Roofing Question - Decking Material calculated before or after?

Question

Hello BP community,

I have a question about a roofing invoice. I had 2 roofing bids for a complete tear-off with a new TPO roof. I got a bid for $27K and then I asked another roofer to match it, which he did. I chose him since this guy had more positive reviews and a longer history. Now that the work is completed he is asking me for an additional $1800 claiming that the decking material is normally charged at the end since they don't know the cost for that till the end. I am disputing this but I have never had to deal with a whole tear off so I am weary this is not normal.

This is what he said "That amount represents the replacement of damaged decking that could not be included, as a total cost, until the damaged and worn roofing materials were removed to expose the decking material. Therefore, it was included in the price as a per sheet cost."

Anyone have insight should I pay for this and is this common practice?

David Wandel · Answer

What does your contract say? There should be a line item cost for replacing bad sheathing/decking. Cost should be based on a per sheet cost , or square foot cost , or by the linear foot.It is impossible to know exactly how much bad roof decking there is until the roof is tore off. Especially on a flat roof where there may be many layers of roofing that hide any issues.When we encountered bad wood we take pictures and notify the owner immediately to make them aware how much wood and what the extra cost is going to be.I don't know the size of the roof or the cost of roofing in California, but here in Maryland that would be around 800 square feet of wood, which is quite a lot.

Ola Dantis · Answer

@Suzanne Chan Classic CONtractor move. If he even thought that it could up to 2k in extra cost, that's very useful information to know upfront and he should at least said that portion of could be up to X amount. Now, let's be logical, he's a roofer and he does this every day, right? So, I think throwing a bill for $1,800 at the last hour will definitely be a shocker to anyone.The unfortunate thing is you will most likely have to pay for it but request all the receipts for the "extra" materials.

David Wandel · Answer

So, let's do the math. 1,800 divided by 58 = 31.03 sheets. It was probably 31 sheets and he rounded up to $1,800. That's just over 1,000 square feet. 10 square of materials. That is a pretty good sized area. Did they provide any pictures? without pictures I would be hesitant to pay for more than a few sheets.Is this a residential house or a commercial property? Any idea of how many squares the roof was? If not, what is the square footage of the building? And how many stories if more than 1 story.

Suzanne Chan · Answer

@David Wandel thanks for the feedback, it is stated below but I just assumed the price was all inclusive. Perhaps he thought I was aware that the decking would be adjusted once they rip it off. I was not aware of this and it made the roof nearly $2K more so it's a hard pill to swallow but if it's typical for roofing, I will pay for it. I just wish it was on the invoice and say Price to be Determined at end of job etc. Thanks for the clarification, I am assuming I should pay for this and it's a typical adjustable charge at the end of the job.

Account Closed · Answer

@Suzanne Chan It depends on how his contract reads. I would assume he excluded repair of the substrate, and it sounds as though he gave you a per sheet unit price for replacement. Ordinarily I would include an allowance within my number to be drawn against for this, so that the client isn’t surprised, but having to do substrate repair after the tear off which wasn’t expected is not uncommon

Suzanne Chan · Answer

thanks all for the feedback, I am working it out with him, he offered me a $500 credit since the work was delayed and he's absorbing the tax, so all in all it would be an additional $1500, which is fair but not something I anticipated. His work did have a longer warranty than the other bid so I am fine but yes I will ask next time or at least ask him to take photos or get a receipt of the decking purchased.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Suzanne Chan I have had several roofs done and in every case replacing the decking is an added charge. They don't know how much needs to be replaced until they do tear off. As others said, this is how it was quoted to you. I get why you were surprised, but this is is how they do it, so they are not taking advantage of you.

Wayne Brooks · Answer

The “$58/sheet of plywood” is obvious in the proposal posted....

Mike L. · Answer

@Colleen F.I’d agree with @Suzanne Chan - good to ask up front if they anticipate any rotten decking but probably better pricing that way/easier to compare bids if they separate it out since no contractor knows how much rotten wood there is. Doing it that way will also allow you to compare the cost of the different pieces of the project including the per sheet cost between contractors. I had a roof where I knew the whole front edge was rotten so I had them include that in bid but left per sheet cost for anything else they found that wouldn’t be detectable until it was all torn apart.

Colleen F. · Answer

@Suzanne Chan its a shame he didn't call it out on the day of repair. I also ask for pictures for unexpected items. Anytime a per unit price is specified ask how many units they expect in general even if they can only give a minimum or range. Also if you have a mixed roofing project make sure they quote it all. I had a house with a roll roof dormer and a shingle roof and roofer who only quoted the shingle. I didn't think I would have to say I want the whole roof replaced.