Two numbers for the same roof almost always mean two different scopes, and here is how to line them up.
Because the two contractors are almost certainly quoting two different jobs. A roofing quote that says "new roof" can mean a full tear-off down to the deck with new flashing, new underlayment, ice and water shield and a ridge vent, or it can mean new shingles laid over the old ones with the existing flashing reused. Both are legally "a new roof" and they are not the same product, which is why a gap of many thousands of dollars on the same house is usually a scope gap rather than a pricing gap.
That is the whole answer. The rest of this page is how to find the gap in the two quotes sitting on your kitchen table right now.
Not every price difference is a missing line item. Labor rates, crew size, and whether a contractor runs their own crew or subcontracts the job all differ legitimately between companies, and a lean, efficient operator can genuinely be cheaper for the same scope. Normalize the scope first. If the items above are equal on both quotes and the price still differs, that is how each business is run, not a reason to assume the cheaper one is cutting corners.
Get both quotes on the table and line up the scopes item by item before you look at either total. Mark what each quote actually states, not what a salesperson said on the porch, and price in anything missing at a reasonable market rate so you are comparing the same job on paper. Our full checklist, what a roofing quote should include, covers all eleven items a complete proposal should state, and the roof replacement cost guide for Long Island gives typical market ranges so you can sanity check the number once the scopes match.
If there is already more than one layer of shingles on the roof, a layover is not an option anyway, but the answer tells you what you are actually paying to remove.
A contractor who has a ready answer has priced this job honestly before. One who cannot give you a number is planning to figure it out once your old roof is already off.
This one question, asked plainly, usually accounts for more of the gap than any other item on the list.
Those three answers, from both contractors, explain most of the gap you are looking at.
We will look it over against the scope items above at no cost and no obligation, whether or not you ever hire us. Start with a free estimate and mention you want a second opinion on a proposal you already have.
No. Picking the middle number treats price as the signal when scope is the actual variable. A middle-priced quote can still be missing flashing or a decking contingency. Normalize the scopes first, then compare what is left.
No. A high price does not by itself mean a complete scope, and some of that gap can be legitimate overhead rather than better work. Read the proposal line by line against what a quote should include before assuming the top number is the safest choice.
You can ask, but the better question is what they would remove from the scope to get there. If they can hit that number by dropping the decking contingency, reusing flashing, or running one course of ice and water shield instead of two, that answer tells you what the lower quote was actually missing.
These are the reviews our customers left on Google. There are nine of them, we publish all nine, and we do not post a star rating we cannot verify.
Frank was excellent to deal with. I am doing my roof, siding and windows. We went through all the materials being used in great detail. He provided samples so I can see, touch and feel them for myself. He was not pushy or aggressive to sell me this job.
Chris from coast to coast gave us a quote for siding and gutters. Very thorough and helpful
Cris was professional and polite. I had a very positive quote experience. Thank you!
Start with the free inspection. You will get photos of what we found and a written scope you can read line by line, whether or not you hire us.
