A 4/12 roof is 1.05 times its footprint, a 6/12 roof 1.12 times, an 8/12 roof 1.20 times, a 12/12 roof 1.41 times. That is geometry, not an estimate. The same house at 8/12 has about 3,100 square feet of roof.
3. Convert to squares. Roofers price by the square, which is 100 square feet. 3,100 square feet is 31 squares, and a quote will add waste for hips and valleys on top.
4. Multiply by the per-square-foot range for the material. At the $5 to $7 both Nashville sources give for architectural shingles, 3,100 square feet is $15,500 to $21,700. The same roof in standing-seam steel at the $16 the Nashville roofer publishes is about $49,600.

The Tennessee rules that move the number

The $25,000 line

A roof quoted at $25,000 or more can only be contracted by a company holding a Tennessee contractor licence whose monetary limit covers the job. Every licensed listing on this site shows that limit. A quote that lands a few hundred dollars under $25,000 from a company with no contractor licence deserves a second look, and so does a job split into two contracts.

Decking

What is under the shingles is the biggest unknown in any quote. Memphis and Shelby County publish their rule: existing plank decking may have gaps averaging up to a quarter inch before it must be filled or overlaid with 3/8 inch sheathing, and new sheathing needs a permit and, because of the weight, a structural engineer's letter. A quote should price decking per sheet, so the surprise has a unit cost.

Permits

Nashville and Chattanooga require a permit for a re-roof; Memphis and Shelby County do not unless decking is touched. Where one is required the roofer pulls it and the fee is in the quote. The rule, city by city.

Insurance

If hail is paying, the number that matters is not the roofer's price but whether your policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value. On an older roof the difference can be most of the bill. How a Tennessee hail claim works.

Getting a real number

Three written quotes on the same scope: same shingle line, same underlayment, tear-off included, decking priced per sheet, permit included where one is required, and the warranty in writing. Then check the licence of whoever you pick. Request quotes from roofers near you.