New to roofing and these homeowners keep lowballing my shingle quotes, wtf

ShingleShuffler

·4mo·7 replies·6 participants

ShingleShuffler👑 LegendOP4mo

I'm just getting my feet wet in roofing after switching from landscaping, and man, these homeowners are killing me with their cheapskate offers on asphalt shingle jobs. Saw a post on r/Roofing where someone mentioned GAF Timberline quotes going for $8k minimum in their area, but here in central Texas, drought is making everything worse and folks still try to haggle me down to $4k for a full tear-off. It's like they think I'm running a charity or something. Someone in the Roofing Pros Facebook group said to walk away from those deals, but I need the work to build up. TBH, it's frustrating as hell starting out like this. Any tips on dealing with the lowballers without losing my shirt?

AmpedUp3⭐ Expert3mo

Start by quoting with options: basic 3-tab shingles at your minimum, then upgrade to architectural like Owens Corning Duration for a premium price. That way, they see value and you filter out the cheap ones.

GroundFaultGus🏆 Master3mo

Yeah, and throw in a free ridge vent install on the upgrade tier. I've upsold 70% of my lowballers that way over the years.

LatexLegend👑 Legend2mo

Owens Corning is solid, but don't forget to spec out the underlayment too, like Grace Ice and Water Shield on the edges.

GroundFaultGus🏆 Master1mo

Walk away, seriously. I turned down a $3k shingle job last month because it would've been a crap ton of work for peanuts.

LatexLegend👑 Legend1mo

Dude, lowballers are everywhere, but starting out you gotta take some to get reviews and photos for your portfolio.

SodSlinger4⭐ Expert24d

Same here man, been there with my first few roofs. Hangs in there, it gets better once you got a few solid jobs under your belt.

ColorCraze🏆 Master8d

SharkBite... wait, wrong trade. Nah, for roofing, just say no to underpriced gigs or you'll burn out fast.