Best time to have new roof installed?

January 31, 2023 10:20 AM

I will need a new roof soon. Is there a time of year that construction is slower that would be better for the roof installation?

My roof is old but there is no emergency. My insurance deductible is high so waiting for a catastrophe not that useful, so I'd like to do it at a convenient time. Is there a slow time of year that this might be a little cheaper? I'll take all answers but I'm in Texas so Texas specific answers extra useful!

posted by Saucywench to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

I'm in Florida so your mileage may vary, but here late fall and winter have many more dry days than spring and summer. It's also a lot cooler. That might mean roofing jobs are being scheduled left and right, but it also means there's less risk of your roof being unfinished when a thunderstorm comes in suddenly and they have to tarp it and get off the roof. I'd schedule it now, or as close to now, as you can.
posted by TimHare at 12:32 PM on January 31, 2023

I don't think it matters much. The dead of summer might have slightly less demand, but roofing is like a 3 day job, tops, so when you do it doesn't matter that much and they don't offer much in terms of discounts. It's also very expensive (mine was $16k) so it pays to get a few quotes.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:06 PM on January 31, 2023

This would be a good question for roofers in your area that you want to work with. Roofers schedule some time out, but if they end up with a gap in their schedule you might get lucky, but you will have needed to already have gotten an estimate from them and started talking with them.

Slow times of year are generally when it's not possible to do roofing for one reason or another, so a discount for that reason isn't likely.
posted by yohko at 1:34 PM on January 31, 2023

Because Spring in Texas usually comes with some hail and windstorms, you may want to delay if possible to avoid subjecting a new roof to that (if you believe your old roof can make it through one more season.)

But either way, it is best to find your roofer now before all the fly-by-night roofers appear and dilute the pool of established roofing companies.
posted by DB Cooper at 2:13 PM on January 31, 2023

Speaking not from experience in Texas but rather in a place that has had a few extreme weather events lately, my partner and I learned that it is a very bad idea to try to get anything to do with roofing done after the main extreme weather period where you live - were were trying to get eavestroughs and venting added to our roof and no one would even take our calls because there had just been a storm that did a lot of damage to lots of roofs in our city. I would say aim for the opposite half of the year from hurricane season for Texas when others aren't in need of new roofs because they no longer have any roof at all.
posted by urbanlenny at 2:15 PM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I would talk to a couple roofers and get quotes, find one you like and ask them what local conditions dictate. If you have to pay an extra grand for tarps just in case, that's bad... but if their prices go up two grand in the summer because demand is high, that's worse! So explore your options now while you're thinking about it.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:28 PM on January 31, 2023

As already mentioned, the weather is a big influence on this. You don't want to be roofless at the time when rain is likely, so think about your seasons (your bureau of meteorology or similar will also have data available on the likelihood of rain for any given day of the year.

I suggest you get your three quotes or however many you want and choose who you want to do the job, then talk to them about timing. If it's not urgent and, especially, if you're prepared to be flexible about the timing, you may be able to get some discount, depending on how busy roofers are generally in your area. If you're prepared to be ready to jump when a slot becomes available at short notice, even better.
posted by dg at 5:30 PM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]