The question every homeowner has, and almost nobody answers

This is the question every homeowner with a roof problem eventually asks, and almost no roofing website will answer it. We're going to try, honestly, without putting a replacement number on this page that we can't stand behind.

Here's what we can tell you: what a repair costs, what drives the cost of a replacement, and why a real estimate matters more than a figure on a screen. Here's what we won't do: publish a replacement price, a price range, or a per-square number. Not because we're being cagey — because it would be wrong for most of the people reading it, and a wrong number helps nobody.

We can be specific about repairs, because a repair is a defined piece of work. Our minimum charge for a basic repair or service call is $350. More involved repairs start around $500, depending on what the work actually requires.

We price a repair to the work in front of us rather than to a flat rate. A small flashing fix and a valley repair aren't the same job, and they shouldn't carry the same price. When we come out and see what's actually going on, you get a price that reflects the work — not a number pulled from a chart.

On repairs and replacements both, the estimate costs you nothing. We come out, get on the roof, and tell you what we see and what it would take to fix or replace it. You get the findings and the price in writing and decide what to do from there. No charge, no obligation. The only figures on this page are the repair minimums above — everything else, we put in front of you on paper after we've actually looked at your roof.

A replacement is where the price really moves, and it moves because no two roofs are the same. Here are the factors, so you can work out roughly where your own roof sits.

Total roof area is the starting point — a bigger roof takes more material and more labor. Pitch matters because a steep roof is harder and slower to work on safely than a walkable one, and that labor shows up in the price. The number of existing layers to tear off changes the job: one layer comes off cleanly, two or three take longer and produce more waste to haul.

The condition of the decking underneath is the one nobody can see until the old roof is off. Soft or rotted decking has to be replaced, and how much of it there is only becomes clear during the tear-off. Complexity — valleys, dormers, chimneys, skylights, and penetrations — adds flashing detail and time; a simple gable roof and a cut-up roof with five valleys are not the same job.

Access for materials and a dumpster matters: how easy it is to get a dumpster close and get shingles onto the roof. Material choice is a real driver — asphalt shingle and metal carry different price points. And ventilation work, if the inspection shows the attic needs it, is part of doing the replacement right rather than just putting shingles on top of a problem.

Put all of those factors together and you see the problem with a number on a website. Two roofs of the same square footage can differ substantially once pitch, layers, and decking are known. The house with one layer of shingles over solid decking on a walkable pitch is a different job — and a different price — than the same-sized house with two layers over rotted decking on a steep pitch with three valleys.

A replacement price on a page would either undersell the job and surprise you when the estimate comes in higher, or oversell it and scare you off a roof that might be straightforward. Neither serves you. A number that doesn't match the estimate helps nobody — so we don't put one up. What we do is come out, look at your actual roof, and give you a written number you can stand behind.

When we come out, you get more than a number. You get a written scope of work — what's being done and why. The materials we recommend and the reasoning behind them. The tear-off and disposal if it's a replacement. Any decking repair the inspection turns up. Underlayment and ice barrier at the eaves where they apply. Flashing at every penetration and wall. Ventilation, assessed and addressed if it's needed. And cleanup, including a magnet sweep for nails before we leave.

The price covers all of it, and you'll know what it is and what's behind it before any work starts. That's the point of a written estimate: you can make a decision with the information in front of you, on your own time, rather than trying to compare a real roof against a number on a screen.

The material choice is the one decision a homeowner has the most control over, and it's a cost conversation worth having plainly. Asphalt shingle is the familiar, cost-effective choice and does the job well on most homes in the valley. Metal — standing seam or exposed-fastener — costs more up front.

Metal also lasts considerably longer, which is why the conversation isn't only about the first price tag. We won't attach a payback period or a number to that, because it depends on your roof, your plans for the home, and how long you intend to stay. What we will do is lay out both options for your specific roof — what each involves, what each costs, and how each performs in a Flathead Valley winter — so you can decide which makes sense. See our asphalt shingle and standing seam metal pages for how each system differs.

If you're trying to work out what your roof will cost, the next step is the one that actually gets you a number: a free estimate. We come out, get on the roof, and put the real figure — and everything behind it — in writing. You'll talk to Tessa & Joseph Stremel, not a salesperson, and there's no obligation. That's the honest way to answer the question this page is about.