Split the Tear-Off Labor From the Install Labor Before You Compare Roofers

Two roof bids can land on the same total and still describe different work. One roofer may show a single labor figure that covers everything from the first shovel of old shingles to the last ridge cap. Another may split the job into a tear-off line and an install line, each with its own day count. Neither format is wrong on its face, but the two formats cannot be compared as written. Before you decide which bid is cheaper, pull the tear-off labor out of each one and set it beside the install labor, so you are comparing the same tasks against the same numbers.

Why the labor line matters on a St. Louis roof

Tear-off is the part of a reroof where the crew strips the existing shingles, pulls the nails, and hauls the debris to the bin. On a Chesterfield house with one layer of three-tab shingles and a sound deck, that work is physical but predictable. On an older house with two layers, or with plank decking that has gone soft from years of freeze and thaw, the same work can take longer, and the crew may stop to replace boards. Install is the part that starts after the deck is inspected and dry: underlayment, starter course, shingles, flashing, and cleanup. Install depends on the pitch, the number of valleys and penetrations, and the weather on the days the crew is actually shingling.

Because the two tasks respond to different conditions, a single labor figure hides the risk you need to see. If tear-off runs long because of a rotted section, a lumped labor number may absorb that cost without telling you where it came from. A split labor line shows where the time is going.

Read the labor line in each bid

Start with the bid in front of you and find every line that mentions labor, crew, or install. Some roofers write "labor" once and leave it there. Others write "tear-off labor," "install labor," "deck labor," or "clean-up and haul." Copy each one onto a sheet of paper or into a spreadsheet, with the bid name at the top. If a bid has no labor line at all, the labor is probably folded into the material price or into a per-square rate. Write that down too. A bid with no visible labor is not automatically cheaper, and it is not automatically more expensive. It is a bid you cannot compare yet.

For each labor line, record four things: the dollar amount, the number of crew days or hours it assumes, the number of crew members it assumes, and the scope it covers. A line that reads "tear-off labor, 1,200 dollars" gives you a price. It does not tell you whether that price assumes one day with four people or two days with three.

Put every dollar in one of three columns

With the lines written out, build a simple comparison with three columns per bid: tear-off, install, and everything else. Everything else includes permits, dumpster, delivery, and cleanup if those are priced separately. Your job is to make sure every dollar in each bid lands in one of those columns, and that the same work sits in the same column across all of them.

A common mismatch is haul-away. One bid puts it inside the tear-off line. Another puts it in a separate line called debris. A third leaves it inside the install price. If you do not move those dollars into the same column, one bid looks cheaper on tear-off and the difference reappears somewhere else. Ask each roofer to confirm which line includes hauling the old shingles to the bin, and write the answer next to the bid.

Decking follows the same pattern. Deck repair, if it is needed, is often billed by the sheet or by the hour, and it may appear in tear-off, in install, or in an allowance line. Find it in every bid. If one roofer lists it as an allowance and another lists it as a flat line, the two numbers are not yet a price you can compare.

Check the crew days, not only the dollars

A labor line is a price for a number of hours. Two roofers can charge the same total for tear-off and assume very different crews. Ask each one how many people they plan to have on the roof during tear-off, how many hours per day they plan to work, and how many days they expect the tear-off to take. Then ask what happens if the deck is soft and the day count rises. Some bids say the labor is fixed. Others say it is an estimate that moves with the work. Both answers belong in writing.

This matters in St. Louis because the weather sets the calendar. A tear-off that starts on a dry April morning can be stopped by an afternoon storm, and a crew that has to tarp an open roof overnight adds time to the job. If a roofer has priced tear-off as one day and the job runs into a second day because of rain, you need to know whether that second day is billed. The answer should appear in the bid, not in a conversation at the curb.

Keep materials out of the labor comparison

Materials are a third source of confusion. Some roofers bundle shingles, underlayment, and nails into one material figure. Others break out each item. Shingle cost depends on the product line and on how many squares the roof needs after waste is added, so a bid that names the shingle and states the square count is easier to read than one that gives a single number. Keep the material figure in its own column and do not let it slide into labor. A bid that looks low on labor may have moved part of its labor cost into materials, and the total will still be where it was.

What to ask each roofer

1. Is the tear-off labor a fixed figure, or an estimate that changes if the deck needs more work?
2. How many crew members will be on the roof during tear-off, and how many hours will each day run?
3. Does the tear-off line include hauling the old shingles to the bin, or is that priced somewhere else?
4. Where does deck repair appear in your bid, and what is the rate per sheet or per hour?
5. If rain stops the crew for a day during tear-off, is that day billed, and is it written into the bid?
6. Does the install labor line include starter, underlayment, flashing, and final cleanup, or are any of those separate?

Write each answer next to the matching line. A roofer who answers quickly and in writing has given you something you can check. A roofer who answers in general terms has given you a conversation, and a conversation cannot be set beside another bid.

Compare the columns, then the totals

When each bid is split into tear-off, install, and everything else, add the tear-off figures across the bids, then the install figures, then the remaining column. Compare each column on its own first. You may find one roofer higher on tear-off and lower on install. That can happen when a crew expects a long strip-off and a short install, or the reverse. It is not yet a reason to pick one bid over another. It is a reason to ask why.

Then compare the totals. Because every task now sits in the same column, the totals should match in scope. If they still differ by a wide margin, the gap lies in the scope, the crew, or the day count. Ask the lower-priced roofer which task they left out, or how many crew days they assumed. Do not assume the lower bid is simply more efficient. Ask what it does not include.

Where a Keys bid fits

If you ask Keys Roofing for a bid, ask that tear-off and install appear on separate lines, and that the crew size and expected day count appear in the written scope. Keys installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only, so ask which of those two lines the bid names. Then run the Keys bid through the same split as every other bid on your sheet, and put the same six questions to the other roofers. The Keys office is at (314) 220-2333 if you want to go through the lines by phone before you decide.

What the split does not settle

A split labor line does not tell you whether a roofer will arrive on time, how carefully the crew will work around a garage door, or whether the install will be done correctly. Those are separate questions and belong to a different part of your comparison. The split tells you what each bid is paying for, and whether two bids are paying for the same thing. Once that is clear, the remaining price difference is a question you can answer.