Every Roof Replacement Starts With a Full Inspection
We never quote a roof off a phone call or a satellite photo. Every replacement starts with a free inspection of the roof and the attic, because what is happening under the shingles decides the whole job. From there we follow the same three steps every time.
First We Inspect and Evaluate
A project advisor walks the roof and the attic, checks the decking, the ventilation, and the flashing, and photographs what they find. You see the curling shingles, the soft plywood, or the rusted flashing in a picture, not just a description. That evaluation tells us the true condition, which is the only honest basis for a price and a plan.
“The sales rep was the only one who actually took the time to look in my attic. They also replaced a significant amount of plywood and documented the entire process with 179 photos. Roof looked great.”
Angi Review
Then We Tell You If It Is Really Time
Not every tired-looking roof needs replacing, and we will say so. But when the whole roof is aging out at once, a replacement is the honest call. These are the signs we look for.
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Age of 20 years or more. Asphalt shingles last 20 to 30 years, and past that window, repairs are patches on a system failing everywhere.
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Widespread curling, cupping, or missing shingles across multiple slopes, not one bad spot.
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Granules filling the gutters, the protective layer washing away, which speeds up once it starts.
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Repeated leaks after prior repairs, a sign the underlayment and flashing are spent.
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A sagging deck or daylight in the attic, which points to structural damage a repair cannot fix.
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Shingles that snap when lifted, the roofer's test for a brittle, non-repairable roof.
Then We Recommend a Full Tear-Off, Not a Shortcut
This is the most important decision in a replacement, and it is where honest roofers and corner-cutters part ways. We almost always tear off to the decking rather than lay new shingles over the old.
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Full Tear-Off
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Lifespan
20 to 30 years
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Decking inspection
Full view, rot gets fixed
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Manufacturer warranty
Full coverage
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Michigan code
Always allowed
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Layover (Overlay)
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Lifespan
About 16 years, up to 20% shorter
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Decking inspection
Hidden, problems stay buried
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Manufacturer warranty
Often voided or limited
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Michigan code
Banned once two layers exist
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A layover saves a few thousand up front, but the trapped bottom layer holds heat that shortens the new roof's life, it hides the rotted decking that caused your leaks, and it voids most manufacturer warranties. Michigan law also caps roofs at two layers, so if your home already has two, a tear-off is required, not optional.
When we open a roof and find rot, we photograph the board and replace it before the new roof goes down.
What Roof Replacement Costs, and Why Cheap Is a Warning Sign
A roof is priced by the square, which is 100 square feet of roof area, and a typical home is 20 to 30 squares. Here is where real pricing lands across the market, from the cheap side to the high side.
| Level | Per Square | Per Sq. Ft. | 20-Square Roof | 30-Square Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap Side | $450 to $650 | $4.50 to $6.50 | $9,000 to $13,000 | $13,500 to $19,500 |
| Middle / Normal Most Common | $650 to $900 | $6.50 to $9.00 | $13,000 to $18,000 | $19,500 to $27,000 |
| High Side | $900 to $1,300+ | $9.00 to $13.00+ | $18,000 to $26,000+ | $27,000 to $39,000+ |
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Basic Asphalt
$9,000 to $15,000
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Most Common
$15,000 to $30,000
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Larger / Premium
$30,000+
The Cheap Side Is Cheap for a Reason
Now the part other roofers will not say out loud. That is where you find the overlay instead of a tear-off, the skipped ice and water shield, the unlicensed crew with no permit, and the decking that never gets replaced because nobody looked.
Those shortcuts are exactly what fail in a Michigan winter. A roof that comes in thousands under everyone else is not a bargain, it is a bill you pay again in a few years.
180 prices in the middle to high range because we tear off, inspect and replace decking, install the ice barrier the code requires, and register a real warranty. That is what the number buys.
“The price was fair for the attention to detail that we received. No pressure sales, no ‘if you sign today I’ll lower the price.’ They gave me their best price and let me make my decision.”
Angi Review
We also offer financing, including no-interest options for qualified homeowners , because a roof rarely fails at a convenient time. We walk you through it in the same visit as the estimate.
What Goes Into Your New Roof System
A roof is not shingles, it is a system of layers, and a replacement is your one chance to build every layer right. The shingles are what you see. The layers underneath decide whether the roof leaks in year three or holds for thirty years.
The Decking and Ice Barrier
The decking is the plywood base your entire roof is nailed to, and Michigan winters punish it from below when attic heat melts snow unevenly. We inspect every sheet during tear-off and replace what is soft or rotted, because new shingles over bad decking fail fast.
Over the decking, we install ice and water shield, a self-sealing membrane Michigan code requires at the eaves, extending at least 24 inches inside the interior wall line.
It is the single most important defense against ice dams, the recurring January leak that soaks so many ceilings.
Underlayment, Flashing, and Ventilation
Synthetic underlayment goes down as a second water barrier across the whole roof. Flashing, the metal that seals every chimney, wall, and valley, gets replaced rather than reused , because old flashing is the most common leak point on a roof.
Attic ventilation is the piece most homeowners never think about and the one that decides how long a roof lasts. Poor ventilation bakes shingles from below and drives the ice dams that ruin roofs here, so we balance ridge and soffit ventilation as part of the job.
The Shingles: Owens Corning, GAF, and CertainTeed
We install the three best-selling architectural shingles in America, each rated to 130 mph wind, Class A fire, and a lifetime limited warranty for the original homeowner.
| Shingle | Signature Technology | Algae Warranty | Best Fit For |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAF Timberline HDZ | LayerLock nailing zone | 25-year StainGuard Plus | Strongest algae coverage, most colors |
| Owens Corning Duration | SureNail fabric strip | 10-year StreakGuard | Most forgiving high-wind install |
| CertainTeed Landmark | Dual-layer dimensional build | 10-year StreakFighter | Richest cedar-shake look |
Why Architectural Shingles Over 3-Tab
Architectural shingles are thicker, dimensional, and rated for higher wind, which matters where gusts regularly top 60 mph. They carry the lifetime warranties that flat 3-tab shingles cannot, making them the standard for a replacement meant to last decades.
The Algae Warranty Detail for Lake-Adjacent Homes
Those black streaks near the Great Lakes come from airborne algae, and GAF's 25-year StainGuard Plus is two and a half times the standard 10-year coverage. On a shaded or north-facing roof, that gap is worth asking about before you pick a brand.
Common Reasons Roofs Fail Early Near You
Our winters and older housing stock retire roofs faster than most of the country. Knowing why is what lets us build the replacement to outlast the last one.
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Ice Dams
Heat escaping into the attic melts snow unevenly, it refreezes at the eaves, and water backs up under the shingles. The fix is ice barrier plus proper ventilation, not just new shingles.
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Freeze-Thaw Cycles
Water works into every seam, freezes, expands, and pries flashing and shingles loose over 30 to 45 inches of annual snow.
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Poor Original Ventilation
Older homes were rarely vented to modern standards, which cooks shingles from below and shortens their life.
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Wind and Hail
Gusts over 60 mph and summer hail lift and bruise shingles, often across a single slope.
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Deferred Decking Rot
Small leaks left alone soak the plywood, so a replacement here is often a decking job too, which is why we inspect every sheet.