How Much Does a Roof Replacement Cost in the Milwaukee Metro?

This question used to be a constant, heated debate, but the market is finally settling toward a consensus. The ability to get an estimate online has pushed roofing pricing to become a lot more standardized across the Milwaukee metro. Roofing is sold by the square:

1 square = 10 ft x 10 ft = 100 sq ft

As of the time of this post, the average price of a roof replacement in the greater Milwaukee area is about $750 per square. On a typical 20-square roof, that comes to right around $15,000. But there is a lot that can push that number up or down, so let's walk through it.

Shingle-over or full replacement? Know the difference

The first fork is whether you are getting a "shingle-over" or a full replacement. In Wisconsin, state code says you are allowed to put a second layer of shingles over the first and call it a new roof. The problem is what that hides. Often, when we visit with homeowners, we find that a previous owner already put a second layer on, which means the current owner now carries the cost of tearing off two layers instead of one. We do not recommend or offer shingle-overs, though I know some contractors do.

A full replacement means all the existing roofing material is stripped off down to the plywood decking, and a complete new roofing system is installed. That is the only kind of roof we do, and it is the one that lets us actually inspect and fix what is underneath.

What actually drives your roof price

Most homeowners believe a roof is mostly the shingles, and that is exactly what an inexperienced or cut-rate roofer wants you to believe. The truth is the shingles are just the protective layer on top of the parts that really keep water out of your house. Here is where the real cost lives, and where the corners get cut.

1. Decking

Roof decking is the plywood, or often the 1x4 wood slats, that make up the flat wood surface the new roofing attaches to. Here in Wisconsin, and in much of the country, if we find you have 1x4 slats and those slats have more than a quarter-inch gap across more than half the roof, we are required to replace the decking. We complete an attic inspection on the first visit so we can catch that and price it into your quote up front, no surprises later. If you already have OSB plywood decking, we are not replacing all of it, though there will usually be a few small spots that need to be cut out and swapped. Most reputable roofers include a few sheets of plywood free of charge for exactly those small needs.

2. Underlayment (this is the one they cut)

The single most important element of the system is the underlayment, because it is what protects the wood and keeps water from rotting your decking. Sadly, it is also the first place low-cost roofers love to save money. There are two main types. Synthetic underlayment lets your attic breathe while keeping moisture off the wood. Felt is the old-school option: cheap, prone to rot, it does not breathe, and it tears apart when the crew walks across it. Felt is still allowed by some manufacturers, but to qualify for anything beyond the base warranty, synthetic is required. Always ask what underlayment is going into your new roof.

3. Ice and water shield

Ice and water shield is what prevents ice damming, which in Wisconsin is a serious problem. State code requires 3 feet of it on all eaves. The catch is that 3 feet rarely reaches past the warm wall of your home, where rising heat melts the snow and starts the dam. A good roofer installs a double row, 6 feet, at the eaves, and also runs that barrier in the valleys, up the rakes, and around every vent and penetration.

4. Venting

Venting is another place cost gets cut, and it usually should not be. Some roofers will tell you they can reuse your existing box vents or your pipe jacks (the rubber boots around the pipes running from your bathroom or kitchen through the roof). That is a bad idea. Those pipe jacks are often dry-rotted and will not seal, and the old vents have usually taken hail damage and were never flashed in right to begin with. You can save a little here, but in the long run it is never worth it.

5. Side walls

Side walls are where the roof surface runs into a wall of your home. Done right, the roofer cuts back the siding, installs ice and water shield 6 inches up the side wall, and puts a band board in place of the siding that was cut back. That keeps water from getting behind the siding and rotting out the sheathing on the side of your home.

6. The shingles

Finally we get to the shingles. There are several manufacturers, all of whom make a quality product, but there are real differences that affect both cost and lifespan. The first is whether it is a standard asphalt shingle or a rubberized SBS shingle. Standard asphalt, especially in Wisconsin, tends to have a shorter lifespan and gets brittle in our brutal winters. SBS shingles are rubberized and behave very differently in the cold, which means they last considerably longer. An SBS roof should be the last roof your home ever needs.

The other factor is impact resistance. Standard shingles from most major manufacturers are a Class 2, which is fine in markets that do not get much hail. But Wisconsin gets fairly significant hail, so a Class 3 or Class 4 impact-resistant shingle is usually the best bang for your buck here. On top of that, many homeowners insurance carriers offer a discount on your premium for an impact-resistant roof, because it lowers their risk.

So what will your roof actually cost?

At the metro average of about $750 a square, a typical 20-square roof comes to roughly $15,000. A larger, steeper, or more complex roof pushes that up, as does decking replacement or stepping up to a premium SBS, Class 4 system. A smaller or simpler roof comes in under it. The only way to know your real number is to price your actual roof, not a neighbor's.

That is exactly what our tools are for. You can pull an instant, satellite-measured roof price in about 30 seconds, or book a consult and we will do a full attic-and-roof inspection so everything, including any decking, is priced into your quote up front. If you want to know exactly what a new SBS roofing system by Malarkey, installed by Northcraft, will cost on your home, either path gets you a real number with nothing hidden.