So I need a new roof...

...or my insurance will no longer cover me.

is this something for which I could somehow possibly get a deal on materials?

or is the price pretty much gonna be the same no matter where I go? what do I need besides the actual shingles?

I got a pretty good quote on labor, materials added 3.5 grand or so to the estimate, so I'm wondering if it makes any sense to buy it myself and just have them install it...

anyone have any advice? first time I'm doing this so any info is appreciated, thanks!

We just went through this ourselves!

We used a friend who is a contractor, he called in the majority of the materials in for us to a supplier called ABC Supply (http://www.abcsupply.com [abcsupply.com]), who is a nationwide, and yes they have locations in TX.

Since he called the order in for us as a contractor, we got his 15% discount but we had to pick up the supplies ourselves.

Contractors make money supplying the materials because they quote you sticker price (so they pay 85%, pocket the difference); maybe you can make a deal where you pay the roofer cash for the labor, he orders you the supplies at his discount?

OR if you are former or current duty military, you can get 10% at both Lowe's and Home Depot with military ID.

Depending on the condition of your roof, you may need plywood replaced, as well as joists. Since you're in TX, you may not have to deal with winter weather as tough as ours, but you definitely will need some snow ice shield (black rolled material which goes on after plywood, before shingles) and some type of venting (could be a fan or ridgeline vent, etc). I've been warned away from the solar roof vents though.

We added a lot of insulation once we had the roof opened up since we have cold winters. The contractor also put these Styrofoam channels that go in between the joists which help keep air circulating through our soffit vents. Keeps us warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer.

Might sound counter-intuitive but an air-tight roof allows heat to build up and eventually the trapped heat makes your house hot (yes, heat rises but will vent to the top most levels of your house when it can't escape). My summers can't be as tough as a Texas summer but my one-level house used to swelter.

Good luck to you. And if I can find some pix of our roof project, I'll post them.

Usually labor is the most expensive part. I'd just call a roofer (CHECK references) and be done with it. Not sure how big your roof is but mine was $5k. Covered removing two layers of old shingles, 7 sheets of plywood and redoing 1 skylight. Roof was around 2000 sq feet total with a simple peaked (traditional colonial) and 30 year architectural style certainteed asphalt shingles.

Is it something you can do yourself? I've done it a couple times before, and it's really not that hard if you have a couple buddies that can help you out...the worst part is tearing off the old shingles.

If you buy the materials, you may need to buy extra materials. This is because if they make mistake on shingles, then you need to provide extras.

Quote from sonofabit : ...or my insurance will no longer cover me. is this something for which I could somehow possibly get a deal on materials? or is the price pretty much gonna be the same no matter where I go? what do I need besides the actual shingles? I got a pretty good quote on labor, materials added 3.5 grand or so to the estimate, so I'm wondering if it makes any sense to buy it myself and just have them install it... anyone have any advice? first time I'm doing this so any info is appreciated, thanks!

What's your price on labor? I know I am a contractor (not roofing thought) so I got the price for materials at about $3,000-3500 (2100sf under roof home) and my roofer told me $800 if me and a few friends help tear it off. Thats $3,800-4,300 for would be around $5,000-6,000 probably I would assume.

Quote from SolarSpecialist : What's your price on labor? I know I am a contractor (not roofing thought) so I got the price for materials at about $3,000-3500 (2100sf under roof home) and my roofer told me $800 if me and a few friends help tear it off. Thats $3,800-4,300 for would be around $5,000-6,000 probably I would assume.

yeah he quoted a little over a grand for just the labor if I supply all materials, but I'm getting a few more quotes...

I never thought of doing it myself, but really the labor cost is totally manageable so it's really the materials I'm looking for a break on...

does it make any sense to shop around? I'm getting the impression that I might save at the most a hundred bucks or so...

and no I don't know the size of my roof unfortunately, I forgot to ask the guy, but when the other contractors come I'll be sure to get it.

is there a brand that is cheaper than others I should look for? or someplace besides lowes that I could finance it for say a year?

Check out local roofing company. Sometime they have better deals than retail store. Just calculate how much is the material that you are going to be spending and add the labor cost. See if that can save you a lot of money.