Nothing's More Expensive Than a Cheap Roof
Twenty years and 5,000 roofs have taught us one thing over and over. You save two, three, four thousand dollars picking the low bid on a replacement. Then a valley leaks, or a chimney, or the ice dams get in because the ventilation was never right. You call someone out. Then someone else. Then us. In our experience, within the first five or six years you've paid back everything you saved, and then some. And that only fixed the one or two things that were done wrong. The rest of the roof is still the cheap roof.
The shingle is about 40 percent of a roof. The other 60 is the deck, the ice and water shield, the underlayment, the flashing at every wall and penetration, the ventilation, and tens of thousands of nails that all have to be in the right place. That 60 percent is where the low bid cuts, because it's the part you can't see from the driveway. It's also where roofs fail. We know, because we're the ones called in to repair those roofs, often within five years of installation.
Nothing's more expensive than a cheap roof. Pay for it once, done right, by roofers who know how a roof fails because they've torn apart thousands of them.
Signs You May Need a Roof Replacement
Some roofing problems can be repaired. Most can. But some mean the system is done.
- Widespread curling, cupping, or brittle shingles across whole slopes
- Heavy granule loss with bare asphalt showing on multiple slopes
- Leaks that keep coming back in new places
- The roof is 20 or more years old and showing wear everywhere
- Two layers of shingles already on the roof, which means the next job is a tear-off by code
- Widespread storm damage confirmed by a Haag Certified inspection
- Soft or rotted decking in more than one area
- A dip in the roofline, which is structural and needs a licensed builder's eyes
One of these usually means a repair. Several together across the roof means replacement. If it's a repair, we say repair. Our gallery is full of roofs where two other companies said replace and we fixed it for a few thousand dollars.
How We Decide
Repair is usually the answer when damage is limited to one area or one detail, the deck and structure are sound, the roofing has years of life left in the field, and there's one layer of shingles. Most of our repairs carry a 10 to 15 year warranty.
Replacement is usually the answer when the roof is 20 or more years old and worn across slopes, when the shingles across the roof never sealed, when there are two layers, or when the deck is bad in more than one place.
Some problems have two honest answers, a minor option that fixes what's in front of us with realistic expectations, and a major option that addresses the root cause with a stronger warranty. Both are legitimate. We lay out both, with photos, and you decide based on your budget and how long you plan to keep the house.
What to Expect During a Roof Replacement
- Step 1
Free Roof Inspection
We measure by satellite before we arrive, then get on the roof and in the attic. Layers, deck condition, ventilation, flashing, structure. Documented on the same inspection sheet we use on every roof, with photos.
- Step 2
Written Proposal
An itemized price with your material, color, warranty tier, and timeline, and a summary at the top written for your roof. If we suspect deck rot, it's priced as an allowance up front or approved before we touch it. No surprise add-ons.
- Step 3
Preparation and Protection
Landscaping tarped, A/C covered, plywood against the siding, dumpsters staged, and staging planned so you can still get in your own front door.
- Step 4
Complete Tear-Off
Every layer to the bare deck. Nothing hidden, nothing reused. Then we walk the deck and replace anything soft, rotted, or delaminated.
- Step 5
System Installation
Drip edge, ice and water shield run past where the ice dam forms, synthetic underlayment, all new flashing with kick-out at every wall and counter flashing cut into the masonry, ventilation sized to the attic, and the covering, six-nailed and hand-sealed when the weather calls for it. Project management checking as it goes.
- Step 6
Final Inspection, Cleanup, Warranty
Magnetic sweep, full haul-off, permit close-out, a final walk with you, and the manufacturer's enhanced warranty registered on your behalf alongside our workmanship warranty.
What We Replace With
Asphalt Shingle Roofing
The best value for most West Michigan homes. Architectural shingles from GAF and CertainTeed, both Class H wind and Class A fire, installed as a full system by a GAF Certified Plus and CertainTeed ShingleMaster contractor so the enhanced warranties register on your roof. Rated 20 to 30 years. How close you get depends on the other 60 percent.
See Asphalt Shingle ReplacementMetal Roofing
Standing seam and metal panel from Metal Sales and Central States. Forty to seventy years, sheds snow, no exposed fasteners on standing seam. Three to five times the cost of asphalt, most of it in the accessory work at every edge and penetration. We almost always recommend standing seam over exposed fastener on a house, and we design snow retention into every one so your gutters survive February.
See Metal Roof ReplacementFull Tear-Off and Replace
Why we never overlay, what Michigan code R908.3.1.1 actually says about second layers, and how we handle deck rot without a surprise bill.
See Tear-Off and ReplaceCommercial Roofing Systems
TPO, EPDM, and modified bitumen for commercial buildings, plus coatings and restoration when the deck is sound. Over 1,600 commercial roofs since 2012.
See Commercial RoofingHow Much Does a Roof Replacement Cost?
Full roof replacements in West Michigan typically start around $500 per square (about $5.00 per square foot) and can exceed $1,000 per square (about $10 per square foot) depending on materials, roof complexity, existing layers, and what we find when the old roof comes off. Standing-seam metal starts around $12 per square foot and can exceed $25 or $30. A square is 100 square feet of roof.
What moves the number:
- Roof size and complexity, how many valleys, hips, dormers, chimneys, and penetrations
- Materials, architectural asphalt versus standing seam metal
- Roof pitch and access
- How many layers are coming off
- Deck condition, priced as an allowance or approved once we can see it
- Ventilation improvements, which we build in rather than skip
- Structural repairs, if the deck or framing needs them
We can usually give general ranges over the phone. The accurate answer comes from the inspection, and it comes in writing. We also offer financing on everything from a small repair to a full replacement, residential and commercial, through multiple lenders. See our replacement cost guide for the full breakdown.
Why Homeowners Choose Stellar Roofing Company
A roof replacement is the biggest single check most homeowners write on the house. Here's why people across West Michigan hand it to us.
- Roofers, not salesmen. The people who inspect your roof are the people who install it.
- Full tear-off, always. Ice and water shield past the ice line. All flashing new. Ventilation sized to the attic. Six nails, hand-sealed when it's cold.
- GAF Certified Plus and CertainTeed ShingleMaster, enhanced manufacturer warranties registered on your roof, backed by our workmanship warranty.
- Deck rot priced up front or approved before we touch it. The number you sign is the number you pay.
- A repair-first answer. If it's a repair, we say repair, and we back it with 10 to 15 years.
- West Michigan owned since 2012, over 4,000 homes and 1,600 commercial roofs, and here after the trucks leave.
We're not here to sell you a roof you don't need. We're here so you know who to call when you do.
Roof Replacement in West Michigan
Grand Rapids · Holland · Ada · Kalamazoo · Grand Haven · And Surrounding Communities
If you're looking for a roofing contractor who'll tell you whether you actually need a new roof, our team is ready to help.
Schedule Your Free Roof Inspection