- 100% agree on install quality over fancy materials. I’ve seen “premium” shingles slide off in a year because the crew skipped half the nails.
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—yep, had a “lifetime” warranty that turned into a game of phone tag.“Warranties? Half the time, they’re just marketing fluff.”
- I’ll take a solid mid-range shingle with a careful install over gold-plated anything, especially up here where freeze/thaw wrecks shortcuts.
- Funny how the cheapest bid always seems to cost more in the end...
- Can’t count how many times I’ve had to chase down “warranty” repairs—usually ends up being a runaround.
- Cheapest bids almost always mean corners cut somewhere, usually where you can’t see until it’s too late.
- I’d rather pay for a crew that actually shows up and does the job right, even if it’s not the fanciest material.
- Up here, one bad winter and you’ll know exactly where they skimped... learned that the hard way.
That “cheapest bid” trap got me a few years back—thought I was saving money, but after the first big freeze, water started dripping through the break room ceiling. Turns out, they’d skimped on insulation and used bargain-bin flashing. Ended up costing way more to fix than if I’d just gone with the crew that actually talked through the materials with me. Now I always ask about what’s under the hood, so to speak... especially with our winters. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
Sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
I hear you, but I’m not totally convinced it’s always that simple. I’ve seen plenty of “premium” bids that just padded the price, not the quality—especially when it comes to sustainable or green roofing options. Sometimes the higher bid is just because the contractor’s got a slicker sales pitch or bigger overhead, not necessarily better materials or more skilled labor.
Honestly, I’ve had good luck with smaller, less flashy crews who were willing to use recycled or locally sourced materials. They weren’t the cheapest, but they weren’t the top-dollar guys either. The key for me was asking a ton of questions about what they were actually installing, and why. Like, if someone can’t explain the difference between standard insulation and something like polyiso or a living roof setup, that’s a red flag.
I guess my point is, “cheapest” and “most expensive” can both be traps. It’s more about transparency and whether they’re open to alternative solutions that fit your climate and values. Sometimes that means pushing back on the default options—even if it takes a bit more legwork.
I get where you’re coming from. When I was getting quotes for my roof last year, the price range was all over the place. The highest bid was almost double the lowest, but when I dug into the details, the expensive one didn’t really offer anything extra—just a fancier brochure and a lot of talk about “premium service.” Meanwhile, the cheapest guy barely answered my questions and seemed annoyed when I asked about materials.
I ended up going with a mid-range crew who actually walked me through the options and explained why they recommended certain things for our climate (I’m in the Midwest, so ice dams are a thing). They weren’t flashy, but they were upfront about costs and didn’t push upgrades I didn’t need. I still had to do a bunch of research on my own, but at least I felt like I knew what I was paying for.
Honestly, I don’t trust either extreme. If someone can’t explain their choices or gets defensive about questions, that’s usually a sign to keep looking.
