Roofing Quote Review: A Builder Reads Your Roofing Quotes and Roof Photos Before You Sign

RoofingIndependent Review

A Builder Reads Your Roofing Quotes Before You Sign Them

Up to three quotes and your roof photos, on one scope, with a plain answer. No roofer behind it, no commission on what you buy.

Three roofing quotes, $6,000 apart, each one page, each for “a new roof.” You cannot see the roof, you cannot read the shingle spec, and the cheap one has a line in small type about decking. This is the second opinion: a builder who has bought a few hundred roofs reads the quotes the way a roofer reads them and tells you which one is the roof you want.

Reviews are done by a Tarion-registered Ontario builder with 300-plus houses behind him, every one of them with a roof he had to buy. Turnaround three business days.

What you get

Roofing Quote Review
$99

Up to three quotes, plus your photos. HST added at checkout.

  • Every quote put on the same eighteen-line scope, side by side
  • What each one leaves out, in dollars: tear-off, decking, flashings, venting, membrane
  • The squares checked against your roof, and the price per square against Ontario 2026 rates
  • The shingle or metal spec read for what it actually is (grade, gauge, coating, paint, warranty)
  • From your attic and roof photos: whether this is a roof, a repair, or an attic problem
  • A plain answer: sign this one, go back to that one with these questions, or walk
Order the roofing quote review

If your house is in Simcoe County, Muskoka or the Georgian Bay area and the roof ends up going to a roofer we introduce, the review fee comes off the introduction. Metal roof quotes with four or more systems to compare, or a full-house roofing package with flat and sloped sections, are quoted separately; email first.

How it works

  1. Order. Pay by card on the Stripe page. HST is added at checkout; you get an emailed receipt and a page telling you exactly what to send.
  2. Send the paper and the pictures. Reply to the receipt email with the quotes as PDFs or clear phone photos, a photo of each side of the house from the street, a photo of the attic from the hatch if you can get up there (sheathing, eaves, anything stained), and the roof area if you ran the calculator.
  3. Get the answer. Within three business days: the grid with all quotes on it, what each one is missing and what that costs, the per-square check, the spec read, what the photos say, and the recommendation with the questions to send back to the roofers.
  4. Use it. Send the questions, get the revised quotes, sign the right one. Most people get the cheap quote revised up or the dear one explained, and either way they stop guessing.

What it is not

It is not a roof inspection. Nobody climbs your roof for $99, and anyone who offers to is on the scams page. It reads what you send: the quotes and the photos. If the photos show something that needs a person on the roof (a sag, a chimney that looks like it is leaning), it says so and says who to call. It is not a binding price, a design, or a recommendation of a specific roofer. It is a builder’s reading of three pieces of paper, which is what most people are missing.

What gets found, most weeks

  • The low quote is an overlay, or has no tear-off, or has “decking extra” at an unnamed price.
  • Two quotes measured 19 squares and one measured 24, and the 24 is the material order.
  • “30-year shingles” with no brand, on the cheapest quote.
  • Reused chimney flashing, or no cricket on a 4 ft wide chimney.
  • A metal roof quote with no gauge and no paint system named, $12,000 under the others.
  • Three box vents and no soffit intake on a roof that has been cooking shingles for 15 years.
  • A roof that does not need replacing: a boot, a flashing, or frost in the attic, and a $400 fix instead of a $16,000 one.

Before you order, the free version

The quote checklist is the eighteen lines and the grid, free, and it settles a lot of quote comparisons on its own. The repair vs. replacement page is the attic test. The calculator gives you the number a fair quote lands near. If the grid is filled and the quotes still do not agree, or the roofer’s story and the attic do not match, that is when $99 is cheap.

Questions people ask

What do I send?

The quotes (PDF or clear photos), a photo of each side of the house, an attic photo if you can, and the calculator’s roof area if you ran it. Reply to the receipt email with them attached.

How long does it take?

Three business days from when the paper arrives. Faster in winter, slower in May.

Will you tell me which roofer to use?

Which quote is the better roof and what to ask the others, yes. Whether the roofer is good is the reference call on the hiring page, which you make.

What if I only have one quote?

Send it. One quote on the eighteen-line grid still shows what it leaves out and whether the price per square is fair. The review will usually tell you to get two more and what scope to give them.

Is HST charged?

Yes, 13% at checkout, with an invoice emailed to you. The card statement reads ROOF REVIEW.

Three pieces of paper, one answer

Less than the cost of one bundle of shingles, and it is the difference between the quote that was cheap and the one that was cheapest.

Order the review, $99 + HSTTry the free checklist first