How We Research and Label Our Figures

This page explains how RooferProMatch articles are researched, how we label the figures we publish, how we read roofing cost surveys, and how we keep pages current.

How we choose sources

We start with the official record wherever one exists: building code text and the reroofing requirements that local building departments publish, federal agency pages, and state contractor licensing boards. Next come the published guidance of roofing trade bodies, such as the National Roofing Contractors Association and the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association, and published cost surveys from home-improvement websites and trade publications. Manufacturer pages are used only for facts about a specific product, such as a warranty term or a published rating. We do not use anonymous claims, and we do not invent figures, quotes or customer stories. If we cannot source a fact, we leave it out.

Every source an article relies on is listed with its publisher, a link and the date we checked it. We cite a page only after reading it ourselves on that date.

The four confidence labels

Each article ends with a section called "About these figures", which lists every cited source with one of four labels:

• Official record: a government agency, statute, adopted building code, local building department or state licensing board.
• Reported: a published cost survey, a trade body's guidance, a trade publication or news report, or a company's own published information.
• Estimate: our own arithmetic from sourced inputs. When we use one, we show the inputs.
• Directional: a trend or an expert view with no hard number behind it.

How we read cost surveys

Roofing cost figures vary widely from one survey to the next, and the reasons usually come down to four things. Method: some surveys collect prices that homeowners report after a project, others draw on contractor estimates or pricing databases. Year: prices move, so we give the date of each survey and the date we checked it. What is included: one figure may cover only the new roof covering, another may include tearing off the old roof, new underlayment, flashing and disposal. Roof size: surveys assume different roof areas, and roof area is not the same as a home's floor area.

When surveys disagree, we show their figures side by side, each attributed by name and date, and explain the difference instead of averaging them into a single number. We present prices as ranges or as "starting at", never as what your project will cost. Your own price may differ with the size, pitch and shape of your roof, the material, the condition of the decking underneath and where you live.

How we keep pages current

Pages are rechecked when we learn that a source they rely on has changed, for example when a survey publishes new figures or a code edition is adopted, and when a reader reports an error. When we update a page, we recheck its sources and change the date they were checked.

When we find or are told about an error, we correct it and record the correction on our corrections page. You can reach us through the contact page. To learn who we are, see about RooferProMatch.