How far would you go

I spent most of today shopping prices for roofing material. There are two layers of shingles up there so it all has to come off and we have to start from the beginning. That includes shingles, felt paper, ice guard, venting, and drip edges. My husband can usually get a better deal on fasteners through his work, so I didn't include any of that in the price workup.

My first stop today was a local lumber yard. I took in my measurements (hard won out in the rain with a busted tape measure) and they were kind enough to do all the work for me. I ended up with a quote just under $2000. Since $2000 is our budget, that left no room for nails or disposal fees for the old roof.

My second stop was Lowes. They could match the prices I had from the lumber yard but they could not get the price any lower.

I did know from online research that Home Depot had the shingles at the very least significantly cheaper. The problem is the nearest Home Depot is an hour away. Still, for the type of savings we need, after my husband got out of work we made the trip to Ohio.

The cheapest shingles in our area were $20.49 a bundle. We bought them at Home Depot for $15.97 a bundle.


We also learned that the ridge vent is not the only option, and in many cases not the best option so we bought the square roof vents instead.

We brought home 32 bundles of shingles tonight and have 30 waiting to be picked up tomorrow. In total, we spent a couple hours on the road but we saved $450 off our original quote between shingles and changing our roof venting. We might actually be able to pull this off.