Roof work prices by the failure and the square, which makes it legible once the vocabulary is clear. Published national guides put minor repairs at $150 to $450, leak repairs at $350 to $1,200, and emergency tarping at $200 to $1,000. Replacement is priced per square foot installed: roughly $3.50 to $6.00 for asphalt shingles and $9 to $16 for metal.
Northridge quotes should be read by component: the covering, the underlayment, and the details are three different ages on most of these roofs. A written scope that prices the failed component and reports the others' remaining life can be compared across bids. A single blended number cannot, and on mid-century stock the blend is where the money hides.
What moves a specific quote: pitch and height (labor), how much decking is found failed under the tear off, the component that failed, and timing, since storm weeks price emergency work as emergency work across the whole market.
The decision rule mirrors the rest of the trades: when repairs in a short window total a third to a half of a replacement, and the roof's age says more failures are queued, replacement usually wins. Ask for both numbers in writing, with decking priced per sheet so the tear off holds no surprises.
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