What a New Roof Actually Costs in Richmond, TX

Roofers price by the square, not the house

A "square" is 100 square feet of roof surface. That matters because your roof is bigger than your floor plan. A 2,400 square foot house is not a 2,400 square foot roof — once you account for pitch and overhangs, that house usually carries somewhere around 28 to 34 squares of roof.

Around Fort Bend County, installed architectural shingles generally run $450 to $700 per square once you include tear-off, felt or synthetic underlayment, new flashing, ridge and disposal. Do the math on 30 squares and you get the honest range: roughly $13,500 to $21,000 for that 2,400 square foot house. Anyone quoting far below that range is leaving something out. You will find out what after the check clears.

What actually moves the price

• Pitch. Steep roofs are slower and more dangerous to work. Past about an 8:12 slope, labor climbs fast.
• Complexity. Every valley, dormer, skylight and roofline change adds cutting, flashing and time. A simple gable is the cheapest roof there is. The cut-up two-story elevations common in Aliana and Harvest Green are not.
• Decking. Nobody knows what the sheathing looks like until tear-off. Soft decking gets replaced at a per-sheet price — ask what that price is before you sign, and make sure it's in writing.
• Material. Three-tab is cheapest and we rarely recommend it here; it does not handle Gulf Coast wind well. Architectural shingle is the standard. Class 3 and 4 impact-rated shingle costs more up front and takes hail better.
• Layers. If there are two layers of old shingle up there, tear-off costs more. There is no honest way around that.

So is $30,000 too much?

Depends entirely on the roof. For a large two-story with steep pitch, multiple valleys and premium impact-rated shingle — $30,000 can be a fair number. For a plain 2,000 square foot single-story with basic architectural shingles, it is not, and the roofer quoting it is hoping you don't get a second bid.

This is why we quote line-item. Materials, labor, decking allowance, disposal, permit — each priced separately, so you can compare our quote against anyone else's one line at a time. A roofer who will only give you one big number is asking you to trust him instead of check him.

Get a number for your roof, not an internet average

Every range in this article is a range because roofs differ. The only quote that means anything is one written after somebody has actually been on your roof. Ours is free, it comes with photos of everything we found, and the report is yours to keep even if you hire someone else.

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